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[Fore warning; this is going to be a rather long piece of fiction. I'm still currently writing it and will be uploading chapters as I complete them. Hope you all enjoy.]

The Polaris Incursion

Chapter 1 – Shattered Peace

The Polaris system, a tightly packed collection of seven planets orbiting a red giant star on the fringe of the Ultima Segmentum. To most of the upper echelons of the Imperium it was simply an isolated world with no real economic or military importance. That all changed at the turn of the 41st millennium when high concentrations of ferro-steel ore were discovered within the mountainous areas of Polaris III by an Imperial scout team investigating the fringe.

The discovery quickly found its way to the nearby forge world of Stygies VIII and an excavation team was dispatched. Ferro-steel, used primarily in the construction of the Imperium's war machines, was currently at an all time low and the Segmentum Command for the Ultima sector saw it fit to establish a defence perimeter around the new resource, lest it fall into enemy hands.

To this end, the Imperial Guard was dispatched and a defence perimeter was established. Further investigations of the system showed that Polaris II and VI had undiscovered Promethium reserves, a valued commodity not only to the Imperial Guard but the righteous burning flames of the Ecclesiarchy. With these new discoveries, and the firm insistence of the Tech Priests of Stygies VIII, it was decided to colonise the system in the name of the God Emperor.

The Imperial Guard units already planet bound were reorganised into a new regiment, the Polaris 1st, and before long Imperial colonists arrived. Polaris proved to be an interesting system in this respect. The system was a red dwarf star system, meaning that the heat received from the star was low and very dull. However, the climate of Polaris III was close to that of a tropical paradise. Studies soon showed that a naturally occurring chemical in the planets upper atmosphere acted in a similar way to a magnifying glass, intensifying the stars warmth a hundred times over.

Polaris III soon became a vibrant world, its citizens and guardsmen agreeing that the planet was almost perfect. Trade with Stygies VIII soon became the major source of income for the planet, shipping vast quantities of ferro-steel to the foundries of the forge world in exchange for equipment and supplies. Stygies VIII did more than this, supplying the Imperial Guard forces stationed on the planet with ample weaponry and armour, not that it seemed any was required.

Despite its rich mineral resources, the Polaris system was largely ignored by the greater forces in the galaxy. It was neither strategically important, nor was it port for further exploration. It was simply a mining operation, forgotten and uncared for providing its quotas were met and its donations to the God Emperor continued. As the 41st millennium began to wane however that seemed set to change.

----------------------------

First Sergeant Lynx Julius Soran sat in a wooden seat, his feet propped up and resting on a small table. High above him the giant dull form of the system's sun burned, its weak rays magnified by the planet's atmosphere. Surrounding him on three sides were a series of metal railings that surrounded the balcony he was currently sat on. An archway leading into the building occupied the final side, the entrance covered by a set of large ornately designed purple curtains.

Lynx himself was a fairly robust character, his figure being both impressive and threatening at the very best of times. It was no difficult task to determine why he held his current rank. His hair was scruffy and unkept, almost to the point of breaking regulations...a matter the Company Commissars delighted in reminding him about. From behind his scratty fringe, a pair of deep blue eyes could be seen, both usually half closed in some sort of perpetual glare. His face was rugged and aged, a deep scar present on the left of his face that ran just below his jaw.

Lynx was not from this world, his service to the God Emperor taking sending him across the galaxy and back again. It was a miracle in fact that he was not dead already, Lynx having seen some of the very worst mankinds enemies could throw at them. Still, Lynx could not complain about his current posting on Polaris III; compared to his previous postings it was almost a retirement package. The planets climate was comparable to a tropical paradise, warm weather, little wind and almost monsoon like rain during the night that kept the plant life fresh. It did create a few problems of its own, namely for the men under his command, drills and practice marches were ten times more strenuous than any other world due to the heat. Not that it bothered Lynx, he had served in these temperature before and there were privileges to being First Sergeant.

"Back in line maggots!" came a loud and deep cry from below him. Lynx glanced up from his seat and peered over the balcony. Below him, in the main courtyard, second platoon was being drilled by one of the regiments Commissars, Sirano Augustus Tiberus...otherwise known as 'Boomer' to the men due to his voice and explosive temper. Lynx scowled at the Commissar's back and looked away, he had no real love of the Commissariat.

"That scowl will have you hanging from a gallow if they see you," said a chuckling voice from Lynx's other side. Glancing back Lynx came face to face with Julian Harrow, First Sergeant of Third Platoon. Lynx grinned broadly, motioning to a seat just across from his own.

"They'll have to prove it first, take a seat Julian...I though Third was still on recon duty," replied Lynx.

"Just got in this morning, same old same old, there's about as much going on out there as there is at a Commissar's birthday."

Lynx gave a chuckle of his own as Julian sat down, "Don't let it go to your head, there is never such a thing as peace in our lifetime. Heretics, xeno, daemons, mutants...the only thing keeping this place quiet is its isolated location and relative position to Stygies VIII. I dare say the enemies of the Emperor wouldn't like to see a squadron of Baneblades baring down on them."

Julian gave a small nod and sat back in his chair. He absently drew his standard issue laspistol from its holster and began to break it down into its component pieces. Lynx watched him from under his fringe; Julian was a munitions expert to be proud of. During a field exercise several months ago he had field stripped a Ryza pattern lascannon, corrected a faulty relay and pieced it back together again in less than a minute. If there was anything about weapons he didn't know it wasn't worth knowing. Lynx was not as knowledgeable yet he knew how to field strip his own equipment. His position as sergeant had instead been earned by years of long service, bravery and commitment to the Emperor's will.

"So when do you head back to duty?" asked Julian, his hands now cleaning the power contacts between his pistol and the power cell.

"Few hours, First Platoon is moving out to investigate some communication glitch in Sector nineteen," replied Lynx with a roll of his eyes.

"Nineteen? Don't tell me the transmitter has gone down again? What does that make it, the fourth time in the last three months?"

"Fifth time I think, I tell you they just need to replace the entire transmitter assembly. We've fixed that thing so many times its beginning to look dangerous to switch it on! But I'm just a lowly sergeant, what do I know?"

"Lowly sergeant, don't kid yourself Lynx, you've got more experience in the field than both of our platoons combined."

Lynx scoffed, swinging is feet up and off the table before standing and moving to the balcony railing, "Fat load of good it does me."

---------------------------

Sector nineteen, geographically the area was fairly unremarkable, covered as it was in nothing but grasslands and the occasional forested section. It was located on the coast of the northern continent, remote from the rest of the Imperium's presence on the planet but necessary for the protection of one of the largest Ferro-steel mining operations on the planet.

A large crater had been dug into the landscape, the surface of the crater covered in metal towers, each hiding a deep shaft that ran straight down towards the core of the planet. From these shafts a maze of tunnels extended outwards in all directions, each one filled with hundreds of lobotomised servitors; mechanically implanted beings who's sole purpose was to carry out the task assigned to it.

The Imperial Guard presence at the dig site was limited to two platoons of guardsmen, a command squad and their attached auxiliaries, in this case a scout Sentinel and a specialised heavy weapon support unit. The detachment was commanded by Felix Strip, a relatively new officer to the regiment but by no means incompetent. If anything he was simply frustrated, annoyed that his first command was in such a remote uneventful section of the galaxy. So much so in fact that he was now screaming at his mechanic for the seventh time that morning.

"I thought you said you could fix this!" he cried, his voice echoing around the small room like the sound of an artillery barrage.

The mechanic, a junior member of the detachments second platoon cringed visible as Felix continued his verbal assault. He seemed visible shaken by the commander's tone and volume. "Sir, this transmitter is ancient, the best I can do is patch it up and hope it hold...but the chances of the signal holding for long are slim, the contacts are just too badly degraded."

"Degraded?! Degraded?! If you don't get this thing working again before nightfall the contacts won't be the only thing that is going to be degraded!" With that Felix turned and stormed from the room, growling and cursing beneath his breathe.

There was a moment of silence as the mechanic was left by himself to recover his nerves. He looked down, giving a long drawn out sigh before looking back up at the mass of wires, switches and dials in front of him.

"Geez! What's eating him?"

The mechanic looked up at the new voice, another guardsman entering the room, glancing back over his shoulder as he did, "I ain't seen Strip that annoyed since he found out Central hadn't sent us enough rations and we had to go out vole hunting."

"Quiet Marco, I think I've had enough talking to last me a lifetime," replied the mechanic as he glanced back at the mass of wires.

"I imagine so Switch, I could hear his voice all the way from the end of corridor twelve. How's it going?"

Switch simply motioned to the mess in front of him, the other guardsman kneeling down and cringing, "Looks worse than one of Corporal Talbard's ration 'stews'."

"It gets better...somehow I have to get this mess working before nightfall or I'll be in for the worst night of my life. If I only had a spare set of contacts I could at least get it working long enough for us to call in a supply drop."

"Didn't the last transmission get through?"

"I can't tell, the moment we sent it the relay burnt out. If it got through they likely only got some garbled static and an idea of where it came from."

"Well hopefully they'll send someone out to investigate but that could take days."

"Days I don't have!" Switch quickly threw a spanner across the room, the echoes vibrating round the room and off down the corridor. As the sound died away he slumped back against the console behind him and slapped a hand across his face, "Why did I volunteer for this?"

"You didn't, you were conscripted," replied Marco with a chuckle, "Besides you've been through worse. Listen, I'm going to head topside and try and find you some supplies. I'm not promising much but I should be able to rustle up...did you hear that?"

Marco had stopped in mid sentence, his head tilted away and looking down the corridor. Switch followed his glance, looking out of the open door and down the dimly lit corridor beyond. They remained silent for a moment before Marco looked away and shrugged, "Must have been my imagination."

------------------------

"First platoon fall in!" cried Lynx, his voice loud and urgent. In front of him a squabble of men quickly assembled themselves into rank and file and saluted. Lynx returned the salute and then dropped it, his men following suit. He took a moment to look over his squad, knowing each man by first name. Each was dressed in the usual Guard livery, a dusty yellow and green camo patterned uniform that matched the worlds mix of sand and trees. Slung over the shoulder of each man was a standard issue lasgun, two of the squad members carry different weapons in addition to this. One man, Corporal Regiland Dalrak, stood on the left of the front rank, had a large tank slung across his back, a reinforced pipe leading from the tank to a hand held flamer that was slung across his front on a second strap. A second, Private Lance Harker, had abandoned his lasgun for a small laspistol and was wielding a larger melta gun.

"At ease men," said Lynx finally, his squad relaxing as he gave the order, "Alright here's the deal. We've been placed on a quick touch in touch off mission. We received a garbled transmission from the unit in Sector nineteen the day before yesterday and command wants us to check in with them and confirm their status."

A murmur went round his squad, most of them being groans. Lynx gave a small chuckle and waved his hand, "Quiet you lot, yes it's not what you were expecting. Giving this assignment to us is like using a melta torpedo to crack an Orc truck right?"

The murmur turned to a chuckle, his squad seemingly pleased by the comparison. "Still, it's our assignment and we're to carry it out. We'll be moving out by Valkyrie transport in ten minutes! Check your gear and load up, move!"

As Lynx gave the command his squad jumped to it, each one quickly retrieving and checking their gear. Soon enough supplies, ammo and men were loaded onto the two Valkyrie transports, their twin ram-jet engines roaring into life. Inside the first dropship Lynx was settling himself into his seat. All around him his men were securing their harnesses and preparing for the take off. The trip to Sector nineteen was a long ride by Chimera that would have taken two days. Luckily the Imperial Navy had been delivering supplies the same day and the Company Commander had reassigned two Valkyrie transports to Lynx's platoon in order to fulfil their mission quicker.

To Lynx it was nothing special, he had only performed one drop from a Valkyrie before but he had been a passenger in one many times before. Some of his squad were looking a little white, especially the younger ones who had not even taken to the air before. Lynx smiled to himself, luckily this time they would be spared the heart pounding experience of leaping from the back of the dropship on grav-chutes. This was not a warzone and the Valkyrie's were assigned to take them back to base after the mission, as such they would land and drop them off without having to perform a grav-chute descent. Lynx didn't know if he felt disappointed or not, part of him was itching to experience the adrenaline rush associated with such actions again.

He checked his head set, changing the transmission frequency and speaking, "Hatching to Eagle One, ready to roll."

"Confirmed, stand by," came a reply from the Valkyrie pilot, "Eagle two report status."

"Eagle two loaded and ready."

"Eagle One to all units, stand by for lift..."

Lynx switched off his headset, knowing the procedure by memory. He quickly grabbed hold of the hand grips in front of him, his platoon around him following suit. Moments later the craft gave a shudder as the vertical take off jets fired and powered up. There was a brief pause and then the entire ship lurched upwards, fell slightly and then began to move upwards and forwards. The roar of the twin ram-jets was almost deafening as they reached maximum output for takeoff. Lynx could see several of his squad members cringing at the noise as it reverberated around the hold.

A cake run, baby sitting duty, whatever you wanted to call it at least this mission held a little more action than the general day on Polaris. Even so Lynx couldn't help but wish for something a little more entertaining. He had no desire to die in combat...yet here he was going to die of boredom instead.

--------------------------

Night was falling on the Sector nineteen mining operation as Felix Strip stormed into the command building. He was just as annoyed as he had been several hours before and the colour of his face proved it, a definite red tone settled over his skin. "Status of the communication array?!"

"Sir! Still no word, comm signal is still dead," replied one of his staff.

Felix growled quietly and crossed to the radio control. He quickly picked up the transmitter and tuned it to the correct frequency, "This is First Lieutenant Felix Strip to Private Switch!" His voice showed his annoyance, his tone picking out the two ranks and emphasising them clearly. "Private Switch report your status, why is the communication array still offline?"

Silence greeted him in response, not even a cloud of static in response, "If we've lost internal comms as well I'm going to take it out of someone's hide!" Felix quickly threw the transmitter to the side, spinning back towards the centre of the room, his eyes levelling on two guardsmen stood by the door. He raised his right arm, pointing squarely at them, "You two, get down to communications and find out what's going on!"

The two guardsmen didn't seem like they wanted to argue, both of them saluting and filing from the room in rapid fashion. At first their trip was dominated by silence, both waiting until they were out of earshot of the command room before they spoke.

"Strip's in a fury ain't he? I hope Switch has some good answers or he'll really be in for it," said one of them, looking nervously at his companion.

"Forget Strip! If we get in trouble because of him he'll have me to worry about first!" replied the second, his face filled with a very hard scowl.

The banter continued as they made their way to the communication room. The tunnels of the mine were all dimly lit but there was something about them today that made them seem more eerie than normal. There was a shadow on the air, an oppressive feeling that made both guardsmen shudder as they headed further into the complex. They drew their lasguns, neither quite knowing why, and took to single file as they continued on their journey.

"Hey, do you smell that?" asked one as they neared the comms room.

There was an odd smell on the air, like burning flesh mixed with a sweet fragrance. The scent drifted in on the air through the open door to the comm room. There was not a sound on the air apart from the gentle hum of machinery around them. Slowly they stopped outside the door, almost hesitant to enter the room. Slowly one of the guardsmen raised the end of his lasgun and nudged the door open. It swung inwards with a small creek that sounded a thousand times louder on the still air.

As the room came into view both guardsmen were nearly sick. The source of the smell became clear as they surveyed the room. Splattered across every wall in the room were thin trails of red blood, the larger splatters having started to run down the walls. In the middle of the room, slumped over one of the comm relays was the upper half of Private Switch, his eyes wide with fear and his mouth open as if he had been cut off in mid scream. His lower half was nowhere to be seen and most of his guts were spread across the main power terminal, the electric heat from the cables seemingly starting to cook them. On the other side of the room was a mangled pulp of flesh and bone, the identity of the soldier being impossible to make out had it not been for a tattered name tag that read 'Marco'.

"By the grace of the Emperor! What on Terra happened in here?!"

"Who cares?! We have to get out of here and alert Strip!"

The first guardsman didn't argue, both turning towards the door. Neither saw anything else though as something swung quickly down towards them from the ceiling above the door...

I like it! Very well written, and through out. IG stories are very character driven and you have don well in establishing your primary character.

I look forward to reading more.

Well done, And I like the lengt of it very well. keep the good stuff comming

Thanks! Nice to know I'm doing well. ^^ I've got the next chapter ready to go up so enjoy! I'm currently writing the 5th chapter at the moment.

Chapter 2 – Encounter

The two Valkyrie transports swooped in low over Sector nineteen, both crafts coming in at full throttle as they ran a quick reconnaissance pass over the landing zone. Below them the crater mining site looked peaceful and calm in the growing light of the morning dawn. The landing pads sat on the northern lip of the crater, the lights flashing calmly as the Valkyrie's circled the crater and came in on approach.

"Eagle One to Hatchling, we'll be dusting off upon drop and proceeding on alternative mission. Use frequency 97.3 upon completion of assignment and we will rendezvous at best speed."

"Confirmed Eagle One," replied Lynx before looking up at his squad, "Alright! Check your equipment and get ready to disembark!"

The two Valkyrie's slowed and flared up as they approached the landing pads, their vertical jets firing as gravity began to take over their descent. A moment later the landing legs on the wings touched down, the hydraulic struts compressing as they took the weight of the craft. A moment later the front strut touched the ground, the Valkyrie's engines fading to a gentle hum but remaining at standby. The rear hatch opened, Lynx already set and ready to disembark as the craft touched down on the pad. He quickly descended the ramp, his platoon following him, and jumped to the dusty ground beneath the pad. As the last soldier left the Valkyrie the engines on the two crafts roared into life again, pushing the now much lighter transport into the air. Lynx watched as they rose, turned on the spot and then pushed forwards, heading off towards the horizon.

Lynx now turned his attention to the area around him. Their arrival was not hidden in any way yet there didn't seem to be anyone here to greet them. No guardsmen, no workers, not even a mindless servitor or servo skull. Something wasn't right.

"Pickman, take three men with you and secure a perimeter...there's something amiss around here and I don't want to be surprised," said Lynx, glancing over at his corporal.

Corporal Pickman gave a quick salute, motioning to three nearby guardsmen. The men nodded, following the corporal as he charged off. Lynx returned his attention to the base around him. The entrance was just off to the side, a long suspended bridge that stretched out over the crater to a lift that ran down into the mine. Lynx surveyed the entrance for a moment, there was nothing out of the ordinary about it, with the exception of the lack of guardsmen at the entrance.

Lynx looked back at the rest of his platoon and then waved forwards before starting towards the lift bridge. His squad followed slowly, each eyeing the area around them as if looking for some unseen foe. They crossed the bridge in single file and filed into the elevator one at a time. Corporal Dalrak was the last to enter, his flamer levelled and the pilot light lit. His finger played on the trigger but his other hand was avoiding the promethium release switch just in case his finger slipped.

The elevator seemed to take an eternity to descend to the base of the crater and then further into the first level. It was here that the elevator stopped, the doors swinging open with a creek. Dalrak aimed his flamer down the darkened corridor, swinging the hissing tip back and forth before slowly lowering it a little. "Clear."

Dalrak stepped out of the lift, Lynx moving up beside him as they slowly started to move down the corridor. The generators were still running, the lighting and mining equipment around them still running, bathing the air around them in a gentle glow and a quiet hum.

"Sir," asked Dalrak, "What's going on here sir? This was supposed to be a routine comm outage."

"Nothing routine about this Corporal, the mission has changed."

"Shouldn't we contact our extraction?"

"Not until we know what's going on. Imperial Guard units don't simply disappear on a populated world. They're here somewhere, we have to find them. Keep in close formation, you take point. Assign Harker to cover the rear. Listen up everyone! I want ever corridor of this base swept for clues. Keep your eyes peeled and stay sharp."

The guardsmen around him quickly checked their equipment. Dalrak pushed on ahead again, his flamer once again levelled on the corridor in front of him. Harker quickly took up the rear position, loading his melta gun and aiming it backwards down the corridor as he followed his comrades. Lynx knew where he was going, the central control room, if anyone was still here it was likely that is where he would find them...at least he hoped so.

"Pickman to Soran, perimeter secured," came a call over his headset, "We didn't find anyone but from the look of it they just got up and left...everything looks like they were operating normally until whatever happened happened."

"Confirmed Pickman," replied Lynx in a hushed tone, "We're proceeding to the central control room to try and get some answers. Set snare traps at the perimeter and fall back to the tunnel entrance, I want a clear route out if things turn sour."

"Understood, Pickman out."

Lynx returned his right hand to his lasgun, sliding his fingers under it and cocking the mounted grenade launcher on the underside. The crack rung down the corridor loudly but it didn't matter, they had already made enough noise on their initial arrival to alert anyone to their presence.

They pressed on, reaching a junction and turning left into the central structure. They had barely gone a few steps when Dalrak quickly rose his arm in a halt motion. Everyone stopped dead, the entire team going silent as they waited to see what the hold up was about. Lynx stepped forwards to inspect what Dalrak had found. Lying on the metal gantry ahead of them was half of what appeared to be a mining servitor. Lynx frowned, swinging the nose of his lasgun up and flicking on the mounted searchlight.

The beam shone out, filling the darkened corners at the edge of the gantry with light. To their left was a large archway that led off the main tunnel. The entrance was covered by a thick metal gate, several of the bars bent outwards and torn open as if something had sliced its way out from inside the tunnel. There were no lights in this side tunnel, seemingly it was used only by servitors for access to the mining equipment. Lynx cast his beam down the length of the tunnel, paying particular attention to the buckled gate.

Without saying a word he knelt down next to the severed servitor, using the tip of his lasgun to poke and prod at the remains. The cut was clean, the type one might associate with a power sword yet there were no scorch or burn marks along the edge of the cut. Lynx frowned.

"What do you think sir?" asked Dalrak, the tip of his flamer levelled on the entrance to the tunnel as if expecting something to leap out of the darkness at them.

"Xeno..." muttered Lynx.

Behind him the click of lasgun clips being ejected, checked and clipped back sounded as his entire squad make sure they were ready. Lynx stood slowly, glancing one way and then the other, his torch light following his gaze.

"Orders sir?"

"Same as before, we make for the central control room. This is now a splash and dash operation, Collins, get on the wire to Pickman. Have him radio for extraction, tell them to come in ready for a hot LZ. Dalrak, sweep forwards and stay sharp, use your own discretion for targets. Our primary objective is to find the control room and recover any data that might help us identify what happened here. Secondary objective is to rescue anyone still here...but we aren't risking out own necks to do it, we have to get back to HQ."

Lynx glanced over his squad, they were all good men. Some he had not known for very long but others had been through hell and back with him. Dalrak was one such man, both he and Lynx having served on Tanhil twelve during the Chaos Uprising where the systems population and half of the guard infantry had been consumed by the powers of Chaos. Neither of them were alien to sick sights.

Returning his attention to the corridor, Lynx and his squad pressed on. The corridor slung to the left and downhill slightly, silent and dark mining corridors leading off the main tunnel every few hundred feet. Unlike the first all of the gates were intact and locked and there was no more evidence of fighting or problems. Finally the corridor stopped, opening out into a small chamber. At the far side sat a large set of doors, the entrance to the control room, its frame more ornately designed than any other door they had yet passed by. To each side of the room two sets of smaller doors sat; seemingly continuing on into the network of tunnels and shafts that continued down into the ground. The room was well lit, flooded with light from two large spot lights mounted above the door sets to the left and right.

Lynx and his men filed into the room, two taking up a covering position facing back into the tunnel they had entered from. Lynx himself made for the main door, stopping just in front of it and examining the locking mechanism. Dalrak stepped up next to him, the Corporal frowning at the door.

"Locked," he said bluntly, "From the inside by the look of it."

Lynx gave a small nod and moved to the side where a flashing computer panel was located. A large red light occupied most of the display, blinking on and off in a slow but steady pattern. Below it sat a control panel, the keys looking like they had been smashed by the butt of a lasgun. Lynx frowned at the panel and then slid his combat knife from the sheath on his belt.

Taking the tip he pushed it into the slight gap between the panel and the casing and yanked sideways. The panel gave a little resistance but ultimately could not stand up to the force applied to it and sprung open, half of it clattering to the floor. He surveyed the mess of wires in front of him, some of the switches were broken and the wiring was giving off a small number of static crackles. Using the tip of his knife he traced along several of the wires before tapping the tip across a broken connection box. He flicked his blade to the other side of the box and quickly cut the wires leading out of it. There was a moments pause and then a dull hum as the power to the door was lost, causing the locking bolts to release.

He stood up, nodding at Dalrak and another man standing next to him. The pair stepped forwards, each grabbing a section of the door and pulling. At first the door didn't move, the heavy metal frame refusing the budge. Dalrak seemed to be slightly put out by the doors refusal and slammed his full bulk against the door several times before taking a hold and pushing once again. This time the door groaned and slowly began to slide to the side.

Lynx let a small smile turn he corners of his mouth as the door began to move. His smile faded quickly as a tell tale noise filled the air. A sharp crack echoed around the room followed by a beam of red light that shot from the command room through the open door. The guardsmen in the room hit the floor including Dalrak, who the red beam had narrowly missed. Lynx had already brought his weapon up ready to return fire when a voice filled the air.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire you idiot!"

The voice came from within the command room and was followed by the sound of scuffling and a thud. Lynx and his squad stood firm , weapons trained on the gap between the doors as they waited. A moment later an arm slowly appeared between the door, hand open and empty. After another moment the arm moved on, bringing the body and the head of the owner into view. He looked like an officer, his rank and uniform symbolic of this position, but he was covered from head to toe in mud, grime and blood. He was breathing heavily, his relatively young looking face strained and tense.

"By the grace of the Emperor, are you a sight for sore eyes sergeant!" he said quickly, straightening himself up slightly and looking directly at Lynx, "First Lieutenant Felix Strip, Sector nineteen Detachment."

Lynx was slow to salute, seemingly unimpressed by the lieutenant's appearance, "First Sergeant Lynx Soran, Polaris 25th First Platoon. We've been sent to investigate the communication outage."

"Forget the communications, do you have transports? We have to get out of here while we can before it comes back!" replied Felix, his head and eyes glancing back and forth between the doors to the room.

"Before what comes back sir?" asked Lynx, the older sergeant seemingly resenting the attitude of the commander.

"We don't know, it came out of nowhere and butchered half of my men before we even knew it was here. Now get on the comm and radio your extraction, we're leaving right now!"

Felix glared at Lynx, the two of them staring each other down for a moment before Lynx finally turned away and raised a hand to his headset, "Pickman report."

"Sir, perimeter is still secure, no trips activated. We've fallen back to cover the mine entrance as instructed. Dropship ETA about 16 minutes," came a response over his headset.

"Good, keep me informed. We've found survivors and will be returning to the surface shortly." Lynx slowly turned back to his squad, ignoring Felix for the moment. "Alright, extraction is on the way. Stevenson, get in there and download any information you can get your hands on. I'm not turning up at HQ with a bunch of unanswered questions."

One of his squad nodded and quickly pushed past Felix and squeezed into the room. Lynx turned to Felix now and addressed him properly. "Sir, extraction is on the way, I suggest that you and your men prepare to leave with us."

"I don't need you to tell me that sergeant!" scoffed Felix, the commander turning back to the command room and poking his head through the half open door, "Alright, get up and get ready to move out."

Lynx held back a retort, it wouldn't help in this situation and would cause him more problems later on. As much as he might hate it, he was no longer in command and had to follow orders. At the very least he still had authority over his squad.

"Dalrak! Take point! Same route on the way out, Harper take rear guard again. Jacob, anything on the auspex?"

"Nothing sir, she's been quiet the whole time...it's like this place is dead," replied Jacob with a frown.

"We'll all be dead if we stay here much longer," cut in Felix, his squad now assembled behind him, "I suggest we move out right now, Sergeant your squad is behind me."

With that Felix ordered his squad forwards into the tunnel. Lynx was left to scowl at his back as his own orders were completely ignored, he was starting to hate this commander more and more by the moment. He nodded at Dalrak, the Corporal understanding the gesture and quickly filing into the queue of soldiers making their way up the corridor. He holstered his flamer, the unpredictable weapon more of a liability in these conditions, and drew his lasgun.

The rest of Lynx's squad quickly followed on behind, Harper taking up the rear guard again, his melta gun loaded and ready. Lynx walked in the middle of the squad next to Jacob, casting looks at his auspex scanner almost as frequently as the young soldier himself. Still nothing. What had rattled the commander so much? What was this seemingly invisible enemy?

Lynx was so lost in thought that he almost walked into the trooper ahead of him as he stopped abruptly. Looking up he could see that everyone had stopped and the commander's men were now looking around nervously. Then it hit him, an odd smell, almost sweet but completely alien to him. The hairs on the back of Lynx's neck stood up on end, he had smelt this smell only once before when...

"It's back! We have to move now! Move move move!" cried Felix, urging the guardsmen around him onwards.

Lynx looked up quickly, his hand reaching out towards the fleeing commander and men, "No! Stay together don't separate from..."

It was too late, there was a shimmer in the corridor ahead of the commander, a brief flicker of the light in the tunnel. A moment later something flew through the air striking the commander and the two men he was with. Whatever it was hit at an angle, the first guardsman loosing the top of his head with nothing more than a squelch. The commander was hit next, Felix loosing his head completely as a fountain of blood accompanied his body to the floor. The final guardsman was hit just below the shoulders, his upper half being cleaved away from the rest of his body. None of them even had time to scream, Lynx filling in that role instead.

"Hit the deck! Get down, get down! Dalrak!"

Lynx's Corporal didn't need to be told what to do. As the men ahead of him had hit the deck he had already rolled his flamer into his hands and had depressed the trigger. The guardsmen just ahead of him felt the hairs on the back of their neck singe as the lethal gout of red hot promethium spilled from the guns muzzle and filled the corridor. There was an alien shriek, a noise that made each guardsman cringe, as whatever it was was hit by the flames. They lasted but a second before the burning form of their attacker fell to the corridor floor, its body charred black and smoking.

The attack didn't stop though, Jacob's auspex giving a brief pulse but not soon enough to save Harper. The rear guard was next to go, the guardsman not even having enough time to aim his weapon before two long bladed claws shot down from the ceiling, impaling him through the upper chest and lifting him from the ground. He had time to scream in pain before the talons moved apart, cutting him into three separate pieces that fell to the floor with a thud. As his body hit the floor his melta gun struck the metal decking and the shock caused it to fire the loaded round. The next guardsman in line didn't even have time to scream as his body was vaporised by the molten ball of plasma usually used to cleave through tank armour.

Lynx rounded on the second threat, his lasgun raised at the ceiling. His spotlight flicked across the panels, picking out a faint shimmer on the ceiling. Without hesitation he fired, a round from his under slung grenade launcher flying off at the ceiling. His aim was near perfect, the krak grenade detonating to the creatures side, blowing off its limbs and causing it to fall to the floor. The explosion knocked him to the ground and filled the corridor with a thick smoke.

As he pressed himself up he glanced through the smoke but couldn't see anything. He listened, trying to catch any sound of the creature, there was none. He remained still, expecting it to strike again, but nothing happened. It must have been a good minute later that he turned to Jacob.

"Status?"

"No contacts sir, auspex is clear," replied Jacob, "What was that?"

Lynx frowned and stood up, the smoke now clearing enough for him to get a look at their attacker. It must have been at least ten feet tall, if not more, supported by a long tail that ended in a sharp point. It had stood on two legs, four other appendages scattered around the corridor, two clawed arms and two long flexible bladed talons. Its face was covered in a mass of short tentacles, many of them now scattered around the floor.

Lynx spat at the creature, "Lictor!"

"Lictor?!" said Dalrak quickly, arriving at Lynx's side to examine what was left, "Tyranids? Here?! By the Emperors grace!"

"Alright listen up everyone, the situation has changed. This has to be reported, if the Tyranids are here on Polaris we have to inform headquarters or we can all kiss our asses goodbye. Dalrak take point, Jacob behind him. That auspex so much as twitches light up the whole damn corridor."

"Got it sir!" replied Dalrak, taking a firm hold of his flamer and stepping forwards once again.

"Greet, get Harper's weapon and stick close to me. Everyone else grab a gun and double time it, we're getting out of here."

-------------------------

Corporal Pickman was getting tired of waiting. It was now at least ten minutes since his last communication from Lynx and he was starting to worry, not because he didn't think Lynx could handle himself but because of his lack of information. Something must have happened, he should have called in by now. Just then his radio gave a crackle, the Corporal not being able to answer it quick enough.

"Sir!" he said quickly.

"Pickman! Tell me those transports have arrived early!" came a hurried response from Lynx.

"We're still waiting sir, what's going on?"

"Tyranids! We have confirmed contact with Tyranid organisms, Lictor species identified!"

"T-Tyranids?! Here on Polaris! Are you alright sir?"

"I'm fine but we lost five men in the ambush. Get on the line to those transports and relay the situation. We'll be arriving in a few minutes!"

Pickman couldn't change channels quick enough, the Corporal fumbling the dial for a moment before barking into the speaker, "Eagle One come in! This is Hatchling to Eagle One! Confirm ETA!"

"Hatchling this is Eagle One, ETA estimated at 5 minutes 35 seconds."

"Eagle One, we have a code red situation! Confirmed sightings of Tyranid organisms. We request immediate dust off from present location as soon as possible. Unknown extent of Tyranid threat, recommend full armament loadout."

There was a moment of silence before a response came, "Tyranids! Hatchling confirmed! Readjusting arrival time, going to full burn."

Pickman looked up quickly as a bleeping caught his attention. To his side Mallick, his appointed auspex operator, was staring at his device with wide unbelieving eyes. Pickman didn't need to ask what was going on, he could see the screen for himself. Approaching from all directions were contacts, he couldn't see them yet but they would be on them in a matter of minutes.

He checked his lasgun, slapping a new charged power cell into the weapon as he levelled his gaze on the forest beyond the landing pad. “Stay frosty everyone,” he said quickly, “As soon as anything shows its face open fire.”

The men around him nodded nervously, without Lynx and his men there was only four of them to hold the line. None of them had any form of alternative weapon and Pickman was starting to wish they had at least a Heavy Bolter at their disposal. Alas it was not so and they would have to make do with what they had. With luck they could hold out long enough for Lynx to arrive...and long enough for the transports to arrive.

Just then the first hostile burst from the undergrowth. Scurrying along on four limbs, its other two were raised high, the razor sharp claws on the end flexing as it charged forwards. A moment later a second and third appeared, hunched and snarling, their tiny heads filled with glistening teeth.

“Genestealers!” cried Pickman as he swung his lasgun down at the first beast. He took only a moment to gather his aim, the sharp crack of lasgun fire sounding as his finger depressed the trigger. The first shot was off target but the second struck home nicely, slamming into the creatures head and causing it to explode in a mass of black ichor and alien flesh.

To his left and right his men also opened fire, none sparing a second thought for ammo as their lasgun's fired volley after volley. Even still more organisms began to appear from the forest around them, now assaulting from the left and right. The snarling growls reached a peek, each Genestealer adding its own voice to the chorus that drowned out the sound of lasgun fire.

Just then one of the creatures dived forwards, leaping straight at Mallick. The guardsman was so busy firing at another Genestealer to his right that he only noticed at the last minute. He spun on the spot and fired but the creature was too quick for him. A sharp swipe from one of the Stealer's claws sliced right through Mallick's armour, tearing a giant gash across his front and disembowelling him. With a scream that was suddenly cut short Mallick died and fell to the floor with a thud. Pickman was already on it, whirling round and firing several times at the creature. It cried out as its body was shredded by the close range lasgun fire.

Pickman quickly turned his attention back to the forest. There were even more now, ten, then twenty, then thirty of the creatures charging out of the undergrowth. For a moment a glimmer of terror flashed across his face as he realised that this could very well be the end. The look faded though, Pickman casting a quick glance at the fallen body of Mallick, “Emperor give us strength. Give them all you have men!”

With that he levelled his gun once again and opened fire, not caring that his power cell was reading critical. Another Tyranid beast fell to his shots, yet two more took its place as they charged towards them. This was it. Suddenly an odd sound filled the air, a sharp crackling and a snap. Without warning a massive gout of flames shot past his left into the oncoming mass of Tyranid creatures. The screams of the dying beasts filled the air as they melted on the spot.

“The Calvary is here boys!” cried the booming voice of Dalrak as he charged forwards. Behind him ran Lynx followed closely by the rest of his squad as they left the elevator. Lynx quickly raised his lasgun, cocking the mounted grenade launcher and firing. The remaining two Krak grenades flew from the launcher, over the heads of Pickman and his men and slammed into the advancing carpet of Genestealers. The twin explosion lit up the advancing ranks in a pair of bright explosions, vaporising six of the creatures in one go.

The rest of Lynx's men quickly joined the battle, lasgun cracks finally starting to drown out the shrieking cries of the advancing Genestealers. Even so more and more of the creatures advanced, the dead simply making way for more of the living. Lynx glanced across at his men as he fired, this was not looking good. Their ammo supply was limited and if they kept coming like this they wouldn't last.

“Ah dammit!” cried Dalrak as his flamer finally ran out of fuel. He raised a hand to his chest and hit the release catch for his backpack. The empty fuel tanks quickly fell to the ground next to his discarded flamer as he swung his lasgun up instead. “Just like old times eh Lynx? How can the same gak happen to the same guy twice?”

Lynx simply grunted in response, his attention trained on the advancing Tyranid ranks. Dalrak was referring to the incident on Jilan IV, a hive world that had been on the fringe of Hive Fleet Leviathan's advance. Lynx and Dalrak had both served there in separate units before being placed together. This was different though, on Jilan IV they had had back up, ranks of Leman Russ tanks, air support from the Imperial Navy and the glory of the Space Marines. Here they was nobody but them and...

“Hatchling this is Eagle One. ETA fifteen seconds! Come in Hatching!” crackled the radio.

Ducking behind a sandbag wall, Lynx reached for the radio and answered, “Eagle One this is Hatching! By the Emperor its good to hear you. We have a major situation here! We need evac now!”

“Roger that Hatching, beginning run now.” The radio went dead, the crack of lasgun fire and the shrieks of the Tyranids now being drowned out by another noise, the roar of a twin ram thrust engine. It was only a brief moment later that an Imperial Valkyrie transport soared overhead. Lynx watched as it pulled up sharply, turned in the air and came to a stop above them. Lynx's eyes widened slightly.

“Get down!” he cried, grabbing Dalrak's arm and yanking him off the top of the sandbags he was standing on. As Lynx and Dalrak hit the floor a whooshing sound filled the air as the Valkyrie above them unloaded its payload of air to ground missiles. The small warheads covered the distance in second, twenty or so slamming into the middle of the Tyranid advance with devastating force. The shrieks of the dying creatures filled the air as the explosions ripped them to pieces. Lynx risked a glance as the explosions ended, the aftermath leaving a large gap in the middle of the staging area.

Another sound caught his ear as the second Valkyrie screamed overhead, stopping just above the cleared space. Lynx didn't need to be told what was going on, standing up sharply and waving his arm. “Everyone move! GO now! Move, move, move!” With that he made a break for it, leaping over the sandbag wall and sprinting for the rear drop ramp of the waiting Valkyrie. His men followed close behind, dropping most of their equipment as they went.

Lynx reached the ship first, the rear door already open as he arrived. He spun, ushering his men forwards as he raised his lasgun and fired into the approaching mass of Genestealers. Dalrak quickly took up a position on the other side of the door as the first of the troopers made it up the ramp and into the relative safety of the Valkyrie's hold. Above them the other Valkyrie was circling, its nose mounted multi laser pounding into the ground around the ground bound aircraft and cleaving a wave of destruction into the advancing creatures.

Soon enough the last man was aboard and not a moment too soon. Dalrak quickly swung himself up the ramp, Lynx doing the same as the Valkyrie's engines began to power up. “Go go! Get us the hell out...” began Lynx before a screech filled the air.

With an impressive leap the closest Genestealer jumped at the aircraft as its landing struts left the ground. It's claws dug into the metal decking as another took a broad swipe at anything in range. A spray of blood hit the wall as the creature's claw found its mark on Lynx's left arm tearing a long deep gouge out of the flesh. Dalrak was quick off the mark, bringing his lasgun round and firing. The flash of energy hit the creature's head, turning it into a pulpy mess before it fell to the floor and slid out the back of the transport.

Dalrak quickly flung his lasgun to the side as he knelt down next to Lynx with a worried expression on his face. “Lynx, by the Emperor are you alright?!” he said quickly as the Valkyrie began to lift into the air.

“Course I'm not alright you idiot!” growled Lynx, clutching his wound with his good hand. “Get me a damn medic now! And tell the pilot to step on it! This need reporting!”

Ok, Chapter 3 is ready. Enjoy!


Chapter 3 – Preparations

The Chimera transport rocked unpredictably from side to side as it made it way down the uneven road. Lynx didn’t even seem to notice or more to the point he didn’t care. A scowl sat heavily on his face that blotted out all other emotions and created a very tense atmosphere inside the vehicle. Nearby Dalrak sat in thought, absently toying with his harness as he did. The other occupants of the vehicle hadn’t made eye contact with either of them throughout the entire journey and all looked a little on edge. It wasn’t uncommon for Lynx to get angry but nobody liked to be on the receiving end of such emotions. Since they had departed everyone had fulfilled their duties to the best of their abilities and beyond and still it hadn’t been enough to quash the monster that resided in Lynx’s mind.

The cause of such emotions occurred the previous day upon their return from Sector 19. Lynx was still running the entire thing round and round in his head and the taste had yet to be anything but sour.

-----------------------------

“Where in the name of the Emperor did those Tyranids come from?!” demanded Lynx as he slammed his fist down on the desk.

“Sergeant Soran sit down!” hissed Commissar Tiberus from his left, “You're a veteran but you forget yourself!”

Lynx looked round at him with a face of thunder. The commissar sat in his own seat with a glare on his face that was directed straight at Lynx, his left eye twitching involuntary. The scowl slowly faded from Lynx's face as he settled himself back into his seat. His left arm was now strapped up in an emergency splint and plenty of bandages. The wound from the Genestealer was deep, cutting straight through muscle and bone. The medics had remarked they had been surprised to see his arm still attached.

Letting his attention return to the situation at hand he looked up the table in front of him. To his left and right sat a series of assembled lords and various Imperial Guard personnel. The head of the table was occupied by the Governor General of the planet, one Rickus Baristine. He was a rich snob, normally only concerned with maintaining his quotas and profits above all else. Lynx didn't care about that right now though, all he wanted was some clear responses.

Rickus slowly looked up from his seat and stared right at Lynx. The sergeant returned the favour; unwilling to back down. Eventually the expression on Rickus' face changed and he laughed slightly.

“What Tyranids?” he asked plainly.

Lynx was momentarily stunned, this he hadn't expected. “S-sir..?”

“What Tyranids Sergeant? There is no evidence to support your claims at all.”

Lynx felt his blood boil in his veins, typical bureaucratic idiocy. “I'm to assume the wound to my arm is insufficient sir? We killed at least twenty Tyranids at the outpost in Sector nineteen, both outside and inside.”

Rickus shook his head slowly, “That is all well and good Sergeant but there are no physical remains left for us to confirm this. We've already dispatched a research team to Sector nineteen and so far they cannot find any evidence to back up your claims.”

Lynx was back on his feet in an instant, “Well you had better send another team that actually has eyes! I was there and I'm telling you that there were Tyranids!”

“Sergeant Soran SIT down!” came a hissing response to his side; Tiberus was speaking yet again.

“I'm not quite sure what you saw Sergeant but it wasn't Tyranids. Unless you have hard proof then I refuse to entertain your delusions for one second longer! You're dismissed!”

Lynx clenched his fist hard and ground his teeth as he stared at the planetary governor. After a moment he slowly raised his hand and gave a small salute before pushing his seat back and walking away from the table. As he did he heard the conversation change topics very quickly; from the sound of it they were now discussing import taxes.

Lynx was furious. He didn't know what he was more furious about though; the refusal of the Governor to listen to him or the willingness of the other lords to let it go without question. Lynx had suffered his own share of Imperial dogma in the past and he was no great lover of the upper echelons of the chain of command. All they cared about was maintaining their own safe lifestyle; if anything threatened that it either disappeared or was rebuffed. He stormed from the building in disgust, slamming every door along the way hard.

------------------------------

Lynx growled as the memory ended and he was brought back to the interior of the Chimera. He looked up, briefly catching the gaze of a young private sat opposite him. The private quickly looked away and tried to look busy; Lynx just shook his head and scanned across the rest of the occupants. His gaze finally levelled on Dalrak and he raised his right foot to kick his knee.

The impact knocked Dalrak out of his trance and snapped him back to reality moments before the Chimera gave a sudden lurch and sent everyone flying up from their seat a few inches. Unluckily for Dalrak these few inches were enough to slam his head off the cabin roof.

“Ah son of a xeno!” he spat quickly as he rubbed the back of his head and scowled at the ceiling, “Standard Template Construction is vastly overrated!”

He looked back at Lynx and gave a growling sigh before shaking his head, “Some tour this is turning out to be.”

Lynx didn’t reply for a moment, the sergeant instead twisting his left arm a little and rubbing it with his other hand. The wound inflicted by the Genestealer the day before was still fresh and wasn’t helping his mood. Thankfully the medic station had been able to save his arm and had treated it appropriately. It was still stiff though and he wasn’t able to use it for holding and lifting anything yet.

“They’re all fool,” he scowled as he absently rubbed his arm, “It’s like Calis Prime all over again.”

Calis Prime had been a hive world on the edge of Hive Fleet Leviathan’s advance. It was a barren rock who’s population toiled in the mines whilst the ruling circle lived high above in the upper spires of the residential hives. With no real bio matter on the planet the ruling body had decided the Tyranids would never attack them. However the mines of Calis Prime soon became blood baths; the bio matter the Tyranid’s were after was the population itself. It wasn’t until the Tyranid’s breached the upper spires themselves though that the ruling council finally decided that there was a problem and called for help. By the time help did arrive the entire planet’s population was dead and Calis Prime truly became a barren rock.

Lynx had been a private at the time and had been a part of the Imperial Guard unit despatched to Calis Prime. He had never forgotten the sight. An entire planet wiped out because of bureaucracy and red tape.

“Not much we can do about it now though,” replied Dalrak as he continued to rub his head.

“That’s what annoys me. They’re so concerned about meeting their quotas that anything that gets in the way conveniently disappears,” sighed Lynx.

“Like us huh? A six month guard duty patrol in Sector 12.”

Lynx didn’t reply, instead choosing to scowl at the bulkhead ahead of him.

“You know though...” started Dalrak as Lynx’s attention drifted back to him, “...maybe they are right too. We haven’t detected any Tyranid activity on all of Polaris and there’s no communication disruption outside of the system. Maybe it was a fluke.”

“A fluke?!” roared Lynx, “Tyranid’s are never a fluke! If there aren’t any here now you can damn well bet there will be! Mark my words Dalrak, this is a time bomb waiting to happen and when it does I’m gonna make sure I’m there to stuff their bureaucratic noses right up their stuck up asses!”

The rest of the trip was conducted in silence; everyone afraid to say a word lest they invoke the wrath of their sergeant. When the Chimera finally slid to a stop and the rear ramp unlocked and lowered Lynx was the first one out into the air. Sector twelve was very much like Sector nineteen. Remote and uninteresting. It was positioned on the coast on the top of a rocky outcrop that bordered the northern sea of the world. The jungle was especially thick and the ground rough and rocky. The entire sector had long since been written off as a viable mining location but a guard was still required just to maintain the security perimeter around the primary mining sites. If you wanted someone out of the way then sector twelve was certainly a good choice. Nothing to report, nothing to look after, just mindless tedium day after day.

Lynx stopped at the bottom of the ramp and looked around. The thick jungle around them opened up as it approached the coast leaving a band of barren rock along the coast. Upon this rocky band sat their new home, a short stubby looking building grafted onto the rock. There were two levels with a further parapet like level above. A large antenna pointed into the sky beside the building and a rusty looking landing pad as visible beyond the dish. Several gun emplacements were visible around the perimeter of the building equipped with various weapons from heavy bolters to lascannons.

In front of the building sat two more Chimeras, each surrounded by a bustle of activity. The previous garrison was getting ready to move out and they seemed too eager to get out. As Lynx watched one of the men looked in their direction and shouted to another. The other man was holding a clipboard and seemed to be checking things of as he looked over a pile of gear. Spotting the new arrivals he lowered his clipboard and started to make his way over to Lynx.

“Sergeant Grant,” he said as he got within ear shot, throwing a short salute at Lynx as he did, “So you’re our relief?”

“Sergeant Soran,” replied Lynx as he returned the salute, “Yes we are, anything to report?”

“Not so much as a insect as lit up our perimeter in weeks. The most fun we had was about three weeks ago when one of those wild Kolba things wandered into our perimeter. Sure gave us a shock but it made a nice change to rations for a few days.”

Lynx almost rolled his eyes at the comment but managed to restrain himself. He nodded and looked back at his squad who were currently unloading their gear.

“Hope you brought some good books, you’re going to need them,” continued Grant, “We’re just about ready to pull out. Everything is in order but the generator decided to have a fit this morning so you’ll need to look at that.”

“Very well,” replied Lynx, no longer really paying the other sergeant any attention.

“Well if you’ll excuse me, I have to get my unit sorted and move out.”

Lynx gave a nod in confirmation and Grant turned and walked of. As he approached his men he began shouting about looking forward to a proper meal and some down time to which his squad replied with a few cheers.

“Well settle in boys!” came a booming voice from behind Lynx, “We’ll be here for a while.”

Lynx turned slightly to see Dalrak leading the rest of his men towards him. Behind the first one a second Chimera had stopped and was now also unloading passengers too. Dalrak stopped next to Lynx and looked over the building ahead of them.

“Looks like a good old fashioned holiday cottage doesn’t it?” he joked, “Nice of the last squad to leave us equipment.”

“It’s probably broken, no unit in their right mind would leave good equipment behind,” replied Lynx with a shake of his head.

“Always thinking on the bright side,” finished Dalrak as he stepped forwards towards the building.

Lynx and the rest of the squad followed him, each of them still looking a little jumpy from their experience the previous day. Lynx’s mind was already starting to fly round and round in circles. Why had Tyranids been here on Polaris? Why hadn’t they been detected yet? He shook his head and rubbed his temple; maybe Dalrak was right.

Stepping inside Lynx’s mind settled down a little; things looked perfectly normal. The first room they found themselves in appeared to be a store and locker room. Metal cabinets lined one wall each with their own key and name tag. The other wall held a door into the next room which was visible through a large glass window; a store room for ammunition and equipment. A further door at the far end of the room led further on into the building. The walls were all coloured the same military grade grey colour which was now covered in mud, grime and water leakage.

Lynx slowly stepped aside as his squad filled into the room and started picking out lockers for themselves. Dalrak took charge of the heavier equipment, unlocking the store room and carrying them inside with him. Lynx had to admire his strength as he carried a heavy bolter in each hand and a large ammo pack on his back. Lynx himself struggled to even lift one of the large weapons although he would never admit it.

As his squad started to relax around him and settle into their new home Lynx decided to check out the rest of the outpost. Heading for the far door he passed through and was greeted by a short corridor with doors leading off on both sides.

The first door to the left was outlined in yellow and black stripes and held a large sign on it saying ‘Warning Genatorium Room, Authorised Access Only’. Lynx decided not to bother checking this room and moved onto the next. He was promptly greeted by what he assumed was the outpost mess. It was small but ample for his squad and housed a small kitchen at the far end. The next room contained sleeping quarters with rows of bunk beds and the one after that was the shower room.

It was as he entered the last room that Dalrak arrived by his side. The door held a sign stating ‘Command Room’ and didn’t disappoint. Inside were rows of terminals connected to the dish outside and several tables in the middle of the room. One such table had a large perspex screen in the middle of it showing a map of the area highlighted with lights. All in all the equipment was sufficient for keeping watch but was currently offline.

“All the comforts of home,” said Dalrak after a moment, “The men are all settled in and currently stowing their gear now sir.”

“Good, when they’re done have Henderson and Pickman report to the Generatorium room and get us online. We’ll need light and power before it gets dark.”

“Yes sir, I’ll have Cordright and Kliff start on food too. I don’t know about you sir but I’m famished!”

With that Dalrak left the room leaving Lynx to chuckle slightly and shake his head. Dalrak certainly had a knack for defusing unease. Maybe he was right, maybe the Tyranid’s they had encountered was nothing more than a fluke. He shrugged lightly to himself, either way worrying about it now wasn’t going to help the situation. Either something would happen or it wouldn’t; but if it did he was going to make sure he was ready to deal with it.

------------------------------

“Oh Jimmy was a deep striker in the Imp Navy. Jimmy was a deep strker in the Imp Navy! Jimmy was a deep striker in the Imp Navy! He ain’t gonna drop no more!”

The song echoed around the confined hold of the Chimera with a vicious volume. Almost everyone was singing it as the vehicle made its was slowly down the jungle road. Sergeant Grant smiled to himself; he was happy, his men were happy, things were looking up. After three months sentry duty in Sector Twelve they were ready for a long and well earned break.

“Hey Sarge! Did you hear the one about the Eldar Warlock and the Librarian?”

“Yeah I did Patches, you really need some new material...I’ve heard better coming out of a Kroot’s ass!” replied Grant with a chuckle.

“Ouch Sarge! No need to flatten my ego like that,” replied Private Patches as he sat back in his seat.

“It’ll take more than that to flatten your ego Patches!” Grant looked up at his squad, “Right men?!”

The singing suddenly stopped and an agreeable cheer went up around the Chimera. Patches smirked to himself.

“Alright how about the...”

With a loud bang the Chimera suddenly rocked hard to the right and stopped. Several of the troopers were sent flying from their seats by the sudden stop and several more were slammed into the side wall. Grant picked himself up slowly rubbing his arm.

“What the blazes...?” he said to himself before hammering on the wall between the transport bay and the drivers compartment, “What the hell is going on up there? Malrow? Hey Malrow?!”

There was no response at all and Grant looked up at his squad. They were all looking a little puzzled by the situation.

“Alright, Jenkins get the door, lets see what’s going on,” ordered Grant.

A trooper near the door nodded and turned towards the door. With a few clicks he operated the mechanism and the door swung down and open. He stepped out slowly and looked around. All around the jungle rose on both sides of the dirt road, almost blotting out the light from the sun above them. The Chimera currently sat in a ditch next to the road but it wasn’t deep enough to stop it getting out. Behind them the second Chimera had stopped on the road, unable to get passed the first.

Slowly Grant and his squad exited the vehicle and made their way up to the road. Looking down at the Chimera they all saw the cause of the accident. Sticking through the front of the Chimera where the drivers compartment was were several long barbed fleshy spears. Each looked to be three or our foot long but it wasn't possible to tell exactly. They had passed straight through the armoured hull like a knife through butter and none of them needed to guess the fate that had befallen Marlow.

Grant slowly raised his weapon and looked around, an action quickly copied by his men. Slowly he made his way down to the stricken Chimera and prodded one of the spines with the tip of his lasgun. It made a squelch sound and seemed to recoil from the touch almost as if it was alive. Grant quickly stepped back and looked round at his men. They all looked confused now and a little scared.

“Alright Patches and Jenkins take point, the rest of you fan out and stay sharp. Something isn’t right here. Eigman report to second and get them ready,” said Grant quickly.

As his squad began to fan out, Private Eigman ran back to the second Chimera and banged on the hull. Grant’s squad quickly took up positions on either side of the road, weapons raised and pointing into the jungle. Patches and Jenkins stood at the front looking down the road. Grant stood in the middle of his men, turning slowly on the spot and scouring the jungle for movement. Just then an odd smell filled his senses. It smelled a little fruity but it had an almost hypnotic effect behind it. He didn’t recognise the smell at all.

Just then a sound filled the air, a kind of squelch like a wet rag being fired out of a battlecannon. Grant spun in the direction of the sound all too late. From out of the jungle behind them a single yellow coloured projectile was flying towards them. Eigman had just lowered the rear ramp of the second Chimera and was rousing second squad as the projectile landed at his feet. Within a second the object had exploded, not with a blast but with a multitude of barbed vines. They shot out in all directions, slicing straight through his flak armour and impaling him several times against the hull of the Chimera. For second squad the effects were even worse as the vines shot into the confined hold of the Chimera. All Grant could hear was the gurgled screams of his comrades as the vines ripped them apart. There wasn’t even anything for him to shoot at though apart from the jungle.

“Incoming!” came a cry from behind Grant.

He spun back to the front as Patches and Jenkins opened fire at the wave of creatures appearing out of the jungle. They ran on two back legs, a short thin tail held aloft behind them to steady their run. As they advanced their short head gave a screech and the bio gun on their forearms opened fire. The air was suddenly filled with a rain of small maggot like creatures fired from the cone shaped bio gun. At the front Jenkins watched as Patches got a face full of the small grubs. He barely had time to scream as they began burrowing into his skin and bone, eating him alive from the outside in.

Jenkins quickly looked back at the wave of creatures descending on them and lost the colour from his face. The panic only lasted a moment though as he quickly dropped his lasgun and pulled two krak grenades from his harness. He clicked the pins free and leaped forwards, throwing both grenades into the advancing horde moments before he too was struck by a volley of flesh eating worms.

Grant barely had time to issue orders as the swarm closed in around them. It was over before he even got a chance to cry out.

Well writhen, and good quality all over. Keep it coming

[Next part is ready.]

Chapter 4 – The Nightmare Realised

Lynx sat on the parapet of their new home with his feet up on the wall. His lap was covered in a few crumbs from his recent ration pack and his lasgun rested silently against the wall a few feet away. High above the sun shone down bathing the sergeant in a warm light. If the suns rays had actually contained more ultraviolet radiation he might even have started developing a tan but it was not to be. His head lolled back in his seat, his eyes shielded from the sun by a large sheet of paper that was draped over his face. He snored; loudly.

Had the location and his reason for being there been different then he may very well have been content to simply sit and enjoy himself. Yet he couldn’t relax even if everything was telling him too. His men had calmed down, each of them lounging around much like him. Duty rosters went unfulfilled and scheduled patrols largely went undone. The long range ground auspex had been silent since the day they had arrived and the signal uplink to command was as strong as ever.

Had the tyranid attack been a fluke? No! This was only the beginning...

“Finally found some quiet time eh sir?”

Lynx slowly removed the sheet of paper from his face and sat up. Dalrak stood nearby, leaning against the doorway that led down to the next level. As Lynx looked up he stepped forwards, swinging himself into a seat next to Lynx.

“Not relaxing, researching,” replied Lynx.

“Researching what?”

Dalrak reached forwards and snatched the sheet of paper from Lynx’s hand. He skimmed over it and then threw it down on a nearby table.

“Tyranid battle tactics huh?” he said after a moment with a sigh, “I’ve been trying to forget about it myself.”

“I wish I could,” replied Lynx, “But something isn’t right here and the more I try to ignore it the more it comes back and bites me. I’ve not been through a full Tyranid invasion but I’ve seen the results and we’ve both fought in the climax of one. This world is just what they’d look for...if xeno like that can think like we can.”

“It can certainly do something close. The way they worked in Sector Nineteen was just too well coordinated. If the dropships hadn’t arrived when they did we wouldn’t have made it out alive at all.”

Lynx gave a solemn nod and looked out over the jungle.

“They strike in waves, softening us up with advanced scouts and gathering intelligence before the main fleet arrives,” he said slowly.

“You think we might be facing another Hive Fleet eventually?” asked Dalrak.

“I can’t say, I’m no expert on these xeno...but part of the Imperium are still under assault from the remains of Hive Fleet Leviathan aren’t they. Maybe this is a new Hive Fleet or part of an old one, either way its bad news.”

Dalrak just nodded and looked out over the jungle with Lynx. Both of them were thinking the same thing. If this was a full scale Tyranid invasion they wouldn’t survive long. If it wasn’t what was it? A Splinter Fleet of Leviathan? Either way if the upper echelons of the Imperial Guard didn’t do anything they were all as good as dead.

“So what’s the latest news from command?” asked Lynx after a time.

Dalrak stretched in his seat and gave a small shrug, “Status quo, shipments in shipments out. There’s been no reported sightings of Tyranid’s on the whole planet.”

“Figures...I doubt they’d even register it even if there was,” replied Lynx, “That it?”

“One interesting bit of information. Turns out you’re not public enemy number one any more. You know the last sergeant that was commanding this place?”

“You mean Grant?”

“Yeah that’s the one,” replied Dalrak leaning closer, “Seems he’s gone awol with his entire platoon and taken two Chimera’s with him. There’s a warrant out for his capture, shoot on sight, deserter and all that.”

“Seriously? He didn’t strike me as a man that would do that. Sure he seemed glad to be free of his command here but if he was going to go awol why not do it when he was here?”

Dalrak gave a small nod and shrugged, “Probably got driven mad by the prospect of getting lumbered with another tour like this one. Hahah! Can’t say I blame him if he did. Still you gotta follow orders, I’ll inform the men shall I?”

“Yes,” replied Lynx as he sat up, “I think I’m going to take a small stroll.”

“No deserting now.”

Dalrak laughed as he got up, saluted and left. Lynx didn’t even bother to reply. Dalrak was too useful to discipline and he was a good friend to boot. Lynx slowly hoisted himself to his feet and stretched before picking up his gear and moving to follow Dalrak down the stairs. He wasn’t quite sure where he was going to go but sitting in one place wasn’t doing his state of mind any good.

As he descended the stairs he stretched his left arm. He could now feel it again and he was able to loosely grip items but it wasn’t fully usable yet. Every morning he woke with a stiff pain in it and it took hours for it to go away. Thankfully the warm climate made it easier to manage but the moisture in the air wasn’t helping as much. It hadn’t stopped him working out yet but he had removed the pull ups from his morning routine just in case.

He quickly passed down two flights of stairs to the ground floor. Wandering past the command centre he poked his head in to see Corporal Pickman and Private Greet with their feet up on the console. They both saluted him as they saw him but otherwise didn’t move. A moment later they went back to their game of throwing an old servo skull back and forth across the room. Lynx shook his head and moved on.

The rest of his journey was uneventful. He wandered into the barracks and checked his gear; laspistol and combat knife, lasgun and his combat webbing. He may only be going for a stroll but he had learned never to be unprepared. Even if he didn’t encounter any Tyranids some of the indigenous flora and fauna was dangerous itself.

Leaving the building he found several of his squad members playing a ball game in the dusty staging area. It was difficult to work out who was playing for who or if it was just a friendly free for all but Lynx could tell that one man had the advantage over the others. Communication Private Skilton was a clear foot taller than any of the other players, easily fifty pounds heavier and had a very bullish personality. When he got the ball the others seemed to almost shy away from him. This was probably due to his vicious charge, regardless of if he had the ball or not.

Lynx laughed and turned away. He wasn’t going to interrupt them and he preferred not to get dragged into a game right now. He moved along the side of the building and then headed up a set of steps that led up onto the top of the cliff ridge. The building itself was position just below a raised outcrop of land. Beyond the outcrop lay a set of steep cliffs that rose up from the sea below like a sheer wall. The position of the outpost meant that it could only be attacked from one direction, the jungle, but it also meant that there was only one way out. A bottle neck choke point or a massacre waiting to happen? Lynx hadn’t decided but he hoped he wouldn’t have to find out.

At the top of the outcrop Lynx stopped and looked down at the sea below. There was no guardrail or fence, just a path along the top of the ridge and the raging sea far below. The sea was relatively calm but there was a strong wind that was blowing in causing the waves near the coast to grow a little larger than they would. The sea air was refreshing but did little to take the edge of the humid jungle air.

Turning back towards the jungle itself Lynx began to wander along the edge of the cliff edge. The sheer rock wall began to fall as it left the edge of the outpost and descended into the jungle canopy. Here the huge trees and thick undergrowth extended right to the cliff edge, some of the trees sticking straight out over the sea below. The path curved away from the cliff edge and entered the jungle; a narrow track having been cut out of the undergrowth. Every few hundred meters a small metal box sat next to the path. These were auspex uplinks for the outposts sensor net. About ten of them had been placed in a circle around the bases perimeter and each had a short range ground auspex that fed data back to the bases main computer. Combined with the broad sensor sweep of the outposts main radar dish the network could detect a threat at long range and then use the ground auspex to pinpoint the source directly.

As Lynx passed each one he checked it briefly to ensure it was functioning and then moved on. To be honest Lynx didn’t like the jungle environment. It was too hot, full of bugs and made everything twice as hard to do. He preferred the landscape of his home planet of Garran Four. It was a manufactorum world on the edge of the Tempestus Segmentum. Whilst it was mostly covered in giant manufacturing plants it had some rocky mountainous areas with peaks that broke the cloud layer. The views from the top were spectacular; the smog and clouds of the plants below creating a dazzling array of colours as they reflected the suns rays. Vegetation was overrated in some respects.

Lynx was so lost in thought that he was almost sent falling head over heels as his foot snagged on something on the path. Stumbling slightly he managed to catch himself and looked back at what had caught his foot. Sitting in the middle of the path, partly submerged into the mud, was a chunk of metal. It was hard to tell what it had actually come from, the edges were tattered, but it appeared to be a piece of metal casing. Lynx knelt down next to it and pulled it from the ground. Sure enough the piece of metal looked like a severed plate of armour. From the look of it it seemed the piece had been stuck in the ground for some time although not long enough for it to start to rust.

Lynx frowned and then looked up at where it could have come from. There weren't any machines in the area and it certainly looked like it was of Imperial origin. The thought hit him like a ton of bricks a moment later, the auspex scanners. Jumping to his feet he looked around again, there were none in sight and the ones he had passed up until now had been functioning fine. Looking on up the path he doubled his pace and ran ahead. It was a journey of only a few meters as the next auspex scanner came into view around the tree trunks.

As he reached it he stopped dead. The scanner was in pieces! A large gash ran from the bottom corner up the full length of the scanner and out of the top. The armour plate at the top had been buckled upwards as whatever had sliced through it had left the top of it. Looking back at the piece of armour plate in his had Lynx worked out the piece was from the top of the auspex; a piece that had been sent flying from the force of the strike. Surprisingly though the scanner still seemed to be working, lights flicking on and off inside the machine. How had it managed to survive such an impact and more to the point what had caused it.

He approached slowly and knelt down next to the scanner. Casting a look inside he found that the main power lines were still connected and supplying power to the scanner array. The array itself however was in several pieces across the jungle floor. In essence the scanner was still working but could no longer scan creating a hole in their defence line they wouldn't even know about until they tried to use it.

Lynx didn't have to think twice, he turned and set off at a run down the jungle path towards the outpost. What it was that had caused this reaction wasn't important to him; perhaps it was the sudden feeling of dread in his stomach or the sweet pungent smell that was starting to fill his senses...

Lynx ducked suddenly, falling to the ground and rolling as something shot from the undergrowth to his right. It leaped with a screech and a multitude of flailing clawed limbs, missing Lynx by a hair and slamming into a tree on his other side. The creature screeched again and spun quickly towards Lynx. The sergeant was already looking back at the creature from his position on the ground. There was no time to draw his lasgun but his pistol made for an excellent second choice. He drew it in a flash, not even bothering to aim as he began to fire indiscriminately towards the creature. The red flashes of lasgun fire lit up the jungle floor, one after another slamming into the creature's small and nimble body. It fell with a screech, flailing back and forth a few times before it finally fell silent.

Another screech filled the air though, quickly followed by several more. Lynx's actions were quick and fluid. He rolled to his side and pushed himself to his knees. As he did he swung his hand out and grabbed the neck of the now dead creature before digging his feet into the ground and setting off at a run once again. He quickly checked his laspistol's power charge, it read 76%. His initial volley had eaten a good chunk of the pistols power.

The screeches behind him were closer now, Lynx feeling the hairs on his neck stand up on end as he ran. Just then another creature burst from the undergrowth to his left. It was just like the first, long and thin with powerful hind legs and a pair of large razor sharp blades for forearms. It snarled loudly as it leaped towards him, Lynx getting a good look at the rows of razor sharp teeth lining its maw.

It quickly swung a bladed arm towards him, Lynx dodging to the side and swinging his pistol up again. He fired off a number of shots, a few striking to creatures body but not causing any serious damage. It leaped again, slicing down with both arms. Lynx quickly brought his other arm up, slamming the dead creature into the leaping one. The impact sent it flying to the side and impaled it on a broken tree branch. Lynx wasted no time in gunning it down before moving off at a run once again.

The screeches intensified behind him, yet more creatures joining the forward charge. Lynx checked his laspistol once again, 57%, it was draining fast. He brought his hand up to his collar and his his radio button. It crackled as static filled the airwaves.

“This is Sergeant Soran to Outpost 26! Repeat Sergeant Soran to Outpost 26! I'm under attack by Tyranid creatures! Full alert, repeat full alert. Ready our Chimeras and prepare for evac immediately!”

Lynx didn't even know if his message had gotten through, his radio had taken a few knocks due to the fights he had been in up until now and the airwaves hadn't cleared of static the whole time he had been speaking. There was no time to worry about it though, the outpost was near and he had to make it.

Ducking under a low hanging tree he heard a rustle from both sides. A moment later two creatures burst from the foliage towards him. He quickly threw the dead creature in his hand at one of them and fired at the second. This time he missed and the second creature swung hard and fast towards him. He barely had time to stop running as the scything blade severed the strap holding his lasgun to his back and tore a gash across the front of his armour. Pain flared in his chest as blood started to seep from the new wound. His armour had taken the worst of it but the tip of the blade had still sliced into his skin carving a long bloody tear across it.

The first creature had simply slashed at its dead kin, ripping its body into clean in half and causing a spray of black ichor to splatter everywhere. A second spray hit the jungle floor as Lynx's newly drawn combat knife sliced straight through the creatures neck. The headless body fell to the floor with a thud, flailing back and forth in its death throws.

The second creature was already back on top of him though as he finished his swipe. There was no time to dodge this attack though and Lynx braced himself for the killing blow. It never came. Instead there was a shrill blast and the creatures head exploded in a spray of black ichor and fell to the floor dead. Lynx was momentarily stunned, what had just happened.

Another screech filled the air and two more creatures leaped from the undergrowth towards him. A moment later two more sharp blasts filled as a twin red streak flew through the air. Each struck one of the leaping creatures with the same effect, one sliced one of the creatures clean in half and the other ripped its head and neck from its body.

Lynx was on his feet a moment later as more screeches and blasts filled the air. He didn't look back, he just ran. Up ahead the trees began to thin and slowly the large shape of the outpost came into view. As he finally cleared the tree line he saw his saviours. Pickman and Greet, the two men who had been in the radio room when he had passed by it earlier, were knelt braced on the ground with a matching set of long las sniper rifles gripped in their hands. They fired again as Lynx cleared the forest, screeches echoing from the forest.

“We have ourselves a major bug problem sir,” shouted Pickman over the sound of the long las fire.

“I can see that you smart ass,” replied Lynx as he came to a stop next to them, “We need to evac now.”

“Dalrak and second squad are bringing our ride round right now sir,” replied Pickman as he fired another shot, his eye never leaving the scope, “First squad prepare to fire!”

Around Pickman and Greet the rest of first squad knelt with lasguns in hand. The skittering bugs still hadn't got close enough to the outpost yet but their numbers were now starting to overwhelm the limited long las fire pounding into them. It was only a matter of time though as more and more of the creatures finally broke the jungle perimeter and started to scream towards Lynx's unit.

“Hormagaunts!” spat Pickman as he finally dropped his long las and swung his own lasgun round his shoulder, “Check your rage and fire at will!”

The air erupted with the crack of lasgun fire as first squad opened up. Red flashes pierced the air again and again, each man putting down a controlled volley of fire into the approaching horde. The open ground in front of the outpost was soon awash with dead alien bodies but more and more emerged from the forest. It was at this point that a new sound filled the air, a lower pitched cry that was more of a roar than a screech. As Lynx's view tracked round to locate the new sound a sickly squelch filled the air and a round fleshy seed shot from the undergrowth towards the outpost.

“...Everyone get back!” cried Lynx as he dived away from the incoming projectile. His men followed suit, scrambling as best they could away from the incoming projectile. Even so some were not so lucky.

As Lynx and four of his men managed to scramble behind a ferrocrete barricade the projectile hit the ground. Almost immediately it began to expand, barbed tendrils shooting out in all directions as the seed pod ruptured. Greet was the closest to the impact point, two tendrils impaling him through the lower chest and leg. Two other men were caught in the flailing tendrils, each of them being ripped apart where they stood.

Lynx could only watch as the beast responsible for it walked out of the forest. Standing tall on two hind legs its long body ended with a pointed tail and began with a large head full of teeth. Two large bladed arms were held out above it and held under its chest was a large fleshy cannon.

“Dammit!” cursed Lynx as he swung his lasgun over the barricade and opened fire, “Tyranid Warrior!”

“With a Barbed Strangler if I'm not mistaken sir,” added Pickman as he skidded to a stop next to Lynx, “What the hell is going on here?”

“How do you expect me to know, just start shooting you...”

Just then the air was filled by the metallic clunk of shells being fired. As Lynx watched several advancing Hormagaunts were vaporised by high powered rounds. Glancing to his right as engines revs filled the air Lynx caught sight of the platoons first Chimera as it cleared the corner of the outpost. The heavy bolter mounted on the front flared as shell after shell was sent flying into the alien swarm. Next the turret mounted weapon swung into play, levelling on the advancing Warrior as the high powered multi laser fired burst of red light.

The beasts hide was thick but the punching power of the vehicle mounted weapon was undeniable. After several seconds of constant fire the beasts left side was torn from its body in a spray of black ichor. As the Chimera came to a stop it turned on the spot and levelled its heavy bolter at the stricken beast. Shots rung out across the clearing and a moment later the Warrior exploded into a cloud of body parts.

Lynx grinned broadly at the sight, giving a firm thumbs up at Dalrak as he appeared from behind the transport. All around him the swarm of Hormagaunts were going wild. Without the leadership of the Warrior they had begun fighting amongst themselves and retreating into the jungle. The task of clearing up those that remained was an easy task given the arrival of second squad and the Chimera transports.

As the sound of gunfire finally died down Lynx and Dalrak approached each other. Both wore a stern expression, their eyes flicking over the spread of corpses laid out in front of them.

“I guess we really do have a problem then,” commented Dalrak, “What do you think?”

“I think that Governor Baristine is going to get a kick in the teeth when I get back to headquarters,” replied Lynx as he stepped out into the field of corpses.

He stopped next to one of the dead Hormagaunts and pokes it with the end of his lasgun.

“That bastard wanted proof,” he begun as he knelt down to pick up the dead alien, “He's going to get it.”

[Chapter 5 is ready!]

Chapter 5 – Too Little Too Late

Lynx surveyed the men assembled before him. Remnants of his own unit with the addition of several new faces to fill the gaps. The air was tense, the new faces were casting glances at the more experienced members of the unit whilst they in turn adjusted their equipment. The situation was worse than they had imagined and news had spread quickly. Lynx just hoped that they were prepared for what was to come, he didn’t plan on letting this world become his grave.

“Lieutenant?” came a voice from behind him.

Lynx turned slowly to face the new arrival, he was a runner, a simple guardsman. He looked scared to the core; his face was whiter than normal and his hands shook as he gripped his weapon.

“Yes guardsman?” he asked calmly.

“Governor General Baristine has requested your presence at command sir,” replied the guardsman as he saluted.

Lynx just gave a nod and waved the guardsman away as he turned back to his men, “Sergeant Dalrak!”

“Sir!” replied Dalrak as he stepped forward, his shoulder now proudly showing his new rank.

“Get the men organised and prepare to move out, I want every man fully equipped for this so scrounge as many extra supplies as you can,” continued Lynx.

Dalrak just gave him a firm look and saluted as Lynx turned to walk away. Things had changed drastically in the last twenty four hours since he and his squad arrived back from Sector Twelve.

------------------------------

The Chimera skidded to a halt in front of the main administration building. It was splattered in a new layer of fresh dirt and still had pieces of metal girder bent over it from where the vehicle had slammed through the Imperial checkpoint at the entrance to the base. The rear hatch took only a moment to swing open and Lynx soon stepped out into the air once again. In his left hand was the dangling corpse of the Hormagaunt he had picked up earlier and in his other was a hot looking laspistol; its ammo counter flashing red.

He stepped down the ramp quickly and stormed towards the main building. Behind him Dalrak and the rest of his squad piled out of the Chimera and followed after him. Lynx didn’t even stop to at the security point outside the building. Even if he had it was doubtable that the guardsman would have done anything to stop him given his bloodied look and the dead alien in his grip. His mind was focussed on but one objective, the main council chambers and the Governor General Rickus Baristine.

He reached the chambers soon afterwards, the doors proving to be no obstacle as he pushed them open in one motion. Inside the Lords of Polaris were assembled discussing some matter of state. Several of them jumped up as Lynx entered including Commissar Tiberus.

“Soran!” he cried “What is the meaning of...”

“I got your evidence right here sir!” interrupted Lynx as he walked in.

Raising his left arm he threw the offending alien onto the table in the centre of the room. As the Hormagaunt landed its mangled body splattered black ichor all over. Baristine, who was sat at the head of the table, caught most of the splatter. He couldn’t say a thing, he simply stared at the dead alien in the middle of the table.

“There are Tyranids on Polaris,” finished Lynx.

------------------------------

As Lynx entered the main chamber of the command centre he found the décor had changed dramatically. The table and chairs in the middle of the room were gone and had been replaced by a large tactical map display showing the northern continent. The display was covered in various dots indicating outposts and bases connected by lines showing the defence perimeters. The rest of the room was filled with desks occupied by clerks and various military personnel. The occasional servo skull floated over head carrying vast reams of parchment.

Baristine stood next to the main display looking over the data as he entered, the Governor General casting a glance towards the door as it opened. Lynx made his way over to the display and glanced over the display himself for a moment before he spoke.

“Sector Nine has gone I see,” he said slowly.

“Yes, they stopped transmitting about twenty minutes ago. The outer defenses are just being swamped, they weren't prepared for...”

“For a Tyranid attack,” finished Lynx in a flat tone.

During the last few hours Lynx had not been afraid to lay the blame for the situation so far squarely where it belonged. Baristine had weathered the storm so far but the stress of the situation was starting to show on his face. The outer perimeters bases had been slowly falling out of communication but the full extent of the Tyranid movements was as of yet unknown.

“Are you ready to move out?” asked Baristine, seemingly ignoring the comment from Lynx.

“Ready and able sir,” replied Lynx, “First, second and third platoons are ready to move out. I've also drawn in a few elements from the 6th Recon unit and 4th Armoured.”

“Take what supplies you need and move out at your discretion.”

Lynx just gave a small nod, saluted briefly and walked off. Baristine turned his attention back to the display with a heavy sigh. Outside the building Sergeant Dalrak was leaning against a pillar of the building. As Lynx emerged they exchanged nods and set off towards the staging area in the central plaza. What greeted them was a rather miss matched collection of men and vehicles.

The reminents of Lynx's squad had been merged together with new recruits from other squads and the newer members were sat looking around nervously as the others casually checked over their equipment. Second and third platoons were also there, nearly all of them looking nervously around at each other. Behind the men sat a number of vehicles, a scout sentinel from the 6th Recon unit and an armoured sentinel and a Hellhound, the Pyre of Autumn, from the 4th Armoured.

For a moment Lynx stood and surveyed the men before him. The squad he knew was all but gone and those that were left looked worse for wear. Even Dalrak beside him was looking a little wore out and frayed around the edges. This mission wasn't going to be easy either, he just hoped it wasn't to be the death of them all.

“Alright listen up!” he called out quickly.

At his call most of the men turned and saluted, the reminents of his old squad simply looking up and casting a respectful look in his direction. Lynx quickly dismissed the salutes and continued, this was not the time to get bogged down in protocol.

“We have our next assignment,” he started, “Just over an hour ago we lost contact with Sector Twenty Three. Now before they were overrun the garrison managed to access the central ground auspex scanner array in the area and uploaded all recent scan data. Until now we've been unable to get a clear picture of the exact movements of these xenos but the arrays data enabled us to get a rough idea of where they are. Before we could receive the full broadcast though the transmission shut down. We still have a link with the array but it isn't transmitting any more, more than likely something has blown in the antenna or one of the communication nodes has burnt out.”

Lynx paused for a moment to let this information to sink in. So far the mission sounded simple but things never stayed that way.

“Our mission is to get in there and download the rest of the arrays data. The catch is that the scan data we did receive showed a large mass of Tyranid organisms approximately thirty miles from the array. This is a stealth mission as best we can make it. Get in, get the data and get out! Command has provided us with a number of Valkyrie and Vendetta transports along with two Sky Talon heavy lifters, so we'll have the support of light armour on this mission. Alright, check your gear and report to pad seven and eight, we lift off in five minutes!”

“Alright you lot, you heard the lieutenant!” cried Dalrak at such a volume that even the older member of the squad jumped slightly, “Get your gear together and prepare to move out!”

The assembled men quickly started getting their gear together in a scramble, some of them tripping over each other in their haste. Not so the men of Lynx's old squad, they just casually shouldered their guns and nodded towards Lynx himself as they moved off at a saunter. Dalrak himself turned towards Lynx and held out a side arm.

“Here, managed to pick this up from the stores,” he said with a grin.

Lynx looked down at the weapon in question and paused for a moment. It looked like a standard laspistol but for a few differences. For a start the muzzle was of a larger bore than normal and had a much more refined firing point. The power cell was also different, hanging from the gun by a thick looking power cord. Lynx couldn't believe it at first but it was.

“A hot shot pistol? Where in the Emperors name did you dig this up?” he asked Dalrak as he accepted the weapon and fixed the power pack to his belt.

“Better you didn't ask,” replied Dalrak with a smirk, “Call it one of my best scrounges. I even found a couple for the more experienced guys in first too, not to mention an extra flamer, two grenade launchers and a spare heavy bolter. That last one is already stored in our Vendetta, ain't no one getting their hands on my beauty.”

“I'm impressed Dalrak,” replied Lynx as he slotted the pistol into his holster, “Hopefully the extra loadout won't be needed but one can never tell.”

Lynx fell silent. Even with the extra armaments there was one true fact. Against a Tyranid horde you would always run out of ammo long before the swarm ran out of bodies to throw at you. Dalrak seemed to be thinking the same thing, his face contorted with a firm determination.

“Lets move,” said Lynx at length and set out towards the waiting aircraft.

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From the open rear door of is Vendetta Lynx could see the rest of the aircraft formed up in a star formation around him. To his left and right flew a pair of Valkyrie transports carrying second and third squads. They were flying low and slow over the jungle canopy to try and avoid as much attention as they could. Even so it was difficult to know exactly what attracted the Tyranids.

Behind the Valkyries came the two Sky Talons carrying their armour for the mission. Originally designed to carry much lighter loads the two aircraft seemed to be struggling to stay in the air. The noise of the vertical lift jets was audible even over the roar of the Vendettas own engines. Beneath one of the Sky Talons hung the Pyre of Autumn, its large bulk swaying back and forth in the mag grapples beneath the aircraft. Presently the aircraft dropped slightly and had to pull up sharply to avoid colliding with the treetops. The other Sky Talon carried both of the sentinels. Whilst the load was less than a fully fuelled Hellhound the strain was apparent on the aircraft too.

“Hatchling One to Talon One,” said Lynx quickly as he touched the vox unit attached to his ear, “What's your status?”

“Talon One here,” came a reply a moment later, “Estimate we have another ten minutes before we reach out maximum range. Any more than that and we won't have the fuel to get back to base.”

“Roger that Talon One. Eagle One, what's our ETA at the array?”

“Eagle One, estimate about 6 minutes until we reach it. I've locked onto the arrays transmitter frequency and am closing in.”

Lynx shut off the vox unit and nodded to himself; so far things were going as planned. Once they reached the array the Sky Talons would drop their cargo and return to base whilst the Valkyries and Vendetta would land and await the extraction of the men. That was providing everything went well. Lynx looked back into the Vendetta's hold and surveyed his men. Most were preparing for the drop in their own way. A few were stripping their weapons, others were dozing lightly, some checking their webbing.

As Lynx looked them over he couldn't help but notice the hot shot lasguns that some of his squad now wielded. A few of the newer members of the squad were eyeing the weapons with visible envy, Lynx didn't blame them in the slightest. The difference in firepower was comparable to being able to puncture the armour of a charging Carnifex and that of a measly Gaunt. Lynx seriously hoped they wouldn't meet any of the former on their mission but you could never tell when the Tyranids were involved.

Lynx glanced at his watch and then back out of the open door at the transports behind him. Standing up in the doorway he grabbed his chainsword sitting by his feet and stepped into the middle of the doorway. He tapped the vox link in his ear and spoke.

“Hatchling One to all units, set down in two minutes. Complete final checks and prepare for disembarking,” he said before tapping his ear piece again and turning towards the occupants of his own transport, “Alright, everyone up!”

Dalrak was first to his feet, the muscular man slapping his hand down on one end of his heavy bolter and hoisting it into the air. With a small grunt of exertion he planted his other hand on it and lifted the whole assembly onto his shoulder. Behind him hung the ammo pack, his rucksack straining to contain the load of rounds he had packed. A normal man wouldn't have been able to carry both the weapon and ammo alone but Dalrak was quite remarkable.

Up and down the length of the transport the other members of his squad were hoisting themselves up and double checking their gear. Lynx took a moment to check his own; his new pistol hun by his right side and his left hip was covered in a small array of various grenades. His pack was heavier than normal but then he was having to carry the power cell for his new pistol along with his regular gear so it was only natural for it to be heavier. Looking down at his right hand he brought his chainsword up and revved it twice. The weapon responded both times beautifully, the serrated teeth spinning round with a spurt of exhaust fumes.

“Hatchling One, this is Eagle One, target in sight, ETA 30 seconds,” came a message over his ear piece.

“Roger that, perform a low level pass over the area and then bring us in. Talon One and two hold position and drop as we land then report to base,” replied Lynx.

A confirmation sounded from all the addressed parties and the transport picked up a little speed. Outside the hatch the two Sky Talon crafts slowed to a halt, their engines rising in power output as they struggled to maintain lift over the jungle canopy. The two Valkyrie transports reared up slightly and then followed the Vendetta as it headed forwards towards the array.

Lynx didn't have to wait long as the scenery changed under him. The jungle slowly thinned out and was replaced by an open area of marshy grasslands. Here and there a few rocks jutted from the ground and on top of the largest one sat the array. The building itself was rather square and sat low to the ground. On its roof sat a large antenna dish that pointed directly up into the air. Around the building sat a number of small dishes in a row all pointing away to the west. The rest of the compound was full of various antenna masts, smaller out buildings and a large power genetorium plant. The entire site seemed to be deserted but Lynx was waging it wouldn't stay like that for long.

“Alright, set us down,” said Lynx, “Talon One and Two make your approach.”

At his command the Vendetta began to sink lower as it circled. There was no landing pad but the open piece of grassland did provide just enough space for the three aircraft to set down without landing in the marshy areas. With a roar of engines the three transports carefully set down on the grasslands and the men inside began to disembark. Lynx was casual about his descent to the ground, most of his squad rushing passed him as he walked down the centre of the ramp.

To the east side of the site the Sky Talons had found a suitable place to drop off their cargo. Talon One was carefully nursing the Pyre of Autumn to the ground as Lynx watched. Gingerly the tracks of the vehicle touched down and the mag grapples were released. Relieved of its burden the Talon raised gracefully into the air with ease. Talon Two was now hovering a few meters above the ground. Beneath her the pilots of the sentinels were preparing to disembark too. With a dual clank the mag grapples released and the legged walkers fell to the ground with a solid thunk. Their legs buckled under the strain of landing but soon straightened up and flexed a few times as the pilot checked the systems.

Raising into the air as a pair the two Sky Talons each gave a small wiggle of their wings and then turned away. Lynx watched as they quickly flew off over the jungle canopy, eager to get home and refuel. Lynx turned his attention to the task at hand. Turning towards Dalrak he relayed his first set of instructions.

“Alright, get second and third dug in around the perimeter. Deploy all the heavy weapons we have and set up a watch. I want that scout sentinel on long range recon, quietly; and the other can set up with second as support. The Pyre of Autumn should set up at the main gates and keep an eye on its auspex,” he said quickly.

“What about first?” asked Dalrak.

“They get the lovely job of retrieving the data we need. Have half of them cover the door and the rest can follow me inside.”

Dalrak nodded and turned sharply to relay the orders. Lynx meanwhile set out towards the main array complex. The building was even more impressive up close and for a moment Lynx stopped to admire its finer points. As he stood staring at the various antenna and dishes sticking out of the building a number of men began to form up around him as half of first platoon stopped next to him.

“Lieutenant?” asked Pickman, the Corporal now sporting a Genestealer claw in his shoulder pads.

Lynx jumped slightly and then nodded, adjusting his collar as he composed himself, “Alright, lets go.”

Heading forwards Lynx and the five men around him slowly entered the building. The air was filled with a slight humming sound from the power running along cables over head. Lighting was low but it was still there and the air seemed still and clean. There was no sight or sound of Tyranid activity inside but Lynx wasn't about to let complacency take hold.

He waved to Pickman and the Corporal quickly dished out silent orders. Two guardsmen quickly took point and everyone fell into line behind them. Slowly they moved up the corridors towards the main control room. To their left and right doors were locked from the outside and each were checked as they progressed. Everything seemed normal and under control. Despite his doubts Lynx found himself relaxing for the time being, he knew the peace wouldn't last but for now it seemed there was no real danger.

After a small handful of minutes they came to the main control room. The door hung ajar and the gentle humm of machinery could be heard inside. Lynx nodded at the door and Pickman quickly stepped forwards to open it. Tapping it open with the tip of his gun he stepped forwards into the doorway and looked around. Nothing! There was nothing there. For a moment he stood looking around the room and then took a step inside, everyone seemed to be holding their breathe.

After a good handful of second through Pickman looked over his shoulder, nodded and then lowered his weapon as he stepped into the room. Slowly the rest of the men, Lynx included, stepped forwards too and walked inside. The main room looked fairly normal. Heavy cables ran back and forth across the room, various data stores and computers blinked.

“Alright Pickman, get your mechanic in here and figure out what's been happening. I want the full setup either reconnected or the data downloaded within an hour. Either way I doubt it'll stay quiet for that length of time so move it,” said Lynx quickly.

“Sir!” replied Pickman as he turned to one of the squad members, “Alright Pike, get your gear set up and start working, fast!”

------------------------------

Outside the rest of first squad had set up a neat looking sandbag wall around the main entrance to the building. In the middle of the new wall sat Dalrak, his back resting on the bags and his left hand steadying the heavy bolter he had procured earlier in the day. His right hand held a large cigar which was lit and dropping ash as he blew out large columns of smoke.

“Sergeant Dalrak sir?”

Dalrak looked up to find a junior guardsman looking down at him from over the sandbags.

“Sir, second and third squads are dug in and prepared sir.”

“Very good guardsman, that'll be all,” replied Dalrak without moving.

Raising his cigar he placed it in the corner of his mouth and then moved his free hand to his ear and tapped his comm.

“Scout one, how's it looking?”

There was a brief pause and a crackle of static before the response came in, “Seems all quiet at the moment sir. I've taken up position about five miles east of the station and begun scanning. If anything moves out here I'll see it.”

“Very good, keep us informed.”

“Seems too quiet for my liking,” said Dalrak to himself as he cut off the comm link.

He slowly stood up and looked out over the compound. To the north side of the complex sat second platoon. They had dug in along a small ridge and behind them the armoured sentinel they had brought with them sat motionless, its autocannon trained on the jungle beyond the perimeter fence.

To the west sat third squad who had taken up residence in an old bunker. Outside to the rear of the bunker sat a mortar operated by two men of the squad and inside the bunker Dalrak knew that one lucky guardsman was training a plasma gun on the jungle. Lucky was of course a debatable opinion when it came to plasma weaponry. Sure their fire-power was intense for such a small weapon but Dalrak had already been on the receiving end of one that had overheated and he had the scars to prove it. Truthfully he didn't trust them any more.

Looking away he glanced down at the heavy bolter beside him. It was an unrefined weapon in most respects who's principal was to fill the air with as much lead as possible in as short a time as possible. Dalrak liked it though, little to go wrong baring a magazine jam and very respectable fire power. His only niggle was the rate at which it chewed through ammo and given the current enemy his concerns were even worse. Still he would rather have it than not.

As he mused to himself the vox link came alive in his ear, “Dalrak, status update.”

“Lieutenant,” replied Dalrak, snapping himself back to reality, “All squads check in fine. No contacts as yet.”

“Good, it looks like we'll have to download the data here. Seems the links to the broadcast array have corroded and it would take several hours to replace them. With luck we should have everything downloaded in about twenty minutes.”

“Roger that sir.”

Twenty minutes, Dalrak nodded to himself; that was a good short length of time. He raised his hand and tapped his vox link, “Sergeant Dalrak to all units. It seems we'll be done with the download in about twenty minutes. All units stay sharp and get ready to move out on my order.”

Various confirmations greeted him but the scout sentinel didn't respond. Concerned, Dalrak made a second more specific call, “Scout one, report! Did you receive previous transmission.”

“S-sir...”came a stuttering reply.

Dalrak felt his fingers go numb, “Guardsman report!”

“Multiple contact sir...all around me. Closing fast from the east. I'm reading several hundred....oh god! Emperor give me strength! Die you xeno sc....”

The comm suddenly shut off with a violent shriek of static. Dalrak spun towards the east violently, the rest of the squad around him going stiff as they saw the look on the sergeants face.

“Holy lords of Terra!” he said to himself, “Lieutenant! We have a problem! Contacts confirmed moving in from the east, range five miles and closing fast.”

“What?” came a stunned response over the vox link as Lynx replied, “Get all squads into position, I'll join you shortly.”

As the comm shut off another message came in from the Pyre of Autumn. The Hellhound had positioned itself to the south of the complex near the main gates to guard the rear. “Sergeant Dalrak sir, auspex reads heavy contacts approaching from the north and east..”

“Confirmed Pyre, get yourself powered up and shift positions to intercept,” replied Dalrak as he switched frequencies, “Dalrak to all squads. Contacts confirmed approaching from the north and east. All units check your ammo and prepare for assault! Eagle wing lift off and prepare to provide covering fire.”

The next few minutes were tense and still. An initial round of clicks and shouts had gone up as men had run from place to place but now it was totally silent, everyone having their weapons trained on the jungle around them. The air wasn't still for long though as a skittering sound of many legs jumping through the undergrowth began to reach them. Soon the quiet sound got louder as the feet got closer and closer. The rustling of vegetation being trampled and snapped, the snarls of alien monsters.

Lynx and most of the rest of first squad had now arrived and had dug into the sandbag defence next to Dalrak. Neither of them spoke, there was nothing to say. Presently the screeching sounds from the jungle reached a pitch and the first wave of bodies leaped from the undergrowth. No sooner had the first Hormagaunt jumped from the jungle that the air filled with the cracking of lasgun fire as second squad opened fire from their position on the ridge. A moment later the sentinel behind them opened up with its autocannon, the sound of each round firing echoing around the compound.

Explosions tore up the ground as the large calibre shells detonated, each one blowing several of the alien beasts apart. Lynx and Dalrak had their eyes trained east however as the next wave of creatures poured out of the jungle. Instead of large blades of chitin though these small beasts carried a varied array of ranged weapons, the air soon filling with alien worms and grubs as they opened fire.

First squad took a casualty almost immediately as the first salvo of shots caught an unlucky guardsman in the neck. His scream was cut short however, his throat filling with blood as the small worms set about eating straight through his neck; a moment later his head and body falling to the ground separately.

Defiant to the end Lynx stood and raised his pistol. Not caring for ammo he opened fire, the high powered shot of the hot shot pistol almost cleaving each beast in half as it hit. Dalrak was beside him in an instant. Raising the large heavy bolter he put a leg on the sandbag wall, braced himself with his other and pressed the trigger. The sound was almost as bad as the autocannon, empty shells flying away to the side as each one was launched. The explosive bolts soon started to make a joke of the approaching aliens, the Gaunts being cut down in giant waves in front of the large weapon.

High above the sound of the hovering Valkyrie engines was lost amongst the sounds of alien shrieks and gunfire. Whilst the Vendetta held station above the array tower, its door mounted heavy bolters spitting yet more explosive rounds into the oncoming swarm, the two Valkyrie crafts pushed forwards. Flying over the alien horde they started a number of strafing runs, small missiles and multi laser fire slamming into the tide of bodies.

There was more to come though and from behind the mass of smaller creatures larger ones started to appear. Tyranid Warriors slid slowly from the cover of the trees, each one spitting forth various alien ammunition. Even so the stream of firepower coming from the guardsmen was just about holding the line. From above the whistle of mortar shots joined the fray as third squad turned themselves to face the incoming invaders. The Pyre of Autumn had also reached a good firing position to the side of first squad and had opened fire.

The area to the east was quickly enveloped in a burning inferno of flames. The shrieks of dying aliens filled the air as the mounted inferno cannon did what it did best. Lynx even let a smile cross over his face, they could win this, they really could.

That was until a new shriek filled the air. Lynx and Dalrak looked at each other quickly but had no time to say anything as a new beast smashed its way out of the undergrowth to the east. The creature was many times the size of a Warrior, its giant huge armour plated body supported on two powerful legs and carrying a two set of large talons; a Tyranid Carnifex. With a roar of power it charged forwards towards the wall of flames that the Pyre of Autumn had created.

“Move! Get down now!” screamed Lynx as he dived for the door into the array building.

Dalrak and the rest of his squad followed him as the beast smashed its way through the sandbag defence and onwards. Lowering its head it slammed itself into the side of the Hellhound and lifted upwards. Even the mass of the tank was no obstacle to the beast. As if it was nothing more than a paper cup the whole vehicle was sent flying sideways into the air. It spun over several times before smashing down upside down on the top of the bunker third squad had been firing from. The remaining fuel on board quickly ignited and the entire bunker was enveloped in a giant explosion.

The Carnifex roared in victory as it turned towards the array building itself. Lowering its head again it prepared to charge only to be interrupted seconds later by a triple volley of high powered lascannon fire. In the sky above then the Vendetta was doing its duty of heavy target hunting. The Carnifex slowly picked itself up off the ground, giant smoking holes punched right through its armoured carapace. It rose its head towards the Vendetta and opened its mouth.

Almost instantly the air began to vibrate as a shrill shriek echoed from its open maw. Lynx was watching from the doorway but watching was all he could do in this case. As the shriek reached a peak a bolt of highly luminous plasma shot from the creatures mouth towards the hovering transport. With no way of veering away the bolt struck home on the Vendetta's port side, cleaving a gash in the armour and ripping one of the engine intakes from its mounting before detonating.

Deprived of an engine and most of the port wing controls the Vendetta jinxed heavily to port. Lynx watched as the transport slammed into the ground outside the defence perimeter. It didn't explode. As the alien horde rushed inside Lynx wished it had, it would have been a more merciful end. Turning his attention back to the fight he tapped his ear piece.

“Franklins! Tell me you have that information! We're getting slaughtered out here!” he cried.

“Not yet sir, five more minutes for a full download. If I sever the link now it'll corrupt what I've already got,” came a frantic and nervous response.

“Dammit! Alright, get out here as soon as you can.”

Five minutes, not a chance. At this rate they'd be lucky to last half that. Looking back up at the situation Lynx narrowed his view on the stricken Carnifex in front of him. One of its legs looked to be in tatters and two of its upper limbs had been ripped off by the lascannon fire. He brought his chainsword up and fixed his pistol back into his belt. He then pulled out two krak grenades from his belt and looked ahead.

“Alright Dalrak, cover me. Get first back into a defensible position and try and clear a place for transports to set down. I'm going to waste that monster!”

Dalrak was stunned to say the least, “S-sir?! Are you mad, that thing could rip apart all of us for breakfast!”

“And if we don't rip it apart first we really will be breakfast. How much ammo do you have left?”

“Another few hundred rounds, probably a handful of seconds.”

Lynx nodded and looked out of the open door at the beast. It was trying to stand up for another charge but its leg was badly hit. This was their best chance, before it found its feet again.

“Alright Pickman you go left, take half of the men with you and try and link up with second. Give them all the support you can. Dalrak, set up first here and the rest of you men stand by on my order! When I say give that thing everything you have and don't hold back.”

Everyone nodded quickly and Lynx readied himself. With a nod he charged forwards out of the door. At the same time Pickman and three men ran from the door heading north towards the ridge second was dug in on. The Carnifex seemed to notice Pickman and his men and was turning towards them as Lynx presented himself.

“Hey, here you alien scum!” he cried as he threw one of the krak grenades at the beast.

It detonated just under the Carnifex's feet and caused it to stumble and fall. Enraged, the armoured monster turned its full attention towards Lynx and opened its mouth. Another shriek filled the air before a second bolt of highly charged plasma shot from the creature's mouth. Lynx barely had time to drop and roll as the plasma shot over head and detonated against the wall of the array. The explosion brought part of the wall down and debris slammed down in front of the door first squad was hiding inside. Lynx cursed, there went his back up fire, by the time they dug themselves out of there he'd either be toast or the beast would be.

Rolling over and pulling himself up, Lynx now ran to the side of the beast and charged towards it. Swinging his chainsword round he aimed a swipe at one of the creatures surviving limbs. It struck home nicely but the thickness of the Carnifex's armour proved too thick for the chainsword to handle. As a second bladed limb swung round towards him Lynx flattened himself to the ground and rolled under the creature.

He barely had time to pull the pin from a krak grenade and stuff it into the joint between two boney ribs on the creature's under belly before its working leg moved and delivered a powerful kick to his body. Spinning out from under the creature Lynx looked back just in time to see the grenade go off and rip a gaping chasm in the Carnifex's underside.

It roared in anger and pain, if indeed the Tyranid's had any concept of such things, and then lowered its head towards Lynx. Lynx tried to move but the kick a moment earlier seemed to have broken several of his ribs. Looking back up at the Carnifex he found it had its mouth open again and a shriek was filling the air once again. As Lynx was making his peace with the world around him a large impact rocked the ground and the Carnifex stumbled. The charged ball of plasma in its throat fired off at an angle and hit the charred remains of the Pyre of Autumn.

Pulling himself to his feet, Lynx rested on his chainsword for a moment as the pain of his injuries surged through him. What had that impact just been? They didn't have any artillery and the impact had been severe. Dismissing it he readied his chainsword, took a deep breathe and pushed himself forwards. As the pain shot through his body he screamed out, channelling the feeling into rage. Raising it above his head the Carnifex turned its head back towards him and roared a challenge of its own.

It rose its surviving bladed limbs and prepared to strike as a sudden howl filled the air. It was the noise of a Tyranid, it was much more natural, like the noise a dog might make. Lynx didn't have time to think about if though as a large muscular form darted into view between him and the Carnifex.

Standing half the height of the beast itself its body was agile but powerful. Lynx could see muscles ripple under its rich grey and white fur, a giant wolf. On its back a figure clad in ice blue armour sat poised to strike. In his hand was a large crackling hammer and his other held a broad shield with the emblem of a wolfs head on it. The Carnifex didn't even have time to roar this time as the large wolf leaped forwards into the beast. A moment later the figure on its back swung the large hammer upwards at the beasts head. As it struck a massive burst of electrical energy discharged across its body and the force of the impact severed the head from the rest of it.

Turning towards Lynx the figure became clearer to see. There was no doubt about it, it was a Space Marine. Lynx now understood what the impact had been. Looking up at the sky he saw the last of the drop pods sailing down towards the assaulted array. Looking around him he could now see the rest of drop pods and the Marine's that were charging out of them. All around him the Tyranid beasts were being ripped apart by high powered bolter fire.

Finally the extents of his injuries started to take him. His vision blurred, his legs gave out under him. With a slight groan he collapsed to the ground and everything went black.