Orico was supposedly beautiful once. But since he'd set foot on it , Corr had seen nothing but landscape spoiled by Tyranids, combat, and a lot of death. The rolling fields at the edge of Cardis, the capital city, had been pocked by artillery fire, spore mine explosions and countless dead. The battle in this region was nearly over, and the Chem-Dogs had come out of it surprisingly well. Of the two thousand Dogs that made planet fall, almost seventeen hundred were still upwardly mobile and only a few dozen had needed cleaning off the walls. Corr stood on a 'differently procured' PDF Salamander as it drove over the mounds of dead Tyranids. Chitin crunched under the treads and Corr smiled.

"No 'Nid like a dead 'Nid." he said as he fished a hand into his pocket for his lho sticks and put one between his lips. Mason held up his heavy flamer and Corr used the ignition flame to light his smoke.

"That sounds like something I would say, boss." Mason said. Corr smirked and exhaled a cloud of smoke at him.

"You're right. Maybe I should see Needles about that." he said. Mason waved a meaty hand at him and looked out at the blasted landscape.

"Boss, we got something up ahead." the driver called from the cab. Corr turned his attention forward and squinted in the morning sun.

"Is it the missing recon team?" he asked.

"I really doubt it." the driver responded. Corr was about to ask when he saw what he had meant.

"Mason, I'm glad you brought your flamer. We're gonna need it." Corr said. Mason stood and peered in the same direction Corr was.

Up ahead, stood three.... growths.



"The hell??" Mason muttered. Corr banged his hand hard on the Salamander.

"Stop the ride, Bash!" The Salamander skidded to a stop just a few meters from the growths. "Cut the engines!" Corr shouted. Bash complied and the Salamander engine cut out almost instantly. The growths were buzzing loudly as he opened the driver's hatch and poked his head out.

"Its a hive..." Corr muttered as he hopped down from the Salamander. Mason dropped down behind him and hefted his heavy flamer. They took a few slow steps forward and Corr pointed.

"Look." he said. Mason stopped. At the base of the hives was a body in the livery of the of the Oricon PDF, reduced to little more than bloody bones in a torn up uniform.



"That must be the recon team the colonel sent out earlier." Mason said as he scratched at the side of his nose.

"Part of it at least." Corr muttered. Corr took a step forward and the glistening tendrils that spread out from the bases of the hives twitched and pulsated, wrapping tighter around the corpse, and the noise of the hive grew louder. Corr stopped and his brow furrowed. The earth around them moved as the root system or... whatever it was, moved as the towers sensed a presence nearby. Shiny black beetles skittered from hidden pockets in the blue flesh of the hives and began to climb over its surface. Corr pulled his lho stick from his lips and flicked it at the towering growths.

"Bash. Put a call into PDF command, we need a Hellhound down here to take care of this. I doubt Mason would be able to get close enough to torch it himself."

"Sure thing, boss." Bash nodded and climbed back into the tank to make the call.

Corr strode back to the tank and climbed back up with Mason in tow.

"Where we goin'?" he asked.

"Back to camp." Corr responded. "We found the recon team. Nothing left for us to do here. Take us back, Bash." The Salamander engine roared into life and backed away from the hive growths.