The station had been quiet for a while but we all knew that another attack would eventually come. None of us were scared just antsy we were all ready to fend off another tau attack. There had been multiple attempts by the tau to take the station but we are the emperors finest and we know no fear.
The watch station that my kill team is guarding is watch station Skapula it is located on the dead world of Skapula and it's the last bastion of imperial resistance on the planet. The tau were constantly trying to take the station because they wanted to take apart the technology to help advance their own.
I turned around to address the kill team I was in charge of. We had been stationed here for six months and we were starting to feel the effects of constants fighting. But there had been a lull in the fighting and we had all got the rest that was dearly needed. The team all came to attention and I told them all that the tau would be back soon.
Reggie a space marine of the Salamanders space marine chapter was our expert on the defenses of this base and he was the only one who could repair any of the parts that got broken. Ashran of the imperial fists chapter was the best at setting out the defenses of the station for maximum effect. Grimfang of the space wolves was the best at hand to hand combat and the best at drinking. Marnus the expert at having a stick up there butt also known as the best at protocol he was from the ultramarines chapter. I was from the Blood Ravens I was a jack of all trades and the leader of the kill team.
The alarm klaxons blared into life spurring us all into action I started running to the command room where I could get a look at what was coming for us. The others also went to their stations. We were all pumped and ready to kill xenos scum.
When I got to the command center and looked out the large window I saw four Manta gunships hovering just outside the range of the bases lascannons and macrocannon batteries. On the ground the Tau had multiple hammerhead tanks and broadside battle suits on the ground to provide covering fire for the hundreds of fire warriors and other battle suits.
Then I started getting reports from the rest of the kill team saying that they got to their positions and could see the forces arrayed against them.
I reached forward and activated the void shields and rerouted the power to the weapon batteries. Then I called through the internal vox to give the command to raise the stations lance batteries. So far we hadn't used the lances because the tau had not sent any substantial force against. This worked out to our advantage because the tau had arrayed their forces outside the range of the las and micro cannon batteries but they were still while within the range of the lance cannons.
The lance batteries came alive and fired dark blue beams of light right at the Mantas. When the beams hit the mantas shields held for but a fraction of a second before collapsing. The beams then shredded the armor like it wasn't there and ripped a giant whole in the mantas. The mantas then fell out of the sky straight onto their own forced crushing hammerheads and battles suits alike.
Now the tau with no air support advanced into the range of the next set defenses. The las cannons started firing and ripping into the tanks and the battle suits while the micro canons blasted huge craters in the line of tau. The last defense to come online was the bolter turrets and they shredded the fire warriors. The tau then started to fall back most likely to call in reinforcements and regroup.
After a couple hours of waiting and watching the tau gather more supplies to make another push I told the team to stay alert. Then like a star falling from the sky drop pods came roaring down into the atmosphere. After the drop pods came thunderhawks and storm eagles which blasted the tau then came flying over to the station. I then told Reggie to go and open the hanger doors so that the ships could land.
Thunderhawks are very boxy and rectangular looking ships but they were made to be brutal in combat and easy to repair. The forward hatch of the thunderhawks had the omega symbol of the ultramarines on it. Then the hatches opened and out came one hundred ultramarines.
The ultramarines all came out and the tanks that were brought by them were all lined up in the hanger. Then what looked like the captain started walking in my direction. When he got to me he gave the sign of the Aquila and returned the gesture. Then I said "hello I am sergeant Lucius of the blood ravens." He replied "nice to meet you I am Captain Lysander of the ultramarines. I was on my way back to Ultramar when I got a report of a world that was almost overrun by the tau. That made me think why not help out the defenders of the world and kill a few tau while we're at it." I nodded and then walked a way to let him get back to organizing his troops.
The ultramarines ever since they got here have been running a gorilla campaign against the tau destroying all their supply convoys and munitions drops. And it was working the tau couldn't mount an offensive against the station because they had to waste so much of their troops escorting the supplies around. This allowed us to improve our defenses and dig ourselves in more to give the imperium time to send reinforcements to the system. The station is safe