The Old World, The Empire.
Beneath the eaves of Loren Lacoi, The Great Forest, Khorieus, the Last Lord of House Alatanrieth silently watched the small camp fire which burned before him. Despite being garbed in his enchanted Ithilmar plate armor and the thick Lion Pelt cloak, he deeply felt the night chill which surrounded him and the warmth provided by the flames was a truly welcome thing. In the quiet times such as this, his mind tended to wander to the past, to happier times which filled him with both nostalgia and melancholy.
He remembered the face of his wife, Laneleis, her smell, her voice and the centuries of being happily married to one another. It was not a perfect relationship for how could such a thing exist? But they had found a way to make it work and to remain faithful through the times both good and bad. He missed her sharp intellect, her warmth, wisdom and compassion which he had once likened in a poem to the eternal summers of Ellyrion.
In his mind, he saw the face of his son, Aranith who had been born with same the silvery white hair of Khorieus himself but also with the sea green eyes of Laneleis. He remembered the spirited child who had been his everything, the one who one day should have become the lord of their House. While his son had shared many physical similarities when compared to Khorieus, the boy had inherited more from his mother.
A slight smile creased across the lips of the High Elf as he reminisced on that one morning before, the Festival of Light, fifteen years before the Battle for Finuval. Aranith had been playing in the snow with the two War Lions, Rhagar and Rasha both of whom the Khorieus himself had personally raised and tamed since they were cubs. His son had been playing pretend that he was a wizard, steeped in the secrets of the Amber Wind and that with a word; animals followed him like soldiers before a General.
Like many children born among the Noble Houses of Ulthuan, his son had been tutored in the ways of war, statesmanship, art, wisdom and everything else which was expected from a lord of the Asur. In time, Aranith had grown to be a fairly decent rider with at least a passable degree of accuracy with a bow and could be trusted to swing a sword without hurting himself. Yet what his son truly desired was not to follow path of warrior but that of a wizard, a choice which Khorieus himself had been very supportive of.
He fondly recalled those days when his son talked about the various arcane topics he would glean from the library of their estate in the Lion March of Chrace and that spark in his eyes which filled the former lord with pride. All old memories now thought Khorieus with a sense of deep sorrow and he looked up to the dark eaves of Loren Lacoi. Slivers or Sariour's light pierced the canopies of the forest and the High Elf lord remembered how his son enjoyed studying the moon and stars as well.
Continuing to stare into the flames, Khorieus lost himself in memories of days long passed.
Elsewhere in another time…
A tense silence filled the encampment as all within it awaited the inevitable assault from behind walls of sandbags and frozen earthworks. Countless eyes remained focused on the arctic tundra where in the distance; one could see the smoke rising high into the cloudy sky along with the flurries of snow kicked up by the enemy advance. Regardless of whether the day would end in either victory or death, all in the camp knew that the coming battle would be a fierce one indeed.
Looking through a pair of captured magnoculars, Captain Sofia Tsevtkova of the Zhedevkan 13th Auxiliary Regiment, watched for the coming of the enemy from within a slit trench. Like many of the soldiers around her, she was dressed in winter camo fatigues with a white set of carapace armor worn over it and emblazoned over the left chestplate was the black and white insignia of the Tau Empire. Across the Tundra, she saw the many super heavy class, armored transports of the Imperial Guard which were also painted for winterized combat.
Of the enemy troops themselves, the Captain saw little of the grim looking guardsmen all wore trench coats and gas masks. These men who called themselves the Death Korps of Krieg were a highly fierce and fanatical group of Imperial Guardsmen who were perhaps one of the most dangerous of forces to fight. Having fought the legions of faceless soldiers in the past, the Captain knew that there would be no use in trying to get them to surrender and they would offer no mercy to the Zhedevkans or anyone in the base.
'All units prepare for battle' ordered the authoritative voice of their commander Shas'O'Kossyr who personally joined this battle within one of the newer versions of the Tau Battlesuits. The presence of the alien commander was an emboldening one for the Auxiliary troops for word had been spreading through the Por'hui media of how his Cadre had successfully dealt several recent crippling blows against the Space Marine forces on the planet.
A series of heavy thuds were heard and felt by the soldiers as the Tau Commander joined them and all looked in awe to the alien. Unlike the usual Crisis Suits used by the alien commanders, this one which O'Kossyr piloted seemed to be some new version of the heavy hitting, Broadsides. Instead of two Railguns mounted on the shoulders, it had a single powerful twin-linked one and missile launchers.
Their plan to defeat the Imperial Guard was basically a large application of Kauyon with the auxiliaries being the bait and the Tau themselves would spring the ambush. The decision to choose the Zhedevkans was perhaps a practical one for unlike most of the auxiliary forces which they fought alongside; the human soldiers were highly proficient in the ways of trench warfare. Aside from the Zhedevkans, there also were many troops from others species such as the Kroot, the Vespid, Galgs, Tarellians, most of which were none too fond of the human troops.
It was somewhat heartening to know that Shas'O'Kossyr, the one who had devised this plan in the first place, had volunteered to personally oversee the success of the mission. Still, it would have been nice though if the Tau left them with better equipment for most of the Auxiliary troops were mostly armed with the sort of weaponry which would only be effective against infantry and light vehicles. They just would have to make do with what they had decided the Captain who then heard a series of soft steps behind her.
Looking over her shoulder, the Captain saw one of their newest "allies" in this campaign. A rather tall and broad alien warrior wearing a suit of bright silvery heavy armor stood near the Captain with his gaze focused towards the approaching Imperial Guardsmen. Upon the back of the warrior was a large shell-like device which covered a pelted cape made from the hide of an unknown, white furred beast, his helmet featured icy blue eye lenses with a wild mane of white hair which danced in the cold air and it was fashioned to resembled the face of a predatory beast.
Clenched in the hands of the warrior was an elegant yet deadly looking, long-hafted axe which gleamed with a power field. Twin gun barrels extended from the shell upon his back and the Captain believed that those were the weapons which fired clouds of razor sharp wire. Across the belt of the alien were several round objects which surely must be grenades but of what sort of ordnance it used was unknown to the Captain.
The alien warrior, who belonged to the mysterious species known as the Eldar, had seemingly just appeared out of thin air hours earlier and had not bothered to explain himself to the Auxiliary troops or the Fire Commander. They allowed the Eldar to stay of course for the aliens had been fighting alongside the Tau Empire, against the Imperium forces on other warzones across the planet. The only thing this particular alien did since arriving was planting an ornate, black sword into the ground, near the Cadre Headquarters and he placed a black Space Marine helmet atop its red jeweled hilt.
So far, the only thing they knew about the Eldar was that he was some sort of Commander, an Autarch as they were called. He stood still as a statue while guarding the sword and helmet, allowing no one to come close to it for those who trained received only a threatening glare. The alien had been up to something but what, no one in the base had any idea.
It was then that the sirens began to blare and every auxiliary soldier within the camp were immediately scrambling to get into positions.
Silently watching with disdain as the various different alien underlings of the Tau rushed to their crude, yet effective defenses, the Eldar quietly awaited the coming battle with anticipation. Snow fell from the sky of this world, blanketing the region in a sea of frozen white and creating a scene of austere beauty that was marred by the primitive works of lesser species. Yet now was not the time to admire the natural beauty for there was much blood that needed to be spilled this day.
The Eldar Autarc hailed from the Craftworld of Valseris and was also the Lord of the Noble House of Alatanrieth. Carefully studying the Tau Empire soldiers which were garrisoned in the camp, he admired the pragmatism of the little aliens; to use their allied races as bait while the actual Tau themselves lay in wait for the ambush. Not wishing to let them have all the fun, the Autarch had added his own bait.
Briefly glancing towards the ugly helmet he had placed upon the hilt of the sword, he gave a slight grin of eagerness to the piece of wargear which the Space Marines engaged in this campaign seemed to hold a great deal of religious significance for. On many occasions, the Astartes had attempted to retrieve the equipment of their fallen champion who had been slain by a fellow Autarch who led an ambush alongside a Farseer and several squadrons of Guardians accompanied by Star Cannon armed Grav-Platforms. His purpose was to now draw out the enhanced human warriors and make sure that they too were caught in the trap of the Tau.
What the Council of Prophets saw in allying with the naïve aliens was beyond him but he supposed that as long as they were not shooting at him then he would not have any reason to jeopardize this transitory affiliation. His Craftworld's alliance with the Tau had proven to at least be less bothersome than anything with the Imperium for the latter could often be counted on to betray you once the common threat was gone. Speaking of which he thought, while turning his attention to the approaching Imperial Guardsmen, it may be prudent to help even the odds for the coming battle.
The mere thought of killing was enough to awaken the sentient mind within his axe, the spirit stone which was embedded into it began to eagerly glow. Soon, thought the Autarch who lifted the great weapon in a two handed grip and he sent a mental command to his Spider Jump Pack. Feel a brief moment of displacement, the Autarch suddenly then disappeared in a sharp flash of light and he was sent into the other realm of the Warp.
Patiently waiting within the open topped interior of the Gorgon Assault Carrier, Private 19524-B21 whispered a silent prayer in veneration to the God Emperor. First, he begged for the divine Master of Mankind to forgive the souls of his ancestors for their transgression during the civil war which had so ruined his home world and he asked to finally be given redemption this day. Like all born on Krieg, Private 19524-B21 had been taught from an early age, the guilt which stained the blood of his people and how the only way to absolve themselves was to serve the glory of Him on Earth.
He asked that to slay at least one enemy for there were far more Guardsmen than xenos or the their heretic helots and so by scoring just one kill, he would be able to die happily, knowing that his wasted life had cost the enemy one of their own. Looking to the gas masked faces around him, he could hear the muffled whispers of prayers from the other Krieg guardsmen. Ave Imperator, whispered 19524-B21 who finished his prayer and he looked to the loading ramp at the front of the Gorgon.
Normally during massed assaults such as this, they would have artillery units such as basilisks and manticores to pound the enemy positions but the devious xenos who dared to challenge them had wielded foul techno-sorceries to sneak behind and bypass their defenses. Many of their regiment's long range arsenal had either been destroyed by the aliens or captured by traitor forces and those few that remained were being conserved and relocated to warzones where their powerful payloads would be best used. It mattered little to the Guardsman for he had faith in the God Emperor that victory would be found this day and if his sacrifice would contribute to that victory then he would meet the Emperor's judgment with head held high.
'Incoming mortar fire!' suddenly came a voice over a Vox and several explosive shells detonated outside of the Gorgon. A hailstorm of shrapnel struck the hull of the heavy transport which easily withstood the deadly shards and protecting the guardsmen within.
'The Emperor is with us, brave sons of Krieg!' spoke another voice over the Vox which belonged to their Regiment's Colonel. 'Show no fear! No mercy! Not one step back! Ave Imperator!'
'Ave Imperator!' replied dozens of muffled voices around the Private who also mirrored the words as more explosives detonated around the Gorgon and the guardsmen within could not tell if their comrades who rode aboard the other transports fared as well as they did.
'Ten minutes!' shouted the driver and the guardsmen mentally prepared themselves for the coming battle.
The distinct chatter of Heavy Stubber ripped across the air as the gunners at the back of the transports began firing back at the enemy lines and in the mind of the Private, he visualized himself killing a mixture of xenos and traitors. His pulse began to rise as his heart began to beat like a drum and sweat began to coat the flesh beneath his uniform. Just hold on, thought the guardsman who also gave a prayer to the Gorgon's machine spirit for it was the only thing which now prevented both he and his fellows from dying ignominiously.
A sudden, sharp sound was then heard from the back of the transport which was quickly followed by a series of whistling sounds and the cries of pain. Every guardsman within the transport turned their masked faces towards the back of the Gorgon and all saw the blood which flew from turrets. Several lasrifles were immediately raised towards the rear section but due to the design of the transport, their attacker was concealed behind sturdy plates which would need something as powerful as a Lascannon to breach.
'We need to get up there!' announced a Watchmaster and a fellow guardsman at the front of the transport quickly placed a gloved hand near an emergency lever that would lower the boarding ramp.
It was then that Private 19524-B21 saw a brightly glowing sphere of energy sail from the rear platform and beneath the goggles of his mask, his eyes widened in sudden realization.
'Grenade!' shouted another Guardsman and everyone within the transport instinctively tried to find some form of cover but there was none to be found within the deck. A bright of flash of plasma energy detonated within the transport's passenger section, vaporizing several closely packed guardsmen in the blink of an eye. Such an explosion occurring so close was enough to nearly blind the Private, despite his gas mask and he only survived thanks to the bodies between him and the explosion.
Quickly reaching for one of his own grenades and planning on tossing one back at their attacker, he barely saw the other bright sphere being thrown and before he knew it, the device detonated above his helmeted head. In a single heartbeat, Private 19524-B21 and dozens more Krieg Guardsmen ceased to be, their body had been immediately reduced to ashes or charred husks. In such close confines, the Guardsmen were easy targets for the explosive ordnance of their alien attacker who suddenly appeared among them after the second explosion.
Bodies protected by flak coats were quickly reduced to gobbets of bloody and meat by a hail of monofilament wire. Those few who survived were able to get a couple of las shots which struck their attacker who was protected both by a suit of sturdy armor and a defensive shield. The powered axe of their attacker easily sliced through the armor and flesh of the guardsmen who fell like wheat before the scythe.
In less than a minute, the only living thing which remained within the Gorgon was their attacker whose pristine silvery armor was now stained with ashes and gore. After another moment, their assailant disappeared again with a flash of light and he materialized behind the driver of another transport. The guardsman barely had time to react before a glowing axe blade cleaved his head in half and the gunners on the sides were targeted by the twin pair of xeno weapons.
Another transport and its occupants suffered a similar fate as those in Private 19524-B21's and after that, another would face the same.
'Maintain fire!' shouted Commander Kossyr over the communications channel as the Tau Commander took aim with his own weapon systems. Piloting an experimental prototype variant for the Broadside Battlesuit, this particular suit had the usual shoulder mounted Railguns replaced with a pair of Smart Missile Systems and the signature weapon of it was now carried in its mechanical arms. Two drones floated near the Commander, one equipped with a shield generator to protect him and the other with a Marker Light to assist his shots.
Heavy weapons such as Kroot Guns and Bolt Throwers were used along with human made ones such as Heavy Bolters and Auto Cannons which had been set up for the coming assault. The auxiliaries also had access to a few anti-armor weapons such as Missile Launchers and Laser Cannons but these were too few to be used effectively and the plating on the Imperial transports were surprisingly durable. The strongest weapon they had at the moment was the Heavy Rail Rifle of the Fire Commander which was enough to blast large holes through the hulls of the transports and even be a serious threat to massive vehicles such as Baneblades.
The advance of the Imperial Guard's heavy transports was slow but relentless with each of the vehicles firing back with volleys of stub rounds, bolter and mortar shells which proved absolutely lethal to the lightly armored troops whose greatest defense was the cover they had. Thankfully, some of the vehicles had suddenly stopped in their tracks but there still were many which contained dozens of enemy infantry. Taking aim at another of the transports, O'Kossyr braced himself for the powerful recoil which he had mentally noted would need to be improved for the sake of future pilots.
With a single great crack of lightning, he launched a solid slug which had been fired at a hyper-velocity of such power that it blew yet another hole into the front of the transport which immediately exploded in fire, smoke and pieces of metal, the humans within, reduced to red gristle. O'Kossyr felt no sympathy for the Imperial Guard passengers inside of the transport for these particular humans who called themselves the Death Korps, were as merciless and relentless as the Necrons. At the very least, their deaths would have been swift and he turned his attention to another of the transports.
As he took aim, he saw several bright flashes of energy from the interior open topped passenger section of the transport. A sudden bright flash of light then appeared above and he briefly saw Eldar warrior who had arrived shortly earlier at the camp. Ever since the beginning of this campaign, he had grown to admire the skill of these aliens whose style of battle was far more suitable to his sensibilities than those of the Imperium's.
It was not long ago that his Cadre, in a joint operation with the Eldar, had participated in an ambush against a company of black armored Space Marines who favored close combat and in a single, decisive strike; they quite literally decapitated one of the Imperium's highest ranking officers in this campaign. Ever since then, the black armored Astartes had been desperately trying to reclaim the equipment of their champion and it was something which both the Fire Caste Contingents (of which was made up of several Cadres) and the Eldar had been using to their advantage. Having seen the black blade and the helmet which the Eldar war leader had planted, Kossyr had prior knowledge of what the alien warrior was planning and it was partly why he had drawn several Auxiliary Cadres for this specific mission.
Let the Gue'ron'sha come he thought as the transport he had been aim at suddenly halted and he knew that they would not have to worry about that one. Aiming at another transport, he was eager to test this new rail weapon against something like a Land Raider or a Dreadnought.
'Not one step back comrades!' shouted Captain Tsevtkova who now operated a tripod mounted Lascannon and she fired the powerful anti tank weapon. A bright lance of energy shot out from the barrel of the heavy gun and it struck one of the rear turrets of an Imperial Transport that would soon be upon them. The twin-linked Heavy Stubber had quickly been destroyed along with the masked guardsman who operated it.
Since their own guns were not doing enough to outright destroy the transports, she had quickly ordered for the heavy weapons teams to instead focus on the weapons of the Imperial vehicles and they had been able to have some success. In other sections of the defense line, alien auxiliary troops continued to pour fire upon the approaching enemy with varying degrees of success. It quickly dawned upon the Captain that there would be no way for her company to stop the thing and she ordered for them to fix bayonets.
Those human auxiliary troops who were not operating the heavy weapons quickly began to pull out blades which would be fitted underneath their lasguns and some even drew swords taken from slain Imperials or sharpened shovels. The approach of the massive transport could be both heard and felt for the ground began to tremble from its heavy treads and Captain knew full well that within the vehicles were dozens of fanatical enemy troops. Several explosions suddenly came from the interior of the transport and for a moment, Sofia hoped that one of the mortar teams actually managed to land a fragmentation shell inside of it.
Gunfire then began to ring out from within the open topped vehicle and it was soon followed by the death cries of several men as something was killing the guardsmen inside. A great groan of metal was then heard as the front section of the transport which was both a dozer and a board ramp, descended with a loud thud which sent up snow and dirt. Dozens of guns were raised towards the transport, each of the auxiliaries were ready to open fire upon any attacking guardsmen but what they saw, quickly stunned them.
Blood and corpses filled the interior of the transport, the bodies of dozens of masked guardsman lay scattered about in many pieces and standing in the center of the charnel scene was the Eldar. His silvery armor was now spattered in red gore, his axe was also stained in blood, despite the powerfield which surrounded it and the cold, icy blue eye lenses of the warrior fell upon them. Impossible, thought Captain Tsevtkova in horror and disbelief as her own eyes made contact with those of the alien warrior who stood within the transport, it surely must have been impossible for this single alien to kill so many men in such a short period of time.
The Eldar then a raised bloody, gauntleted hand towards them with palm facing forward, a gesture to halt.
'Hold your fire!' commanded Sofia to her fellow human auxiliaries, and those who were not too stunned by the sight were quick to obey her. Again, the ground began to tremble and Sofia saw another transport approaching a different but nearby section of the defense line which was being protected by Kroot Mercenaries. This other transport spewing out sheets of flame from sponson-mounted heavy flamers which incinerated the aliens while twin-linked Heavy Stubbers began to tear apart the avian creatures.
A sharp sound was then heard from bloodied transport and the Captain saw only the brief dissipation of a flash of light and all of a sudden, the Eldar had disappeared.
Materializing once more into the material universe, the Autarch appeared behind a masked Mon'keigh gunner and he quickly brought his power axe down with a one handed chop which split the human's head from crown to jaw and he left it embedded into the corpse. His other hand, the left one clutched a bandolier of human fragmentation grenades which he had procured from dead after running out of plasma grenades and he used his now free right hand to quickly begin pulling as many pins as possible. The loading ramp of the transport then fell forwards, clearing the way for the Mon'keigh passengers below who would then disembark in a furious charge with bayonets mounted and all guns blazing.
Hurling the bandolier down into the passenger section, the Autarch quickly reclaimed his axe and he rushed towards section of the primitive transport where the driver was located. From the open doorway, a masked guardsman came rushing out with a laser pistol held in a two handed grip and the human managed to pull off a shot which would have struck the Eldar Lord in the face section of his helmet, had he of course not been protected by his Forceshield. In response, he fired one of his two Death Spinners which were attached to his Jump Pack and the cloud of mono-filament wire quickly reduced the human into a messy pile of red meat.
Pathetic, thought the Autarch with disdain as he moved into the driver's section of the vehicle and the bandolier of fragmentation grenades he had thrown, detonated outside. Wishing that he could have seen the dozens of humans get scythed down by a hail of shards, he then exited the enclosed driver's section and he saw the second gunner who was still operating his turreted gun. Just as with the driver, the Autarch fired a hail of Mono-filament wire which ripped the human to shreds and he sent a mental command to his Jump Pack which activated again.
Disappearing once more into the Warp, he then reappeared in the passenger section of the transport which was now strewn with blood and meat. Those humans who had survived quickly raised their weapons towards the Autarch who then began to fire back with his Death Spinners. More bodies were shredded by the Mono-filaments as he charged towards the nearest group with gleaming axe raised high.
The paltry wargear of the masked human soldiers was not even enough to defend them from the Death Spinners while the Autarch's axe on the other hand was more than capable of piercing Space Marine Power Armor. Heads and limbs were sent flying with each sweep of the Eldar warrior's axe, a weapon that was closely akin to the Direswords of the Avenger Temple. A single cut was often enough to outright kill a target for if the sharp blade and powerfield did not slay then the spirit within would sever the enemy's soul from its mortal coil.
In less than a minute, every human within the transport was dead and those who survived were now engaging the avian mercenary allies of the Tau. As he was about to send out a mental command to his Jump Pack again, he was interrupted by a familiar, psychic presence within his mind.
'The Astartes approach' whispered the telepathic voice of the Farseer who had sent him here and the Autarch looked up to the sky and he saw several black drop pods descending from orbit. About time, thought the Eldar Lord who felt a rush of excitement from the animus of his axe.
Firing another Rail shot which obliterated a transport, Shas'O'Kossyr heard the mechanical voice of his suit's A.I., informing him of incoming enemy reinforcements from above. Quickly looking back, he saw several black Space Marine Drop Pods land within the interior of the base, some of which directly crashed into the roofs of the structures. From the pods, Space Marines in black armor and wearing white cloth garments which depicted a black insignia, descended from the ramps and they began to open fire on anything that was not of the Imperium.
Sighting down on one Space Marine officer who did not wear a helmet and was carrying a large banner on his back, O'Kossyr fired his Heavy Railrifle and he obliterated the human. The other Space Marines quickly began to open fire on Tau Commander but most were armed with short ranged pistols and those who did carry larger weapons were well out of the effective range of their weapons. Aiming at another Gue'ron'sha, this one he recognized as of being a medical officer, O'Kossyr fired a powerful round which left the Space Marine a bloody smear.
'Incoming dropships detected' announced the calm voic of his suit's A.I. and the Fire Commander knew that it was time to spring the trap.
'Deliver the Killing Blow!' commanded O'Kossyr over the communication channel in response and several Air Caste Barracudas which had been flying about miles away were now returning to the base at full speed to intercept the Space Marine reinforcements.
'Armored Squadrons accelerating into attack speed!' called the voice of a promising young Shas'Ui named Sheia over the same channel and elsewhere, several Hammerheads, Sky Rays, Devilfishes filled with Fire Warriors and Piranhas which had been hidden were also now speeding towards the base with the intent of attacking the Imperial Guard forces from the rear and the flanks.
Bright flashes of light appeared around the Commander who immediately knew that the defensive shields generated by his drones were being struck. The Broadside's sensors allowed him to pinpoint the source of the attacks and he found that it was from one of the attacking transports. Activating the shoulder mounted Smart Missile Systems of his suit, he fired a barrage of guided explosives towards what was attacking him and soon afterwards, he was no longer being shot at from that angle.
Keeping his focus on the Space Marines, he noticed a group of two of them trying to get the black blade and helmet left by the Eldar and Shas'O fired a shot which completely destroyed one while the other kept on moving. A bright flash of light then appeared above the remaining human and Kossyr saw the Eldar leader bring his axe down upon the helmeted head of the Space Marine. More shots then struck the Commander who turned his attention to another group of black armored humans who were advancing towards him.
Locking on to specific targets with his Missile System, O'Kossyr quietly dared the humans to keep on coming for he was ready to face them head on.
'For the Greater Good, for the Empire! Ura!' shouted Captain Tsevtkova towards her comrades and the human auxiliaries charged in to support their alien allies. On the trenches and defenses around the base, heavy fighting had broken out between the attacking Imperials and the Tau Empire auxiliary forces. The arrival of the Space Marines did not go unnoticed but words had already spread over the comms about incoming Tau Armored Divisions.
Just have to hold on, thought the Captain who carried a sniper variant of the Lasgun and she took aim at a gas masked guardsman who plunged his bayonet into the gut of Tarellian and opened fire with a fully automatic burst of laser fire. Hardly caring for any member of that particular alien species, the Captain took the shot and she saw the Imperial's head explode in a shower of gore and cooked meat. Taking aim at another Guardsman, she killed the Imperial with a shot to the chest and then a third to the neck.
By some stroke of good fortune, several of the Imperial Guard transports which had "mysteriously" halted their advance were those which would have hit the Zhedevkan sections of the defense line. Those few which did manage to make it were soon overwhelmed by the human auxiliaries in brutal close quarter engagements. Unfortunately, with the arrival of the Space Marines, the auxiliary forces now literally had much bigger problems to deal with.
'Tell everyone to turn those heavies around and focus on the Space Marines' commanded the Captain over a hand held communications device and the Zhedevkans heavy weapons teams began to move their guns. Soon, their heavy weapons which were not very effective against super heavy class vehicles, were turned towards the Space Marines whose black power armored bodies would not provide as much protection. 'Fire at will!' shouted Sofia and a barrage of Heavy Bolters, Stubbers, Autocannons and a few anti tank weapons were focused on the giant warriors.
A number of the Space Marines were cut down by the barrage of heavy weapons of the Zhedevkans who were now spreading their attention between the elite warriors of the Imperium and the attacking Guardsmen. Near the Cadre Headquarters, she saw the Eldar warrior appear out of nowhere and cleave the skull of an unsuspecting Astartes. Guessing that the alien did not need their help, she saw a bright flash of energy from around the silver armored warrior and she quickly peered into the scope of her Long-Las.
Bolter rounds struck a defensive shield around the Eldar and a group of six Space Marines wearing not only white surcoats but also red capes were approaching the alien with powered weapons. Leading these red caped Space Marines was a highly fearsome looking individual who wore a skull masked helmet and a power maul.
'Mudak' muttered Tsvetkova who quickly ejected the power cell of her rifle and she quickly reached for Hot-Shot cell which she had been saving for an emergency. Baffling her rifle upon the edge of the trench, she took aim at one of the Space Marines and she tried to get a clear shot for she had only one chance when it came to using a Hot-Shot cell. The Eldar warrior then charged, headlong into the group of Space Marines who attacked him all at once and Sofia waited for her chance to make that right shot.
A loud war cry escaped the lips of the Autarch whose voice was amplified by his helmet which incorporated psychosonic amplifiers, the same ones used by the Howling Banshee Aspect Warriors. Of the six Mon'keigh Astartes he engaged, only one was not paralyzed by the psychic scream, the Chaplain who continued to spout some angry series of curses towards him in the guttural language of the humans. Axe and Power Maul came crashing into defensive energy shields which protected both warriors and the Eldar Lord immediately knew that he would have to change his plan.
Quickly teleporting away from the Chaplain, he re-materialized a short distance away from the reach of the maul with axe held high in a two handed grip and he brought it down into the prone form of a Space Marine who was still suffering from the effects of the psychic scream. Splitting the prone human's head in twain from eyes, he immediately made another jump into to the Warp and appeared again to kill another. The Skull-masked Space Marine then began to spit even more curses at the Eldar Lord who then teleported far enough to make full use of his twin Death Spinners.
Firing a full barrage of mono-filament wires, the Autarch attempted to weaken the shield of the Chaplain who in turn drew a Bolt Pistol and began firing at Eldar. The shields of both warriors proved to be rather resilient and the Autarch cursed for not having any grenades with him. By the time the Chaplain became close enough to engage with his axe, the Eldar Lord again disappeared and he warped back to where the other Space Marines had fallen.
One Space Marine managed to get back up to his knees and sweep a powered sword towards the Autarch who expertly evaded it and with a single swipe, he decapitated the human. A loud snap of a laser weapon was heard and he glanced back to see another of the Astartes he had incapacitated fall dead with smoke coming out from the sides of his helmet. Realizing that the Space Marine would have stabbed him from behind, he briefly glanced towards where the laser shot had come from and he saw that it was where the other Mon'keigh who were aligned with the Tau had dug in.
Bolter shells exploded on his shield again and the Autarch saw the approaching form of the Chaplain who now seemed to be moving even faster. Hissing a curse, he then charged towards the one of the last other Space Marines of whom had managed to get back up to his feet and ready himself into a defensive position with Powered Shield (an actual, physical shield with a power field) raised. Activating his Jump Pack again, the Autarch teleported behind the sword and shield armed Space Marine who anticipated such a thing and he swung his sword backwards and he would have struck the Eldar Lord if he had been in a standing position.
The Autarch had instead appeared in a crouched position, the sword cut through the air above his head and he swung his axe at the Space Marine's right thigh. Power Armor screeched beneath the strike and the human gave a loud howl of pure agony as the spirit within the axe worked its deadly power, wrenching out the soul from the body. Now all that was left was the Chaplain who immediately brought his maul down upon the Autarch and the already damaged shield of the Eldar Lord collapsed.
Death would have immediately come to the Autarch had his Force Shield not partially slowed the momentum of the Power Maul's impact and it gave the Eldar Lord time to back away. Gritting his teeth in anger, he moved while firing his Death Spinners and he saw the bright flashes of energy as the Chaplain's own shield partly began to weaken. In turn, the Chaplain shot back with another pair of Bolt round, the first of which missed but the second struck part of his Jump Pack and the impact was enough to knock him down to the ground.
Hissing a harsh expletive, the Autarch quickly sent a mental command to the Jump Pack and the shell-like device along with the Twin-Death Spinners detached themselves from his back. Now armed with only his axe, the Autarch readied himself into a defensive stance with both hands holding the shaft. The Chaplain quickly pointed his bolt pistol towards the Eldar Lord and he pulled the trigger but no miniature rocket propelled explosive was shot out.
Relief flooded into the Autarch who realized that the human's pistol had run empty and he did not give the Mon'keigh a chance to reload. Sprinting towards the Chaplain with white fur cloak fully trailing behind him, the Eldar Lord felt the waves of battle rage from his axe and he allowed it to overcome him. Already having his War Mask on, the Autarch's focus became even greater as both he and the Space Marine Chaplain traded a series of furious blows.
Sweeping, parrying, slashing, hacking and dodging, the two warriors proved to be well almost equally matched. Fueled by rage and hate, they continued to fight and duel one another, close to the black sword while the empty helmet of the deceased Space Marine Champion bore silent witness to them. They both continued to shout and roar imprecations to another in their own tongues but this was where the Autarch had his advantage.
With every shout and roar, the Autarch activated the psychosonic mechanisms of his mask which was able to slightly disorient the Chaplain or ruin his concentration. He began to make mistakes at crucial moments in their duel and the Eldar Lord knew that this was his best chance at finally killing the Mon'keigh. Swinging his axe towards the gut of the Chaplain who then attempted to parry it, the Autarch suddenly gave a short but loud cry which distracted the Space Marine enough to avoid noticing the shift in direction and before he knew it, the axe bit deeply into his chest.
In that single moment, the spirit within the axe unleashed the full might of its terrible power. It severed the soul of the Space Marine from his body and the mighty, armored form of the human collapsed into the frozen ground, along with his deceased comrades. Massive explosions then detonated in the sky above as several Tau fighters along with Nightwing Interceptors which had also been waiting within the webway were now harrying the Space Marine dropships while not far away, the Tau tanks and other armored units had made their timely arrival.
Great flashes of light appeared around the Autarch, each was a shimmering, temporary disc of light which connected into the Webway. From these gates, several Aspect Warriors and Warlocks stepped through with weapons at the ready and the Farseer leading them. Dressed in his full regalia of war, the Farseer cut an impressive figure and he gave the Eldar Lord a silent nod, a signal to begin the attack.
There was still much work to be knew the Autarch who then raised his bloody axe high towards the frozen air and the War Host of Craftworld Valseris, joined the ensuing battle.
Hours later…
Stretching his limbs and feeling the chill touch of the cold air, Shas'O'Kossyr was glad to be finally out of that Broadside suit. He felt exhausted but satisfied from the battle for the Battlesuit had done remarkably well. Already making a mental composition of his report to the Earth Caste in regards to the experimental prototype, he privately wondered of the accolades he would receive from this successful operation.
They had struck a crippling blow to the Imperial forces on the planet, one which would leave them greatly undermanned and demoralized in other fronts across the planet. Looking to the grounds around the camp, he saw the dead among the auxiliaries being carefully laid out so that they could be sent back to their homeworlds while the corpses of the Imperium troops were now being devoured by the Kroot. Many great rewards and commendations would await those auxiliaries who survived while those who had given their lives to ensure the success of the Greater Good on this planet would be forever remembered.
Among the auxiliaries, he made a mental note to especially commend the Gue'vesa Cadre whose heavy weapons barrages had proven to be a major contributing factor in the defeat of the Space Marines. For now though, he was eager to get out of this frozen weather and have nice hot pack of Nim Ko'nai to celebrate. There was still a war to win over this planet and the Fire Commander knew that it will only be time until the next battle begins.
Searching among the corpse mounds of the dead Imperials for anything that could still be of use or value, the Zhedevkans and the other auxiliaries busily scavenged what they could. Among them, Captain Tsvetkova felt a conflicted sense of sadness, euphoria, regret and disgust as she lifted one gas mask from a dead Guardsman. Beneath the grim gas masks were the faces of many young men, most of them not even old enough to shave. It appalled Sofia that the Imperium would send so many youths to die like this and when she looked out towards the battlefield where thousands of corpses lay, she wondered how many were out there.
Pushing these thoughts away, she moved towards the body of one guardsman who had been shot by pulse rounds and she searched the pockets of his coat. 'Oh nice' she whispered for the Captain had found four Hot Shot Cells. Placing the cells in the pockets of her own fatigues, she then heard soft crunch of snow from and the Captain glanced back, expecting to see one of her comrades. Her eyes widened in surprise to see the silver armored, Eldar warrior again.
The other Zhedevkans metaphorically froze in place at the sight of the blood splattered warrior who in the battle had reaped such a great toll alone from among the Imperials. Deep yet lilting words were spoken by the alien who then pointed to her and it took Sofia a moment to realize that he was actually pointing at the barrel of her Long-Las which hung on her back from a strap. Lifting up weapon from her back and presenting it to the alien, she saw him give her a slight nod and another series of words which she did not understand the meaning of.
He then placed his armored hands around his helmet, and he lifted up his helmet which created a slight hiss as the air inside escaped the interior. The Eldar was a handsome, pale skinned creature with angular features, pointed ears and braided hair that was long and silvery. He regarded her with eyes that were the color of sea green and he lifted up a small hand held device which he spoke into and after a moment, his words were translated.
'You should feel honored, human for you have the gratitude of Autarch Aranith, Lord of the House of Alatanrieth, of Craftworld Valseris'…
After formally giving his thanks to the human woman who called herself Sofia, Autarch Aranith gave a slight nod to her and the other Tau-aligned Mon'keigh before leaving to rejoin his kin. He had another mission he would soon need to attend to, one of great importance to their campaign on this planet. The mere thought of more battles was enough to stir the spirit within his axe and he sent a telepathic message to calm it.
'Let us first return you home, back to Valseris, father…'
The Old World, The Empire.
Wisps of smoke rose from the campfire as the light of dawn shone through the eaves of The Great Forest. In the gauntleted right hand of Khorieus, he stared at the golden pledge ring which he had purchased so many years ago from Saphery, the only surviving one of a matching pair. It was his last reminder of the life he once had, of the wife and child who had been his sole reason for going on.
Now all he had left was his memories and the rage within his heart. His anger and hate that were the only forms of solace he could find in these last centuries. Placing the golden ring back into one of his pouches, he took a deep breath and he smelled the fetid stench of the beastmen lying in wait, the brutish things who believed that they could ambush him.
Lifting up his axe and whispering its command word, he saw the weapon ignite in pure white flames. The hunt awaited, death called and anger rose from within the High Elf named Khorieus, Last Lord of the House of Alatanrieth.