Genocide
The planet Xenos III was once a thriving colony filled with people, now it was reduced to rubble. The tallest buildings in the city were now a mass of burning debris. The landscape was blackened with thick black smoke. The city had fallen under teeth and Claws of the Guants and Genestealers of the hive fleet. The Imperial positions were over run. Only a few remained, surviving against the Tyranid onslaught. On the very outskirts of the Imperial city, deep within a bunker complex a squad of Imperial Guard held out against the attack. A bunker door slammed open as screaming Guardsmen fled out into the barren landscape. In pursuit behind them a Tyranid Lictor with its four wicked shaped like talons readied for the kill, its long legs striding easily, gaining on the fleeing Guardsmen. One of the Guardsmen pulled out his pistol to fire at the beast but was too slow as it decapitated him spraying blood everywhere. A Guardsman suffocated as the Lictors feeder tendrils strapped around his head. The Lictor knelt over its victims, its feeder tendrils sucking hungrily at the bodies, collecting the D.N.A for the hive mind.
Sergeant Taylor watched from a bunker slit at the bloodbath that has just occurred. He silently swore to himself.
"Where all gonna die"
"None of us are going to get out of here alive" a private trembled as he shook in his boots. Taylor turned and shouted at the Guardsman,
"No we are not"
"We are not all going to die in this place, we must stick together at all times and we will make it through!"
He turned to his men they stared at him with trust but the spell was broken when the bunker door flew open and Captain Cardigan rushed through exclaiming, "I have received a very important message from Imperial Guard command, you must escort me to the launching zone immediately".
"There are Tyranids out there!" moaned a Guardsman.
"We wouldn't survive" shouted another.
"You have your orders men, now follow me"
"Captain we should wait, the Tyranids have not finished there attack" proclaimed the Sergeant.
"We could use the underground passage."
"Maybe the Tyranids haven't got there yet" a Guardsman said. The Guardsman led the Captain down the hatch into the tunnel and through the sealed door. The door led into a thin corridor with pipes traveling along it. The door at the end of the pipeline led into a room with a heating system. One of the pipes was damaged and had filled the room with thick white steam. Cardigan stared into the room.
"We should press on"
"I don't like the look of this sir".
"We should find another route around" Taylor suggested.
"That would take to long, and we have little time to spare".
The Guardsmen pressed on. A scraping noise caused one of the men to turn around. Through the smoke a snake-like creature darted forward at great speed. It leapt out of the smoke, slicing through the man with its six scything talons. Taylor turned to his men. "Open fire, men!"
The Guardsmen raised their lasguns and fired upon the Ravener piercing its exo-skeleton. The Ravener carved its way through two guardsmen, beheading one and griping the other with its jaws, ripping him in half. Taylor pulled out his combat knife and leapt towards the Ravener slicing into its exo-skeleton. Finally the beast fell to the floor dead.
Taylor and Cardigan stood among the dead bodies. The Sergeant cleaned off his blade and said "These beasts travel in pairs, we best hurry now".
The Sergeant and Captain ran down the hallway hearing the beast screeching not far behind them. "We've killed its mate, its mad now" shouted Taylor.
In the distance they saw the landing pad, Cardigan started sprinting forward. Captain Cardigan reached the pod and turned around towards Taylor drawing his pistol.
"I'm so sorry Sergeant, but it seems that the escape pod only has room for one, looks like you'll have to stay".
"There was no secret message was there?"
"Yes, Sergeant, I needed protection to get to the launch pad quickly".
"There's just one thing you've forgotten"
"What's that Sergeant?"
"Your pistol is out of power".
Taylor flung out his dagger piercing Cardigans shoulder. Cardigan slumped to his knees clutching his shoulder, his pistol slipping from his hand.
"Please don't leave me like this" trembled Cardigan as Taylor boarded the escape pod. As the pod took off and shot into the air, Taylor looked down to see the Ravener leap onto the screaming Captain.