The column pushed on at a quick jog this time. The guardsmen panted and sweat as

they ran more out of fear than need. Anyone who fell or tripped was almost

trampled to death as the column ran on. Up ahead the sound of engines grew

louder with it came the sounds of battle. The hum of lasgun fire and the boom of

Leman Russ battle cannons coupled with the chatter of heavy bolters and the

screams of dying men. Up ahead a break could be seen in the trees. The regiment

raced flat out now, eager to join their armor cover and oblivious to the

telltale signs of combat. As the first rank burst through the trees a shocking

scene greeted their eyes. The armor was under attack! The jungle ended in a

gentle sloping hill opening out onto a vast expanse of grassy plains. Old stone

work lay strewn around the area. Stretching out across the plains was the

Imperial Guard armor. Three Leman Russ battle tanks two Hellhounds and another

two Chimeras were formed into a crooked line heading away from the jungle. The

instant the Luxor regiment broke cover from the jungle an explosion rocked the

land throwing men to their knees. The lead Hellhound tank went up in a

tremendous explosion of fire and scrap metal. A half collapsed ruin came

crashing down onto the wrecked tank jarred loose by the explosion. The men

recovered their footing after the explosion to be led down to the main battle by

the sergeant. Gaurdsmen and penal regiments fought side by side against the

onslaught they now faced. Two armored fist squads along with another three

regular regiments of gaurdsmen fought beside three penal regiments. Each squad

had at least one heavy weapon. In addition to this another set of heavy weapon

teams was hastily unloading their gear from one of the chimera's and setting up

in the ruins a bit ahead. The entire right side of the column was hard pressed

by Tryanids. Lasfire ripped from the line of guardsmen formed behind the sparse

cover the plains offered. They traded shots with the broods of termagants about

five hundred feet away. The alien creatures wielded a sort of bone weapon that

fired high pressure acid bolts. When one hit a man, that part of his body was

almost always burned off. They slowly advanced upon the guardsmen firing shots

running forward then dropping for cover. Two zoanthropes were also visible along

with a carnifex. The vehicles searchlights lit up the area causing quite a few

of the Tryanid forces to shrink partially away from the light. The remaining

Hellhound rolled out of the line of vehicles and fired its inferno cannon at the

approaching hoard. Termagants were incinerated as a fiery cone spat forth from

the Hellhound's barrel igniting termagants and grass alike. The carnifex came

screaming across the field its four pincers snapping wildly. The Leman Russ

battle cannons gave an answering call as their turrets rotated to face the

threat and fired shells the size of a man. The carnifex dodged to the side and

kept running as the shells whizzed past harmlessly to impact with a large

cluster of rock. The carnifex smashed headfirst into the side of one of the

battle tanks rocking it dangerously. The heavy weapon teams had finished setting

up and now they let fly with everything they had aimed at the carnifex. Rockets,

Plasma, and thousands of bolter shells shattered against the carnifex's side.

The carnifex pulled away from the tank and gave a cry of rage and pain. Turning

to the guardsmen to his left he let off a roiling blast of psychic energy. The

coalescing ball of blue energy impacted with the ground its explosion covering a

squad of troopers. The soldiers were tossed high in the air and dropped like

stones into the ranks of other regiments. Their skin melting into a reddish pink

goo. Screaming and clawing at themselves they ran straight into the termagants

who promptly shot them. Another shot from one of the battle tanks slammed almost

point blank into the carnifex's chest. The creature was thrust backwards and up

almost five feet off the ground. It's body slammed into a cluster of termagants

crushing them. A zoanthrope floated forward its single hideous appendage

hovering a foot from the ground. Suddenly an invisible blast of psychic power

blasted the heavy weapon teams stationed in the ruins. Men and equipment were

pitched back off the ledges to fall screaming to the ground below. The carnifex

stood up again a ragged hole in its chest. It started to give another scream

when two more battle tank shells hit it hard, one clipping its claw the other

hitting the alien full in the face. The carnifex fell to its knees with a crash

and then let out a final scream before lasfire cauterized its remaining facial

features. The Hellhound rolled even further out blasting its inferno cannon

indiscriminately. The second zoanthrope shot a ray of energy at the Hellhound.

The beam went straight through the center of the tank melting the occupants and

burning a hole in the fuel tanks superheating the fuel which, a fraction of a

second later detonated. Luckily the tank was nowhere near any Imperial Guard

troops and only the termagants were hit by the explosion. A chimera moved

further out of the column firing its multilaser at the zoanthrope. The beast was

hit twice distorting its psychic field long enough for the remaining heavy

weapon teams to finish it off. When it died a shock wave of its power was

released. The wave hit some guardsmen. They dropped their weapons and clutched

at their faces before their brains exploded inside their skulls killing them

instantly. Without warning the termagants and the remaining zoanthrope fled the

battle melting into the shadows. A cheer went up from the guardsmen though their

victory was to be short lived.