The Attack
Dawn came early that morning, and the sun had just begun to rise behind a layer of pink clouds. The regiments were preparing to leave. There were men everywhere. Some were boarding dropships, others preparing weapons, mechanics were fixing tanks, but most of them were writing their wills. This would be a battle where many would end up dead, and many more wounded.
Sgt. Banks stood in front of his squad of Storm Troopers, watching them. He felt proud to lead them into battle once more, maybe for the last time. Then Jared walked up to him.
"They are scared Ed," he said.
"I know."
"What about you?"
"Jared, you've known me for 15 years now."
"You didn't answer my question Ed."
"Terrified, just like always."
"Me too."
"I'm going to talk to them," Banks said as he walked towards his squad.
Banks motioned for everyone to be quiet and listen. When he felt that everyone had his attention, he began to speak.
"Some of you I've known for a long time. Others have joined the squad over the years. I want you all to know that it has been an honor to serve with you. Look around you; these 10 men are the best in the regiment. We are the best, and we will lead the regiment into battle. Now I know what the odds are, and they are against us. Out of the 10 of us only two or three of us will survive to fight on. When we fight out there, we will choose to give ourselves better odds of survival. We will fight for the glory of the Emperor and our home world of Tarsonis. We will pull through, even if we think all is lost. We will pull through no matter the cost!"
"UH-RA," the storm troopers cheered as they picked up their gear in unison and marched to their dropship. As they did this Colonel Commissar Federov watched them, full of the pride that he was able to command them.
"The ground forces are beginning the assault captain," Lt. Hanson said on board the massive Gothic Class Cruiser, Emperor's Wrath.
"Good, send a message to the rest of the fleet and the Black Hawk. Tell them to attack the Hive Fleet," Fleet Captain Rocco Lampone replied.
The lieutenant sent the message and twelve green runes appeared on the screen as a sign of acknowledgement. The fleet moved out in a staggered formation. Then Lampone yelled, "All ships ready shields, arm main Lance Arrays and Torpedo Bays."
"The battle up stairs has started," Lord General Cathers said.
"Good, our forces will be in place in four minutes," Federov reported from the cockpit of his dropship.
"Proceed with the attack."
The shock as shell after shell pounded the Tyranid infested plain was unbelievable. Shells were seen flying through the air, and massive craters were forming in the ground every second. Next would come the strafing runs by the Thunder Hawks. They would soften up the Tyranid lines before the armor and infantry advanced.
Federov held up his hand; then the armor moved in, firing highly explosive shells from their cannons and firing their sponson-mounted weapons. Along side the Leman Russ and Baneblade tanks were the Brass Hawks Land Raider Crusaders. Each caring a squad of five terminators, so when the time was right they would attack the heart of the swarm.
"Sir we are ready," said one of the Commissars, "What are your orders?"
"Cease the bombardment, and send in the infantry," Federov ordered.
"This is going to be bloody."
There was a brilliant flash as the torpedoes from the imperial cruisers impacted the Hive ship. The monstrosity rocked back and forth, but was other wise unfazed by the attack. Despite the massive amounts of firepower the Imperials had, they were still hard pressed to keep up their attack in the Tyranid infested space. All around blasts of energy erupted from Lance Arrays, which seared their way through space to hit their targets.
An explosion rocked the Emperor's Wrath as glob of alien ichor smashed into the Lance Arrays.
"Captain," Lt. Hanson yelled, "We've lost main weapons."
"What about torpedoes," asked Captain Lampone.
"We have depleted our supply of torpedoes. Sir we are defenseless."
Then Lampone opened a vox channel to the entire crew, "Brave warriors of humanity, it has been an honor to serve with you upon this vessel. As some of you may know, the foul Xenos we have been fighting has taken out our weapons. We will not let this defeat us; will fulfill our duty to the Emperor of Man Kind. For the Emperor!"
"Orders sir," Hanson said.
"All ahead flank," the captain ordered. "I want you to ram that thing, and when we lodged inside of it, we will self detonate."
"Aye sir. All ahead flank."
The Emperor's Wrath lunged forward straight towards the Hive Ship. With the roar of scraping metal, the massive Gothic Class Cruiser plunged right into the middle of the Tyranid ship. Then there was a flash of blinding light, as The Emperor's Wrath exploded into a white fireball taking all the Tyranids with it. When the captains of the other Imperial ships saw this, they took off their naval caps, showing respect for the brave men who sacrificed themselves to save the planet.
"Don't let up keep firing," Banks yelled as he and his storm troopers charged into the battle, guns blazing.
Most of the Imperial guardsmen, that had charged, formed a single line across the battlefield firing constantly, and swapping places with guardsmen behind them when the needed to reload.
On the other side of the battlefield Federov watched as the battle unfolded. The infantry were doing their part, but he knew this was going to be bloody. He looked at his watch, and then at the battle, and said to himself, "This is taking too long."
Two hours into the battle, a great burst of light was seen from above the distant atmosphere. Federov knew what that was, a ship exploding. Then he heard rumbling, so he looked up to see seven droppods hurdling towards the ground. Phase 2 of the battle was about to commence.