Authors Note: Well still no reviews.. so here is the next chapter yes it is not the awsome war yet that i was telling you about but it is necessary to the story to give you some details about the huge size of the invasion. Also if u notice that special character in the story i just had to, he'll be important later on i promise :D!And dont worry next chapter it where the war REALLY begins. Lord Magos Jadinar
The planet of Yanir was one ugly rock, thought Admiral Decca, commander of the Emperor's Paladin Gothic Class Cruiser.
He watched as Imperial Guard dropped through the atmosphere towards their objectives on the ground below, orbital defense fire slashed up from the planet with blinding brightness and size. Shooting inbetween Imperial Ships with a closeness that was too close for comfort.
He saw drop ships explode and be obliterated as they were touched by the defense fire coming from the Tau held cities and fortresses.
He had seen many battles but the sheer size of this engagement against the Tau was still staggering to the Admiral. The Lord-General must have shipped in over 14 regiments of Laotian Infantry alone, not even including the armored Laotian regiments.
The Tau have picked the worng planet to conquer.
He turned from the sight of thousands of navy troopships falling to the planet below and looked at the command deck below him.
He saw naval ratings, Mechanicus adepts and armsmen bustling about the floor. Servitors were wired into their stations performing their intended mundane duties that helped keep the ship running with limitless efficiency.
He then said aloud to one of the Mechanicus adepts to show him the 3-D holoscreen of the space battle that was taking place in the orbit of Yanir. He watched as the Imperial cruisers Reamer and Crux loosed their payload of attack craft housed in their bays on the Tau ships that were positioned just on the other side of the Imperial Fleet.
He snarled in disgust at the abominable xenos that he was facing in combat. The new empire of the Tau was spreading rapidly across the universe securing itself as a soon to be galactic superpower. Every race they came across was offered the choice to join the "Greater Good" or then fight a war with the Tau and join the Greater Good.
Decca gave a sneer at the thought, join or be conquered and join, the Tau's Greater Good was just an excuse for power. They even had the impunity to subjugate the human race, the undoubted superior race of the universe!
But even with their arrogance he couldn't help but be impressed by their soulless techno-sorcery, even if it was still no match for the might of the Imperium.
He saw the great Retribution Class Battleship Laotia's Might emerge from the press of Imperial ships followed by several other mighty Battleship's and a group of Cruisers along with the swarm of Frigates and Destroyers that circled around both the Cruiser's and Battleships like a plague of locusts.
He knew that the battle that would decide the fate of the men falling to the ground below was about to be started, and though it would be bloody the Imperium would win, as it always does.
He turned the intercom next to his command chair and said into the speaker, " All personnel report to battle stations, prepare for attack run we are going in!"
Below him the crew started to bustle off with frantic speed towards different parts of the deck. He then switched channels on the speaker and said, "Master of Weaponry report status of weaponry ." The speaker crackled with life as the reply came back, "All weapons are armed and ready admiral. Loading crews are in place and hulls are locked down." Decca smiled with the efficiency of the man, "Thank you Master of Weaponry rest easy for now but be ready, I will need your guns in the battle to come." "Yes sir, admiral."
He then switched channels again and saying into the speaker, "Magos Jadinar, are the void shields up and running?" A moment of static before, " Yes Admiral Decca, commander of the Gothic Class Cruiser Emperor's Paladin, all voids shield are running at 96.45% and all Life-Support systems are running at nearly 97.34%." the monotone voice that issued forth from the speaker had nothing to do with machine's inability to carry emotion through the comms.
The Magos had as much emotion in him as a recaff brewer, thought Decca wryly to himself before replying, "Thank you Magos and please inform me of any new developments." "Yes Admiral" said the Magos and signed off. Shivers went down the Admirals spine as he thought of the only vaguely humanoid shape of the age old Magos. No one knew his true age except the Magos himself and maybe some other members of the Mechanicus, and if they knew they weren't telling.
Decca turned his thoughts away from the Magos as he again looked at the tactical screen of the ongoing space battle.
It seems that the recent charge of Imperial ships had created a great swirling melee, as well as the word implies in this environment, in the Tau lines. The Admiral smiled to himself as he thought of the havoc he would wreak once he used that gap created by Fleet Commander Vont with his Battleship Laotia's Might just a moment ago, its powerful broadside batteries punding into Tau shields.
He knew that it was his time to exploit the gap, he turned to the speaker set into floor next to his command chair again and said, " Navigator Flense please maneuver us to the gap created by the Laotia's Might if you will."
He felt the ship shudder beneath him as it accelerated towards the battle, the other ships around the Admiral, mainly Cobra class Frigates, followed him.
He connected himself to the machine spirit of the Paladin now, feeling its rumbled consent through the decks as it powered through the void. He felt the tingling in his fingertips as the Gothic class cruiser's powerful lance batteries powered up and felt a electric thrill pass through his body as the broadsides and defense turrets were readied all over the ship.
The time for war was at hand, may the God Emperor's will be done. These thoughts spiraled through the Admirals head in only about 2 minutes, thanks to the fact that he was connected to the ships logistics computers now, and now all those computers could predict only one outcome for his intervention on the battle, total victory.
The world threatened to shake itself to pieces around Captain Bayern, of the many things spiraling through his head right now that was the one thing he was most certain of, besides the fact that he was going to see combat in a few moments.
The cramped interior of the troopship was like a small hell, even for the Bayern, who had experienced hundreds of similar drops in his nearly 19 year career with the 14th Laotian Griffons.
He fingered the grip of his ornate laspistol while alternately feeling along the length of his sheath for his traditional uniyyal blade. He looked around the confines of the ship noticing the nervous faces, some silent, some praying and some checking weapons. He looked next to him and saw his adjutant Nuls cradling his shotgun in his lap, his head against his chest. Bayern smiled at the sight, wondering still over all the years how Nuls could fall asleep so fast. He then looked on the other side of him seeing the dark-skinned form of the melta-gun toting trooper Lars, his gun created by master weapons smiths of Laotia to make the barrel of the thermal weapon resemble a phoenix's beak opened in a shrill cry.
He opened the vox channel to his company saying, "Platoon commanders this is Captain Bayern, status reports on respective platoons." Over the vox a myriad amount of voices that were the platoon commanders confirming his orders, except for one.
"Sergeant Uwel what the in name of the God-Emperor is the matter with your platoon?" with no small amount of frustration. " Well sir.." said the oddly non-remarkable voice of the 8th platoon commander Uwel Zas, " It seems that a few of my troopers are getting having some equipment problems sir."
"What types of problem Uwel?" A sense of embarrassment was transmitted over the comms net, " Some of my men's lasrifles parts have seemed to have…broken, sir."
Bayern was furious at the turn of events as shown by his response, "Well get them so new rifles, dam it!
"Yes sir." Bayern laid back in his seat with a sigh of resignation. Then over the intercom he heard the pilot say, "2 minutes to landing, brace for impact." Instantly the atmosphere in the room changed to barely controlled nervousness, to battle readiness. He looked around him and instead of anxious expressons he saw determination on the troopers faces around him.
He sighed again and loosened his weapons in their holders, before starting to recite a prayer to the Emperor as he headed for battle.
The first troopships that hit the ground of Yanir opened up and deployed the 1rst, 5th, 9th, 12th and 13th Laotian Infantry Regiments along with the 7th and 8th Laotian Armored Regiments and further regiments of the Cadian 143th Mobile Artillery, under the command of Lord General Nacin Hans. They were directed towards the large cities Mnaj, Khudan and Tilbaut along with the surrounding areas.
As soon as Nacin's forces started to advance they encountered stiff resistance by the Tau troops, meaning fire warriors, battle-suits, Hammerheads, Devilfish Transports, and the Tau's mighty air force. Along with their Kroot and Vespid allies plus their human auxiliaries.
All the Imperial Tacticians in the Imperial Fleet were prepared for a stiff resistance but what the Imperial forces got was nothing what they expected.
In the first hour alone of the Guard invasion the skies of Yanir were filled with blazing missiles, bursts of plasma, las and autogun fire and whistle of Earthshaker's. Hundreds of pieces of armor and aircraft flew through the air with a deafening amount of noise.
Imperial Engineers immediately started to set up fortified artillery and troopship landing zones in a matter of minutes. Soon whole camps and trenches were being established as the Guard forces pushed onwards with the relentless force.
Past the never ending chain of troopships and fortified camps, the plains of Yanir were filled craters, burning grass and thousands of bodies of both sides. The fighting was so fierce it was said that whole companies of men were destroyed in a matter of minutes within landing on the planet.
The second wave of transports arrived on the surface near the oceanic regions of the large chunk of land that was considered the only habitable part on the planet.
This force consisting of the 2nd and 6th Laotian Infantry regiments and the 13th and 21rst armored regiments, along with the 567th Grand Vostroyan Artillery and 34th and 30th Stratix started to forge towards the coastal cities, Vaegir and Dhirim.
The resistance in this region was just as furious as the one near the more inland cities if not more so, the swampy regions of the area becoming so clogged with bodies and burnt out vehicles within the first week of the invasion that the Army engineers just built makeshift bridges over the debris to reduce the time required to construct them.
Lord General Felix Durntz who commanded this theater of the war against the Tau said he would never forget the sounds of horrible battle that had come from the marshes of the southern coasts.
The last wave of the invasion was deployed towards the Northern Hive cities of Khergit, Swadia and the great capital city of Naldera.
The forces participating in the assault was the 92nd Necromundan Artillery, 213th and 678th Krastern Armored and the 10th, 11th , 3rd and 14th Laotian Infantry, along with the 45th, and 69th Laotian Armored Regiments and forces of Battle Sisters and Detachments of Mantis Warriors Space Marines.
The fight in the North was where the bloodiest battles of the entire invasion would take place, such brutality on both sides that it was at the end of the war the civilian casualties was almost 40 times higher than the military casualties of both sides combined. War had come to another planet and it was ready for blood.
Authors Note: Expect next update this Friday, maybe Saturday