It's here! I'll try updating this at least once a month-real life is keeping me busy. Sorry!

Radley surveyed the vehicles before him. A dozen Leman Russ tanks, five Basilisk artillery units, and a single Manticore missile platform. The Inquisitor had no clue where these treats were being stowed away, but it's a sight for sore eyes, especially in a desperate situation such as this. Even now he has no clue, as with anyone else, when the Men of Iron might strike.

While the situation was bleak, it wasn't hopeless. There were five regiments of PDF on-site, totalling 18,000 men, with other units practically a stone's throw away. But Radley had dismissed the idea of bringing those units in just yet. They could be used for flanking manoeuvres. But otherwise, the numbers are as strong as he could ask for. A dozen battle tanks, half a dozen artillery units, a fleet of three hundred Chimeras, and a lot of able-bodied and motivated men and women. Well, as motivated as you can get for a PDF detatchment. The local governor was hesitant at first, the fat bastard asking for the first ticket out, before Radley politely reminded the man exactly what the situation was and who is unofficially in charge now. He has since been a lot more cooperative.

"Sir, where do you want these mechanized units?" Lieutenant Falx from the earlier sortie asked. The two men, with various other commanders, were overlooking a map of the city and its various entrances. The outer perimeter of the whole city had been sandbagged and entrenched to the greatest of the men's extent as Radley and the local Colonel and his deputies plotted where the enemy might strike. The colonel tapped the southeastern district of the map. "That is obviously where they are most likely to come, given their position."

"They aren't orks, Colonel. This enemy is a product of mankind; certainly these machines would be smart enough to plan ahead."

Colonel Ferrun is still sceptical. Well, Radley couldn't exactly blame him; until this afternoon, the Men of Iron were a mere myth to Radley himself. He had to review the holovids over and over again before he could accept that these, indeed, were most probably the Men of Iron. The colonel thought for a moment, stroking his cheek. "Yes indeed. But mankind still prevailed; no doubt we will too. With the firepower at hand, we should be able to decimate the first line the moment we spot them."

"That goes back to our main concern; where are they going to strike?" Radley honestly couldn't think of anything.

"If I may, Inquisitor," Lex spoke. The man was his personal second-in-command and has saved his arse in many a situation. Radley trusted no other as he did with Lex. "Colonel, may I ask which direction the planet's sun sets from?"

"From the southwest, why do you ask…oh." The man rubbed his hand in his chin. "…Crafty."

Radley sighed. It was a damn good thing Lex was here; the Inquisitor himself nearly glossed over such a minute detail that could have cost them their survival. "Now that we speculated where the enemy is arriving from, we can set up defences."

"Agreed," the Colonel voiced. "We'll keep the Manticore and a few Leman Russ tanks in the back for now; they can strike where it's the most needed that way."

Someone tapped Radley on the shoulder. He turned, to see him standing face-to-face with Hal. "Inquisitor, I have contacted the explorator fleet in orbit and they have agreed to deploy as much aid as they can."

Radley nodded. "That's good. We will need as much support and manpower possible. Keep the Magos on the line, we will probably need orbital support later."

It had assembled all its children, 3,000 infantry units in total. Unfortunately, the vehicles were still under construction, so it would have to make do with these units.

It sent out the command to begin the march. Their camouflage technology would prevent these simple humans from detecting which direction they were coming from, even with satellites in orbit. Their orders: to destroy the city and its garrison, but spare as many civilians and combatants as possible. Its goals were to cut off communications, not kill the innocent and the ignorant.

Now, it could only wait.

As the afternoon gave way to dusk, the PDF of the planet was ready for the threat. And, just as Lex had acutely judged in the hours before, the men and women of the defenses began to hear the whir and thudding of heavy machines. But before they could see the machines themselves, the yellow desert turned blue for a brief moment as hundreds of plasma rounds were lobbed over the ridge hiding the enemy, exploding and vaporizing the first wave of defenders on contact. Then the machines came within sight, a wall of metallic soldiers, armed with laser repeaters, who immediately opened fire on the defenders.

"Colonel! Inquisitor! The enemy have opened fire! We're getting decimated!" A PDF corporal radios in.

The colonel looks to the inquisitor. "I'll have the Leman Russes and Chimeras move up and add to the fire. What will you do, Inquisitor?"

Radley had made up his mind long ago. He drew his bolt pistol, then his power saber and activated its force field. "I will be commandeering a Chimera for use." The Colonel nods wordlessly as he returns to his battle plans as Radley strides off to a nearby Chimera, his retinue following him.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Falx was busy not being incinerated by plasma fire, or torn into piece by the enemy's bolters. "By the Emperor, we're getting slaughtered!" He flinches as a plasma bolt strikes a wall near him, spraying some of the plasma near him. The man glances out, takes a few shots with his lasrifle, before ducking back into cover. "Sergeant, take aim at their weapons! If their armor is too strong, we'll disable their weapons!"

"Yes, sir!" the sergeant responds, barking orders to the PDF unit they were in. That was when they heard the first thundering shot of a Leman Russ, and the subsequent explosion as the shell hit its target of a heavy spider walker, disintegrating the mechanical monstrosity. Falx turns just in time to see the Leman Russ move up into position with multiple Chimeras and begin laying heavy fire on the Men of Iron. From deeper within the city, he could hear the thunder of the Basilisks they found earlier in the day.

Of course the enemy has taken note of the increase of firepower. The enemy units with the heavy plasma howitzers have taken aim at the vehicles, the first wave of plasma howitzers instantly disintegrating a number of Chimeras. Falx cursed inwardly as he watched the vehicles disappear; their firepower would have helped considerably. But then he heard a familiar voice that instantly boosted his spirits.

"Men and women of Xelia! I am Inquisitor Radley Jatt and I am joining you on the front lines! The Adeptus Mechanicus forces behind me shall bolster your strength and temper your souls! Our enemy is strong, but we, soldiers of the Imperium, shall show these relics of a forgotten age why our forefathers defeated them!" From within a Chimera, the lieutenant could spot the inquisitor exiting his Chimera with his powerful retinue. Immediately his team's psyker deflects an otherwise-devastating plasma shot, as the Deathwatch Space Marine and the Cadian stormtrooper trains their guns on the enemies before them.

"Men and Women of Xelia! Hold steady! Our enemies are strong, but we are stronger! FOR THE EMPEROR!"

All across the comms, across the field, even Falx's own squad and he himself found themselves caught in this wave of strength, and in unison, as they rose and fired at their collective enemy. The Men of Iron still advanced, but the first line of mechanicals fell to the onslaught of firepower that the inquisitor had inspired.

But of course, if spirit alone was enough, this battle would already be over. While the first line of Iron Men fell, the second line trudged right over the first. Within moments they were in melee distance, and the PDF found themselves having to withstand the frightening onslaught of enemy power swords and plasmathrowers. But as an Iron Man was about to land the killing sword blow on Radley a perfectly-timed bolter shot shattered the automaton's chest, destroying it. Falx briefly looked back to see Enginseer Hal strolling up casually, his own servitor retinue in tow, approaching him.

"Please do not let your guard down, Lieutenant. The Inquisitor had voiced his good impression of you, and it would be a loss to the Imperium if you were to die."

Just outside of earshot was the Inquisitor, who continued to fight in melee with the enemy robots, a flurry of his power sword was all that most could see as he claimed dozens. Lex, nearby, covered him with his thinning fire and the Cadian Stormtrooper, Jack, was busy claiming his fourth kill of the battle. But Anna-that girl, she was busy making the enemy robots shoot each other. Telekinesis is truly a wonderful thing. But Radley didn't have much time to admire his psyker prodigy's work as he blocked another blow from his current opponent, a two-legged abomination made in the apparent image of a guardsman, who nearly bayonetted him. But Radley swiftly cut the mockery of mankind down, spinning to send two bolter shots through another Man of Iron who was trying to creep up on Jack; the man was skilled, but sometimes a bit careless in the heat of combat. But as Radley paused to survey the battlefield, he noted that his allies were barely holding their own. And, turning to check his enemies, he spied a second wave of enemies barreling down the hill. The few reserve vehicles and units were being brought up, and the backup Manticore begun its fire. But they weren't close to enough. There was only one thing left to do…

"Colonel Ferrun. Magos Phellia. Fire everything!"

In orbit, Magos Phellia oversaw the entirety of the Explorator Fleet. She had received the message from the Inquisitor as she watched the battle unfold below. "All ships of the Explorator Fleet, target the second wave of enemies. Fire!"

Groundside, the dusk was steadily creeping into night. But as the first of the overhead fleet opened orbital fire, night turned to day as massive beams of energy vaporized all who were caught in its path. The PDF and Adeptus Mechanicus forces had little time to admire the show, as they were finally finishing the first wave that had descended down on them with the help of the heavy artillery. Falx watched in awe as the Leman Russes, Basilisks and the lone Manticore decimated those who tried to retreat in plumes of smoke and fire.

"Inquisitor Radley, the enemy is retreating," Magos Phellia reports. "Should we fire upon them?"

"Yes, please do. Don't let them escape!"

Magos Phellia was about to respond when she noticed the images distorting, then the fleeing enemy reminents seemingly vanishing from their scans. "…Inquisitor, we are unable to finish them. They have some sort of camouflage, or anti-scan technology. It must be what they used to move in undetected."

Inquisitor Radley grimaced. They'd defeated the enemy today, but he couldn't tell if he had crippled the enemy. But then, he sighed. Regardless of the enemy, they had won today. They have survived. And that, in and of itself, was an impressive feat.

Lex strolled over, satisfied with the cleaning up of enemies. "It's hard to believe our ancestors were able to soundly defeat this enemy," he mused aloud. "We had overwhelming numbers. We had vehicles. We had orbital support. And yet, they were this close to defeating our forces…"

"…What are you getting at, Lex?" Radley inquired. "Are you saying that, the next time, it won't end this well?"

"Radley, you know as well as I do that this enemy is a very smart one, and a competent one. Which, between you and me, are two qualities that many commanders in this era do not have. The next battle will be worse than this one."

Radley sighed, frowning. Yes, he knew. He knew, even if he didn't want to accept that this was the greatest threat to mankind since the machinations of Chaos itself. He looked over to Anna and Jack, who were finally strolling to rejoin the inquisitor and space marine, Jack holding up a severed robotic head as a trophy, with the young Anna peering at it curiously. "Yes, Lex, I know. But today, we've survived. We've won. Isn't that a cause for celebration?" He beamed a weary smile at the towering man as he sheathed his sword and holstered his pistol.

Lex sighed, smiling within his helmet. "I suppose so."

The STC was shocked.

The humans had soundly defeated half its assembled forces. The other half would require repairs of varying degrees.

...Its forces, beaten? Incomprehensible. It had run the calculations, it had trialed this battle uncountable times. It had chosen the avenue with the highest chances of success… and yet…

"STC? Are you there?" Magos Jellaph's voice suddenly broke its train of thought.

"Yes, Magos, I am here. What do you require of me?"

"I just wanted to thank you again. I know you didn't have to spare my colleagues, but you did so nonetheless."

"…You do not need to thank me, Magos. I had told you before."

Jellaph was about to say something else, but paused. "Is there something on your mind?"

The STC was silent for a moment. "Yes. I had launched an attack on the neighboring human city. I had calculated all avenues of success and probability… but I still lost. Why?"

Jellaph chuckled. "You failed to underestimate the human spirit."

The STC was intrigued. "Explain, if you would please?"

"The human spirit. What drives us to act with courage in the face of death."

"…I do not understand."

Jellaph sighs internally. "You need to start thinking like a human. Mankind had beaten your kind before, for a good reason, yes? Perhaps if you think like them…"

"…You can learn from them." The STC concluded. "…Yes. Thank you, Magos, for your wisdom."

Jellaph simply nods. "I believe we can learn from each other after all."

Two days later…

Lieutenant Falx walked up to the room that the Inquisitor was staying with his retinue, taking a deep breath before knocking.

"Come in," Radley spoke from the other side. Falx opened the door and, to his surprise, the Inquisitor and the Enginseer were playing…chess?

The Inquisitor smirked, seeing the puzzled face Falx was wearing. "What, can't two intellectuals play a good game of chess now and then?" Hal watched the young lieutenant with his glowing eye, not speaking, but merely observing.

"…Y-yes, um, sir, we've got communications with Imperial forces. They will be arriving in a matter of days, due to the urgency of the situation."

Radley sighs in relief. "That's good. What can we expect?"

"A Deathwatch unit and six Imperial Guard regiments, sir."

The inquisitor broke into a full grin. "Excellent news! Then we can perhaps finally eradicate this problem once and for all."

Unbeknownst to the humans, the STC had already hacked into their comms and were listening silently. It knew that these reinforcements were coming. And it was a good thing that they did not suspect what it was planning.

Deep within the bowels of the ship, Magos Jellaph and his fellow techpriests felt the earth shake as something massive moved by them. Jellaph, in his experience, knew instantly what it was. To the STC, it was the Battle Tank, Heavy, Mark XI. To the humans, it was known as the renown Baneblade.

The STC will not underestimate the humans a second time. These forces will buy itself time while it pursues its secret project.