Fame Cimex Chapter 3

Through the burning streets the Demi-Company advanced, dashing from cover to cover in staggered waves. They were swift and determined but their progress was opposed at every turn by hordes of chittering monstrosities, while broods of gargoyles flapped overhead, occasionally diving down to add their claws to the fighting. The Company refused to be stymied though and fought on; every step forwards a battle in itself, every inch bought with Xenos blood. In their midst Ajax stomped forwards, assault cannon hanging limp but putting his flamer to good use. In the heart of the battle Toran was panning his Master crafted bolter left and right, unleashing short bursts to cut down knots of Hormagaunts and Termagaunts. One of the beasts fired a round at him, a fat beetle with oversized jaws that tried to chew through his Ceramite plate. Toran grimaced and cut down the Xeno who had fired at him, then swept the disgusting living ammunition from his armour.

Next to him Persion was firing upwards at a flock of Gargoyles and snarled, "Damn it, bad enough when they ran at us, now they can fly?"

Furion admonished, "Whining is for children and Guardsmen. When beset by challenges a Space Marine stands prouder and fights harder."

The Company redoubled their efforts and carpeted their advanced with bodies. They were making steady progress but Persion called, "Second Company needs our aid now, Captain Laryen can't hold out for long."

Bylan spoke up to say, "+Sir, what can we expect from Captain Laryen?+"

Toran was watching for more Gargoyles but said, "I've only met him at command briefings, but he seemed to be a stickler for the rules. Does everything by the Codex, we can expect his squads to follow the same pattern."

Furion said, "If he's following standard protocol then he should be falling back before overwhelming firepower, we can't be far away. Good job too, we are burning through ammunition at a furious rate."

Suddenly Jediah interjected, "Is it just me or have all the Tyranids just vanished?"

Toran realised he was right; the street ahead was clear and said, "They must have been drawn away to another battle."

Furion declared, "I can hear bolter fire!"

Toran heard it too and waved his squads forward, hurrying to the sound of battle and there they found the bulk of Second Company. A tight knot of Astartes was surrounded by hordes of Gaunts, Warrior forms and Gargoyles while Predators and Hunter tanks blazed in all directions. Toran saw the situation was dire and called, "Spread out and take aim… Now as one Volley Fire!"

A thunderous retort erupted from the Company and hammered into the Xenos' flank, scything down aliens in droves. Caught in a crossfire the Tyranids were decimated, Gargoyles fell from the skies while Gaunts were blown apart and Warriors toppled with steaming holes blown in them. In seconds the tide of the battle turned and the Tyranids broke, fleeing as they lost their connection to the Hive Mind.

Toran breathed easier and waved to the liberated Company shouting, "Where's Captain Laryen?"

A sergeant called back, "Not here, he held with three squads to form a rear-guard and ordered us to withdraw."

Toran called, "What's your name brother?"

The Sergeant replied, "Matheus, our orders are to fall back to the spaceport and stop for nothing, absolutely nothing."

Toran understood what Matheus was saying, they could not go back for their Captain, but Toran had no such orders and called, "Carry on Sergeant; we will go fetch your Captain."

Second Company hurried past in a ragged tide of blue armour while Toran's demi-company pressed on, determined to save their beleaguered kin. They swept through the city, alert for danger but had barely covered more than two streets when they first saw the Bio-Titans. These were disgusting parodies of the proud Imperial Titans, hunchbacked creatures of grotesque size and hideous aspect. They walked on four crab-like legs and carried vast bio-weapons that hung under their bellies. Their faces were images from the worst of nightmares and their jaws were large enough to swallow a Rhino whole.

They were stamping through the ruins of derelict buildings and standing over a mile away the ground shook beneath the Space Marine's feet. The Bio-Titans were unstoppable juggernauts, mighty leviathans set loose to end worlds and their every gesture toppled buildings, yet they were not unopposed. From all around them came spurts of bolter fire, rising from the ruins to chip at their hides. There was no possibility of doing damage to them but the action was distracting and slowing the Bio-Titans progress: somewhere beneath their feet Captain Laryen was alive and still fighting.

Toran knew his Marines did not have enough firepower to bring down such monstrosities but they may yet draw one away long enough for Laryen to withdraw. Toran drew in a breath and said, "This is it Brothers, we have to act now, stand ready to…"

He was interrupted though by Ajax who rumbled, "NO, IT IS ALREADY TOO LATE."

Toran's eye snapped up and he saw what the Dreadnought had spotted, one of the Bio-Titans had wearied of this game and was pacing backwards, raising its main weapons as it did so. Before anyone could act the bio-weapons fired, unleashing a torrent of seething Pyro-Acid that engulfed an entire city block. The scalding acid engulfed whole buildings, burning away ferrocrete and plasteel like a wax model left in an oven. Structures collapsed and fell in on themselves as buildings swayed drunkenly and toppled, everything not dissolved in acid being set ablaze, and in seconds a square mile of the city was reduced to slag. There was a brief scream on the vox waves before it was abruptly cut off then silence fell as the bolter rounds ceased to rise.

Toran couldn't believe what he was witnessing and stood silently in denial, not able to articulate his horror. Meanwhile Bylan was protesting, "+We don't know they were all caught in that blast, there could yet be survivors. They could have taken refuge in cellars or sewers or.. or… or there may have been a storm drain they could have sheltered in+"

Ajax shattered that delusion, "YOU DREAM CHILD, THEY ARE ALL DEAD."

Toran wanted to protest, his soul cried out in denial at the sight but he could not form a single word. Yet his training and hypno-indoctrination allowed him to section off that part of his mind and operate on a purely tactical level. Even as his hearts ached, his mind was flashing through the ancient teachings of his Primarch and he thought, Theoretical: His forces were outmatched and about to draw the attention of overwhelming enemy force, this position was not defensible. Practical: Fall back to a better one and link up with the rest of the Chapter.

Toran snapped around and saw his squads milling about in bewilderment, he broke through their confusion and ordered, "Form up Marines, we are falling back to the sixth defensive line. Disperse into combat squads and provide cover for your brothers in staggered waves. We are to regroup with the rest Chapter and prepare for a counter attack."

Any other force would have wasted precious seconds in argument, a moment of turmoil and disorder as the squads protested the idea of retreat, but these were Astartes. Barely had the words left Toran's mouth when the Space Marines were moving, the crisp clear orders cutting through the upheaval and spurring them to instant action. The squads grasped their weapons tightly and moved back into the city, withdrawing in scattered knots lest a Pyro-acid blast catch them all at once. As they withdrew the Bio-Titans noticed them and lumbered about to pursue, but the Astartes moved fast. As they marched Toran's heart seethed but he refused to dwell, closing off his mind to useless accusations that he had moved too slowly and futile self-recriminations. The time to mourn and grieve for the loss of Captain Laryen would come later, but right now Toran had to be focused. The battle to come would surely be furiously and bloody, he would need all his cunning and rage if he was to exact vengeance on the Xeno foe.

The Captain blink clicked his vox and opened a private vox link to Furion saying, "Sergeant, how is our ammunition count?"

Furion answered him, "Poor, if we encounter anything but token resistance we won't make it back to the spaceport. Either we divert to an ammunition cache or we request a resupply via drop-pod."

Toran snapped, "We don't have time for that, the foul Xenos are on our tail. We must redouble our pace and catch up with the survivors of Second Company; together we will turn and reap a terrible vengeance on these accursed beasts."

Furion glanced at his Captain over a closed vox-link said, "Permission to speak freely?"

Toran was surprised to hear that, "Of course."

Furion lectured, "Captain, I feel your need for vengeance as fiercely as you do, but remember your Codex: rage is a tool to be used, not a wellspring of strategy. You must see the situation rationally: this battle is lost, we must resupply and fall back to the sixth defensive line in good order."

Toran took a deep breath, knowing Furion was wise as ever, haste and anger would only lead to disaster. As always Furion was his pillar of strength and guidance, a giant morally as much as physically and his words cooled the Captain's fire. Toran nodded in understanding and opened the link squad-wide, "Persion, contact the Chapter Fleet, we need a resupply drop immediately." Persion however seemed to be having problems of his own, arguing over the vox link and barking at whoever was on the other end. Toran used his command overrides to patch in and caught a few words, but he was confused by what he heard, something about the evacuation and Thunderhawks being rerouted to their position.

Toran waited for a second then said, "Persion, report."

The communication specialist replied, "Thunderhawks are being sent from orbit to extract all Astartes forces from the planet, it's a general withdrawal. All forces are ordered to evacuate immediately."

Toran's jaw dropped, "Retreat?! But this war is not over yet."

Persion shook his head, "This comes from Chapter Master Gorgall himself; all Storm Heralds are ordered to retreat at once."

Bylan stepped up and said, "+But there are thousands of innocents left in the city+"

His words were punctuated by the deep rumble of massive engines and in the distance the silhouette of a transport ship eclipsed the pair of tiny moons as it rose into the heavens. It was followed by another and another. Toran looked up, knowing that the ships couldn't even have been half filled and he said, "There is nothing more to be done for them, if we don't save whoever we can right now, then no one shall live to see another day."

Persion however had worse news, he grabbed his helm's vox link and said in a horrified voice, "Oh Throne no."

Toran pressed him, "What is it?"

Persion looked at him and said, "The Kryptman protocol has been put into effect, we are to deny the Hive Fleet any biomass to replenish itself. The Light of Terra is making her attack run as we speak... to deploy Cyclonic torpedoes!"

Toran was aghast and immediately shouted, "Get on the vox to those Thunderhawks, tell them to make haste! All squads prepare for immediate extraction, Veltri is about to be subjected to the Exterminatus!"