Disclaimer: I own Jackshit!
AN: I live! Damned necromancers took a hell of a long time dragging me back from the grave, but that's just them being jackasses. Still, finally managed to get this chapter finished and posted after Vladicus was kind enough to check it for no hints of the usual madness.
Honestly, don't know how well this chapter came out. Been re-reading some of my 40k books and I've been trying to limit the tech-talk as best as I can, but I was writing this on and off for a fair amount of time, so I'm not sure how successful that was.
Still, hope you lot enjoy!
XXX
Five stellar bodies, seven remaining factions, a Warp Storm, and an unknown deadline until Imperial forces finally decided it was time to investigate just what in the name of the Emperor was happening in the system. Not exactly the best of situations, especially given that this was 40k, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse, of that I was certain. And that was without the further complication of my own nature being thrown into the mix, something that would see a fair number of Imperial organizations chasing after me until I managed to escape this universe.
Oh, I didn't doubt that the information would get out. The idea of trying to prevent that was simply not in the cards, this left damage control.
Chaos had their Warp portals, the Eldar and Dark Eldar both had Webway gates hidden away somewhere, the Necrons potentially had a Tombship hidden under the sands of Kaurava III, and the Orks could build a new starship from junk, rusted plates of metal and who-knew-what-else. The only ones that I knew for certain that couldn't escape the system without outside help were the Tau and the Blood Ravens, since I destroyed the fleet of the former and the task force of the latter, as far as I knew anyway.
Even so, that left me with five factions that still had a method of either communicating or escaping the system, among other things. As such, I didn't doubt that some information had already leaked, but I hoped that it was more along the lines of 'unknown Xenos' rather than 'AI'. If the latter managed to reach Imperial ears, and those ears were willing to listen, then I did not want to hang around for the aftermath.
I also didn't want to fight and kill hundreds of thousands of potentially innocent people such Crusades would send to their doom.That and dying, being put down like some kind of feral animal, was most definitely not something I planned to happen any time soon, if ever.
It was a problem, one that required a different solution than throwing more bodies into the meat-grinder, even if that seemed inevitable either way. The nature of my forces would ensure that, no matter what, I would win the fight for this system by sheer attrition alone if I was forced to, having more bodies to throw at the enemy than they could spare ammo to throw at me.Even now, such capabilities were expanding as Nano-clouds and Fabber-equipped Forms got to work producing new Hex-Blocks at an ever-increasing rate, and highlighting the beauty of exponential growth.
The Orks might have been able to fight fire with fire, but that was questionable at best, especially once I brought the full might of my economy to bear and ramped up production beyond what I currently had. However, I wanted to save time and resources, along with collecting as much tech as possible, so I'd need to focus down each faction that remained, targeting them one by one, until none remained besides my forces in this system.
Orders were already moving around, causing force concentrations to shift as traffic around some Hex-Nexus decreased and increased in turn. Smaller streams of all types of units remained constant, flowing into pre-designated gates and towards front lines across the system, but not to the same extent as the previous flow of Forms. It was still enough fresh bodies to throw into the various meat grinders as to hold the line, maybe even push forwards at a greatly reduced rate, but that was it. Projections, reports and estimates all came back to me within a few moments as I finalized the next course of action, as Data-minds worked around the clock to figure out targets and tactics to quickly eliminate each faction. Beta Links, Fabrication Walkers and Engineers were already moving to increase the amount of throughput for my first target as more forces mobilized for the new offensive.
Across an entire planet, the sounds of marching feet filled the air as the slap of metal-on-metal rang out in near-perfect unison. Vast formations of every kind of infantry Form, massive collections of war machines, and galleries of weapons that were all fresh from the Fabricators and Foundries marched in perfect formation . I watched through the perspectives of these Forms, and others, as they marched towards the Teleporter Gates built across the planet. I continued to watch as my production capabilities, infrastructure and economy continued to grow , increasing the amount of Foundries I could supply and the amount of Forms I could produce in turn. It was a cycle that defined my new existence rather well, as exponential growth and advanced technologies were the only advantages I had over the countless legions of threats that I faced, might face, and would face in order to stay alive within this hellish universe and beyond.
But first, I needed to eliminate everyone else vying for ownership of the system. Starting with...
XXX
When my Footholds had first arrived on Orridune, the Tau were dug in deep, and doing everything they could to ensure that they didn't go down without one hell of a fight.
Remote Sensor Towers covered the landscape, hidden from immediate sight by the dusty grey camouflage that had been painted on them and creating vast fields of overlapping sensor networks. Anything caught in those networks, unless it was a dedicated stealth unit, would have been spotted a mile off and would have caused the alarms to instantly sound. Along with that, the alarms would trigger automated responses from the various Drone-directed forces within the fortress and the surrounding landscape.
My own forces, after stepping into the detection range of those damned towers, had found themselves suddenly under attack from every direction as Drone weapons took every chance to spring into action and try to savage my forces even more. Hidden and roving bands of Gun Drones were constantly moving to intercept, slow down or simply harass my forces every step of the way. As my initial vanguard of Forms had reached the outer limits of the Tau-held territories, it had quickly become a common sight to see the damned things springing up from under the dirt and dust, guns blazing and firing before the dust had even settled.
Beyond the initial perimeter, resistance only grew thicker as my forces tore through defensive line after defensive line, losing more and more Forms with each push deeper into Tau-held territory.
Drone Sentry turrets were set up in outposts that covered multiple potential lines of approach to the Stronghold, while a dozen other types of Drones ran patrols around them, and the Stronghold itself. Such outposts could have anywhere from five to thirty turrets, with a mixed compliments of Drones that usually contained Gun Drones, Heavy Gun Drones and Missile Drones. The Area Denial Nodes located in most of the bigger outposts were by far the most annoying, however, as they could quickly fire off a few shells in the blink of an eye in a ridiculous radius. Entire formations disappeared under concentrated volleys of Railgun shells, their remains covering the ground in rapidly-disappearing scrap metal as internal scuttling systems ensured that nothing of value remained to be reverse-engineered. Loses only continued to mount as the frontline expanded, more forces moving around and probing deeper into Tau territory from all directions, this also had the benefit of splitting the focus of the automated defenses to the point that increasingly larger numbers of Forms were making it further in to Tau territory.
However, ten minutes after the Footholds had landed, the Fire Warriors finally decided to make an entrance.
The only warning that came was the sudden appearance of a large group of unknowns in the air by my Footholds, quickly followed by one of my most forward vanguard groups coming under attack. Ion beams speared through the air and hit the leading elements of that particular group, either blowing them off their feet, or vaporizing them entirely as the surroundings dissolved into chaos. Internal AIs quickly ran through possibilities and reacted with impressive speed as weapons flickered to life and the air was filled with the smell of Ozone as more Ion beams made mincemeat of my forces. More Forms fell, but reinforcements were already on the way before the first Form had even finished falling to the ground.
Overhead, Razorsharks circled in tight formations as Ion beams slashed downwards, leaving trails of semi-molten glass and rock in their wake as Forms disappeared under the onslaught of multiple Quad Ion Beam cannons being directed at them. Sturdy construction and self-repair systems allowed even the weakest of them to survive for a moment upon contact with these beams of relativistic death but it quickly melted through protective armor plating. Shields and mobility proved to be the best defense as Templars moved just enough to avoid most projectiles, assisted by built-in thrusters as they returned fire with hordes of missiles and bullets. Gun Drones rained down from flights of retreating Tiger Sharks, firing as they fell and regrouping on the ground to box in the leading formation and create killing zones to prevent further movement, turning my Forms into easier targets for circling aircraft.
Seeing this, Battleminds ordered Sentries forward in jump jet-assisted bounds that took them within melee distance as the Templars offered covering fire. A dozen fell to the ground trying to cross the distance, their bodies covered in scorch marks left from direct Pulse Carbine impacts but others managed to make it into melee with the unprepared Drones. Banshee Blades whirled to life in an instant as the Drones feel quickly, their armor offering little protection to the individual Power fields and Vibration systems of the Chainsaw-like teeth, ripping chunks of nano-composite into the air as sparks crackled from torn cables.
Seconds after the first Drone was ripped apart, the rest inevitably followed as less Pulse weapons fired in return. At the same time, Razorsharks found themselves facing growing hordes of Legionnaires, their own Gun Drones and rapidly-arriving Wardens that contested the surrounding airspace. Multiple craft were either blown apart or literally ripped apart, causing fragments and wrecks to rain down upon the rapidly expanding battlefield and covering the moon's surface with the remains of Tau and machine alike. With a dozen sensor systems, my Forms easily picked up on the death screams of the Tau pilots as Wardens ripped wings off aircraft, tore open cockpits and even speared through entire strike fighters just to impale the pilots and throw them into the cold, barely-there atmosphere. Others suffered a 'kinder' end, usually being blown apart my missiles honing in on them and detonating Plasma- or Melta-based explosives against armored hulls. Fire and smoke quickly filled the air as dust was kicked up and drifted into the desolate sky, marking the site of yet another battlefield as more reinforcements from both sides quickly scrambled to join the fight.
Things rapidly escalated in this singular battlefield as three Mantas flew over the ground, Burst Cannons already firing as soon as they came into range. Missiles sprang from across the hull of the massive dropships as more Drones rained down to join those already on the ground, providing further distraction as the Mantas hovered low to the ground. From a dozen eyes, I watched as a large hatch at the back of the immense craft opened as Tau vehicles and Battlesuits sprang from within the confines of the massive craft. Dropping the last dozen metres to the ground, they came in hot as weapons cycled and fired on any target that came within range. Within moments, the battlefield had changed as eighteen XV8 Crisis Battlesuits, six Broadside Battlesuits, six Devilfish transports, six Hammerhead gunships, seventy-two Fire Warriors crammed into the transports, and a shit-load of Drones all dropped on to the growing battlefield.
It was probably a good thing that they had unloaded quickly, as not a second later, the leading Manta became the target of multiple Maulers and two Diplomats that had finally come into range. A storm of artillery shells filled the air as Tau Energy Shields sprang to life, saving the leading Manta from an instant death as shells were slapped away from the combat transport and fell to the ground below in one random direction or another. Sensors immediately picked out the distant explosions and impacts caused by these rogue shells even as information continued to stream from the battlefront, and just in time to see the three Mantas turning in the direction of their attackers. The surprise had worn off, and failed to quickly eliminate the Super-heavy flyers in the airspace, but it had worked to immediately grab their attention as they continued to hover protectively over the deployed Hunter Cabres. Burst Cannon Pulses, Seeker Missiles and standard Tau Missiles all continued to rain down on any Forms that got too close to their former passengers, hidden in the shadow of the massive transports as they slowly rotated in the air.
With a menacing slowness, the Mantas shifted to face the direction of the various Maulers and the, now twelve, Diplomats that were still firing at them. Their Shields held under the continued bombardment, but it quickly became clear that they had no intent to simply continue to take such abuse without retaliation being meted out. Across the battlefield, dozens of Forms picked up on the sudden spike in energy that was followed by the sudden disappearance of several Forms and the whip-crack of a Railgun being fired. Six heavy shells of Nano-composite slammed into the semi-scattered formations of Artillery Forms, reducing dozens into nothing but scraps of metal plating that filled the air as kinetic energy proved more lethal than any explosive. Pressure waves battered multiple other Forms from their positions, or even tore at armor plating and causing collateral damage, but any Form not immediately destroyed was able to get back up. Self-repair systems blazed into action as resources were drawn from the network, rebuilding damaged internal systems even as weapons continued to pound away at the Tau Mantas. Even the reduction in numbers proved to be of little value as more Forms lumbered into firing positions, ignoring the corpses of the fallen as they stamped onwards before planting limbs, aiming cannons and then firing the landing craft.
And yet, while this duel between big guns took place, the ground battle continued to rage as Fire Warriors took positions and fired at any Form that tried to advance towards them. Having built their Stronghold on top of a raised plateau, the Tau had ensured that any attack would have to fight an up-hill battle to eventually reach the Stronghold, both literally and figuratively. Every approach was covered with defenses that always held the advantage in cover and defensible positions built into the higher ground. The Tau Fire Warriors knew this, and they knew how to take advantage of it as they had quickly deployed a half-dozen mobile barricades made from thick sections of their armor of choice. Each of these barriers was easily large enough to come half-way up the lower torso of a standing Fire Warrior, thick enough to absorb heavy weapons fire with little difficulty, and had the capability to be linked or stacked together to form even larger, thicker and longer barriers against enemy fire.
Even so, damage quickly started to build up and become visible to the sensors of my Forms identified each weak point brutally hammered as Templars and Sentries swept the tops of each barrier to continually suppress the Fire Warriors taking cover behind them. Such volleys only ended when the Tau Battlesuits shifted target, aiming to suppress the Forms in turn and battering them with either Railgun slugs, Missiles, or a storm of Plasma Pulses straight from the spinning barrel of a Burst Cannon. Anything that survived was then singled out and blasted by Hammerhead-mounted Railguns, Ion Cannons and twin-linked Fusion Blasters.
Yet, even for all the Forms that were scythed down, more came and threw themselves into the fight without hesitation or fear, their mechanical nature making such emotions both irrelevant and inefficient. With Mechanical efficiency, my Forms had reorganized themselves with Templars forming a wall of armored bodies at least fifteen ranks deep as more and more Forms piled in behind them. Deployable Riot Shields extended from forearms and turned the wall of bodies into a slowly advancing bulwark of metal, though, still lacking when compared to the purpose built Tower Shields being used elsewhere in the system. Even as Refractor Fields and armor plating failed, causing more Forms to join the growing piles of scrap, they still pushed forwards as more reinforcements surged to the battlefield, shifting the numerical advantage further and further away from the Tau. With every step, my Battleminds and Warminds directed the collective masses of my Forms to trade casualties for distance as they slowly crept towards the Tau barricades, enduring the withering rain of Pulse munitions, kinetic impactors and beams of Ionic death.
Entire sections of the landscape were reduced to little more than vast fields of craters and wrecks from Forms and Tau craft alike, mounds forming to denote milestones of progress as the ground battle ground to a halt under the punishing firepower of Tau Battlesuits, Mantas and the Hunter Cadres deployed to stall for time. A stalemate existed for a time that seemed to stretch across the battlefield, lasting for both an eternity of eternities and a single moment all at once as both sides fought either for the Greater Good, or for the completion of yet another dispassionate objective. It was a system that held a careful balance, calculated by nature and chance as to keep both sides perfectly positioned to fight at a distance while still tearing bloody strips out of the hide of the other. It was also a balance that swayed on a knife's edge.
A balance that was shattered entirely as a Manta fell from the sky.
The sound of detonations filled the air as ruined armor plating fell from the sky, heralding the crash of the massive transport as systems died and weapons grew dark. The back half of the leading trio of combat transports disappearing into a fireball as the entire craft rocked in the air, trying to compensate for the sudden loss of control. It tilted to one side, moving away from the Fire Warriors that it hovered over as pilots worked frantically to regain some semblance of control over their craft. For an instant, it almost seemed to work as the Manta gained back a little altitude that had been lost in its short fall, as if to show that even injured, it would stand defiant and proud in the face of death. That lasted right up until the second detonation came and shredded what remained of the engines and flooded the rest of the craft with fire that belched from every possible opening. Windows shattered and armored hatches were blown from their mountings, fragments raining down in a storm of death that shredded anyone and anything unlucky enough to be standing under the great craft as fire consumed it whole. A process that was swiftly followed by the craft listing fully to one side, losing altitude, and then crashing to the lunar surface with an earth-shaking crash. Even through the thin atmosphere of the moon, the sounds of rent metal plating and popping glass were plain to hear, as the battlefield turned silent for all of an instant.
Right before the killing started in earnest.
My Forms surged forwards in a wave of death, pushing through the panicked return fire and concentrating fire more effectively thanks to the lack of suppressive fire from the sky to continually cull their numbers. Without that support, a dozen Fire Warriors disappeared into mist and scrap metal in as many seconds as six Battlesuits crumpled to the ground with holes bored straight through armor plating. Hammerheads and Devilfish shifted to cover the infantry, their commander now recognizing the drastic shift in the battlefield dynamic as they seemed to order a fighting withdrawal from this conflict. Two in particular Hammerheads shifted firing patterns to unleash scything beams of cyan light that were dragged across the approaching mass of Forms, reaping a heavy toll in an attempt to gather some breathing room. Moving quickly, I watched as they abandoned the barricade they had quickly put together as they retreated further up and over a ridge line that the Mantas were lowering themselves to, weapons still spraying death with every moment as the killing machines of my army approached.
A Warden screamed over the battlefield, weapons firing as it strafed the Tau positions before pulling hard and backing to one side, releasing a spray of explosives from an underside bomb-bay as it's tendrils finally released the dying husk of a Razorshark at the retreating lines of Tau. Missing one wing, covered in flames and with the crew dead, the improvised missile flew the short distance through the air before it impacted into the rear compartment of a Devilfish racing for cover. Kinetic energy transferred at the moment of contact as the hover-systems of the craft tried to compensate even as armor plating buckled, bent and tore itself apart in an effort to protect those trapped within the vehicle. The combined wreck slammed into the ground moments later, a shockwave riding out from it as the structure of both vehicles failed and resulted in whatever power source they used detonating. Two Battlesuits and five Fire Warriors in range of the detonation were unlucky enough to be showered in shrapnel from the detonations, but all survived with either light or cosmetic damage at best. Still, the attack had slowed the retreating Tau down, and spelled the end for those caught in the explosions as my Forms were on them in an instant, followed by a rather messy death.
What Tau remained were forced to watch this happen, their body language betraying their rage and hate at what they witnessed as comrades fought and restrained each other as to try to rescue their former comrades. It would have done them no good, probably having only worked to get those that tried killed and left the survivors that much closer to being wiped out to the last. Drones surged around the survivors in greater swarms, unleashed by the now-frantic crews of the two Mantas that had landed to retrieve their surviving passengers, in taking the vehicles first as Battlesuits stood as a rearguard and fired at anything that approached over the ridge line. Likewise, the Drone-controlled weapons of the Mantas focused fire on any Form that stepped within sight of their heavy weapons, shredding several as they continued to advance, culling them down in number while missiles rained down. Counter batteries fired in return, pounding on the Shields of each Manta, now extended to cover their rapidly retreating passengers, and growing more and more dangerous as each volley incorporated greater and greater concentrations of firepower.
By the time all the remaining Fire Warriors had embarked their transports, the air around the Mantas was a continual firestorm of death and destruction, with the ground they had once waited upon being the only thing untouched by the apocalyptic barrage. It sat like an island inside of a sea of black glass, untouched and undisturbed until the very moment that the Mantas returned to the air, as it was swallowed by the detonations of multiple Plasma warheads, Melta Charges and at least one Tactical Nuke. It was only due to the very nature of Tau Energy Shields that such a barrage was endured, as the energy was reflected and radiated away from the transports themselves. Altitude was rapidly gained by the massive transports as incoming fire grew lighter with every dozen metres gained, having been slowly ceased as it was no longer seen as a useful expenditure of resources by the commanding Minds.
Even with my sensor tech, I couldn't view the inside of the craft through the limited sensors of my Forms, having reduced their sensor package as to allow them to carry other systems needed to ensure their viability as combat units. However, the moment that the incoming fire suddenly ceased, I could just imagine them, the crew relaxing for a moment as they set the craft towards the not-so-distant Tau Stronghold as their passengers collapsed into their seats, fight-or-flight responses finally letting up from the maelstrom of combat as they quietly mourned those lost in the heat of battle.
A moment of peace between Lightning bolts... And the next Lightning bolt was already on its way.
Silently, a single Diplomat stood off in the distance, tracking distant targets as information dripped into its fire control systems and minor refinements were made with newly acquired data from its previous two shots. It watched with a predatory patience as the two Mantas took off from the ground, wreathed in fire and destruction as it noted down the angle of their ascent, speed and heading. Calculations were running faster than thought, translating the surrounding world into a simplistic set of points and a line between them that would be crossed in an instant. System checks ran a dozen times as Battleminds, and even a Warmind or two, checked on the hidden dagger of this skirmish as to ensure that everything was running as it was supposed to. With every system checked off and marked as fully operational, the metaphorical finger crawled closer and closer towards the trigger of its massive weapon as mechanical precision reduced everything into a long series of binary operations. Through this process, time barely moved as operations began and finished between heartbeats, between blinks of the eye, not a single moment was wasted as the zero hour of this hidden assessing drew closer yet. Eventually, all tests returned as complete, showing nothing, but the total operation of the Diplomat in question. It was in perfect working order, not even grazed by the previous skirmish that had ended moments ago, where it's actions had caused the downfall of a Tau Manta.
Finally, reality continued with it's permanent apathy for the plight of others. It marched onwards and into the silence of the lunar battlefields as Tau Fire Warriors either collapsed into seats, wept for their lost comrades, smashed their fists against armored walls, growled out oaths of vengeance or all of the above. I didn't know for sure, but I didn't think it mattered in the long run, since the opinions of dead men rarely affected the living. Like a bolt of Lightning, the single experimental shell left the barrel of the enlarged Rex Cannon with all due haste and boasted towards its target without pause. Behind it, a pressure wave washed over the lunar soil, rippling through the air and scattering dust and loose soil that was flung this way and that. The Diplomat cared not for such things, it's sensors locked on to its previously fired projectile even as a second shell was passed through its internal Teleporter Gate and loaded in quick succession. The aim of the barrel shifted minutely, already re-targeting as the internal AI, Battleminds and Warminds restarted the cycle of compulsively checking every system down to the last possible binary bit. Even so, sensor data flowed freely between the machines of the battlefield, all watching in anticipation as the first shell flew through the air with a singular purpose.
You see, unlike the other shells that it had previously fired, this shell was special. It had been created with experimental technologies, prototypes by Forgeminds and a few members of the Coven as a countermeasure to the potency of Tau Energy Shields. As it flew, in-built sensors took countless readings of the Tau Mantas before transmitting the information back to the rest of the network. Such readings were compared dozens of times with the information already gathered, allowing further refinements to be made as internal systems cycled to readiness. The distance disappeared as shell and target grew closer before the moment of truth was upon all that stood witness. Devices came online and projected a gravitational field ahead of the shell, directly into the projected surface of the Tau Energy Shields as momentum carried the shell onwards. In the distance, my Forms could pick out the screaming edge of gravitational forces fighting against one another, one trying to overpower the other and force the sudden opening closed. The divide was impossible to see without specialized sensors, but the momentary flare of sparking cyan light and the increase in Ozone concentrations around the path of the shell was enough to point out where the gravitation shear had been created.
The null zone didn't last longer than an eye blink before the shell was through the breach, the one-shot projection systems having burned out in their entirety, right before a Power Field flickered into existence around the tip of the shell as it continued onwards. I saw the shell disappear into the hull of the targeted Manta, like some tick disappearing into the hide of a great beast, followed by a singular status report. A skim over it was enough to show that it was exactly what had been expected, especially given the way the Coven had reacted as those involved glowed with joy over creating such a potent tool for my use. And I'd admit that they had done a good job of it, since I watched with interest as the shell detonated inside the airframe of the massive craft. Six Melta Charges, all triggered at the same time, exploded in the confined spaces of the transport and filled the sealed passageways with fusion-grade Plasma and robbing the crew of oxygen as everything was ignited in flames.
Watching in slow motion, I watched the entire craft shudder in place before sections of the hull exploded outwards, forced out of the way by the mixture of extreme pressure and extreme temperature. Fire poured through every crack as secondary explosions rippled through every compartment, setting off unused munitions and causing the once-mighty craft to become the final tomb of a dozen Fire Warriors as it fell from the skies. A trail of smoke followed it, engines detonating in the air and sending a rain of metal fragments into the land below, showering my Forms with shrapnel that was shrugged off by shields and armored plates. More than one Templar raised its Shield into the air, acting as an umbrella for lesser Forms as they crowded under the shock troopers to weather the storm of steel. Said storm only grew longer as the final Manta plunged from the sky, dead and dying as another shell slipped through it's defenses like an assassin's blade.
It also signaled the end of the battle, along with the beginning of redoubled Tau resistance.
The battle itself had lasted for eleven minutes, an impressive accomplishment for three Hunter Cadres' worth of soldiers. However, every step after that only grew harder as the Tau started fielding heavier and heavier forces to blunt and repel the attacks launched against them. Not only that, but as time progressed, they showed themselves to be unafraid of returning the favor. Infiltration attempts grew in number and intensity as ground was seized from them, starting with small groups of XV15 and XV25 Stealth suits before they started to escalate with a mixture of greater numbers and more powerful Battlesuits. Some of these attempts were caught right at the frontlines, but others managed to slip through before either running into fixed defenses, or jumping into the waiting maw of my Footholds. One attempt had even seen the Tau dropping a trio of Riptide Battlesuits directly into my base from high altitude, only surviving their landing due to their powerful Jetpacks, after being called in by a team of six Ghostkeels and a dozen other teams of Stealth suits that had managed to survive long enough to sent the signal. They hadn't survived long after that, being ripped apart by Hellbores blasts, Nano-Clouds and dozens of other weapons before being picked over by my Forms.
Likewise, resistance only grew as my Forms pushed closer and closer to the heart of the Tau-occupied territory. Teams of Riptides escorted by Hunter Cadres and Crisis Battlesuits, supported by distant Firebase Support Cadres, formed into rapid reaction task forces that jumped from one engagement to another. Entire ridgelines were dominated by teams of Broadside Battlesuits, along with the occasional Stormsurge Ballistic Suit, and turned their awesome firepower towards any Form that dared approach them, only pulling back if they were at risk of being overrun. Pathfinders would call in artillery strikes while setting up ambushes with Stealth suits laying in wait. More than once, entire groups of lesser Combat-Forms were forced into a killzone before being ripped to pieces by Kroot auxiliaries, in their many forms. Strikes came from mixed groups of Hazard and Y'vahra Battlesuits jumped directly into the thickest fighting, or bypassed the frontline and attacked mustering points as a means of delaying reinforcements to engage in combat. By the time that my Forms actually reached the outer perimeter of the Stronghold itself, the Tau were deploying all three of the KX139 Ta'unar Supremacy Armors that they had stationed on the moon, either on at a time, in pairs, or all at once as a means to tip the scales in their favor. Even the appearance of one of these towering Battlesuits was enough to batter any force I sent at them into nothing but melted scrap. Usually, it bought them time, allowing the Earth Caste engineers to do whatever patch-job repairs were needed to keep their soldiers in the fight. However, these lulls in combat never lasted as the next assault group marched into range around the Stronghold and began the cycle of war yet again.
Just watching this made me thankful for the mechanical nature of my forces, since it meant that they were immune to such things as morale. It also meant that the kind of attrition I was currently facing would not scare them or force them to desert in some pursuit for self-preservation. Had my force been of the more traditional, organic, kind, then I didn't doubt that they would have either cut and run by now, or been slaughtered to the last by the potent weapons of the Tau. The only organic forces that I could see even coming close to winning in such a siege were the Orks and the Tyranids, assuming that the comparison was through only traditional means. At least, not without either wiping themselves out in the process, or buggering themselves so badly that they might as well have forfeit any claim to the current competition for the system. Something that only made me more grateful for the mass-producible nature of my forces.
By the time fifty-two minutes had passed since my arrival on the Moon, the lunar surface became a patchwork of craters, wrecks and corpses that were all being picked over by Engineers that edged ever closer towards the frontline that now surrounded the Tau Stronghold. The frontlines now encircled the Tau stronghold as Battlesuits bounced across the ramparts or fired into the oncoming hordes, Fire Warriors firing down into the oncoming hordes from entrenched, well prepared and well defended positions. Any spare Drone turrets, Drones and weapons being deployed as soon as they became available. Every entry point into the Stronghold was a literal killing floor for both sides as blood freely mixed with coolants and oils, further mixing with the smells of ash and fire in the air. Towering pillars of smoke had long since become constants on the battlefield, obscuring distant targets and working as obstacles for those few Tau aircraft that still tried to fight the hordes of Wardens that now clouded the skies of the moon. Beams of light leapt from ramparts, scything through lines of Forms and leaving behind death in their wake even as the return fire caused barriers to crack, shatter and break under the unceasing barrage of annihilation.
It was a scene straight out of an epic, an image of defiance for the Tau and one of inevitability for me. A flight of fancy and a thought caused a few still-images to be taken before being filtered through some spare processors, turning them from simple images into artistic recreations done with either a water-based paint, or an oil-based one. It didn't take long for the equivalent of a small gallery of art pieces to be formed from the pict-captures of the battlefield, immortalizing the moment as I saved the new art pieces before shifting them somewhere else. I'd have time to admire them at a later date, especially since I still had a system to pacify…
XXX
... The Tau.
An unusual choice, given their current situation, but one chosen with reason and purpose. Attrition was already eating away at them, with projections showing that they would be completely crushed inside of a few days even without a further increase in the flow of Forms towards the siege of their Stronghold. I could have easily just let them be, grinding them down before picking through their corpses for the items of technology that I found of interest while Reclaiming everything else for resources. Admittedly, I'd already begun doing that, with Reclaimed equipment being dumped on the Coven and the Forgeminds to dig through and incorporate for future units as time moved on. Already, Tau Fio'tak was replacing Ceramite as an armoring material for my Forms while investigations were being done on the utility of Tau Pulse, Ion and Fusion weapons that had been recovered from the battlefield.
Still, it was the Tau technology that also pushed for them to be the first target of my focus, among other things. It was simple, lacking any of the strangeness that riddled through the technologies of other factions and lacked any truly meaningful method of defending itself against anyone that might wish to reverse-engineer it. No Machine-Spirits; No Bound-Daemons; No need for wishful thinking to force it to work; No trace of any Psychic nature in either it's construction, function or use; And no stupidly advanced, ancient Techno-magic bullshit needed to craft it. Even if the technology itself was below what I already possessed in one way or another, it could still serve as inspiration for either hybrid devices, or my own versions of the same devices. Some of their equipment was both novel and of interest in either practice or concept, so being able to examine them would allow me to craft new options going forwards.
Additionally, their biology was another point of interest due to the one that I considered to be potentially useful. The quirk of their biology being the fact that, to the last, each and every Tau was either some kind of Psychic Blunt, or a low-level Psychic Blank. Honestly, I wasn't sure which, but trying to figure out the nature and genetic cause of such an ability could only be to my benefit. That I could then apply such modifications to the Seelie just made it better, since I was still undecided on whether to make them Psykers or Pariahs. Having a middle option, or one that leaned only slightly to one side was certainly better than immediately choosing one side over the other and saying that I'd never touch the other. Even for all the horrible shit that came from it, the Warp, and the utility it offered, was too potent a lure to resist. Though, it wasn't something I planned to touch anytime soon, and not without ensuring there was no chance of accidentally summoning some Greater Daemon right into the heart of my base/empire.
Not to mention the sheer idiocy of trying to do something like that right next to a small-ish Warp Storm. I was searching for every advantage I could get, not trying to die via stupidity, after all.
Other than that, their isolated location, greatly reduced numbers, and the fact that they were living on borrowed time were remaining reasons that I had chosen to strike at them first. Projections were constantly being redone as to show that the life expectancy of those Tau that remained was growing shorter and shorter with every passing moment. At best, they had days left to live with anything beyond five days being labeled as wishful thinking at the current force concentration being deployed against them. New estimates came back rapidly as my Forms redeployed, drawing a bit of amusement from me in the process as most estimates came back saying that the Tau wouldn't last beyond a single hour, with a few 'optimistic' ones saying that they might manage to make the three hour mark. In short, dealing with the Tau now just meant that I wouldn't have to 'worry' about them later. Not that there was really much to worry about, since even before my initial attack, the Tau were largely isolated on their moon base of Nan Yanoi. They would occasionally try to launch an attack on either Kaurava II or Kaurava III to try and gain a foothold, but most of those died a rather swift death from counter-attacks carried out by those factions already present on the planets in question. What few records I had, taken from the Imperial Guard and Sisters of Battle, showed that Orks and Necrons seemed to be the primary causes of death, but I didn't doubt that the Eldar had probably played a part in some of those counter-attacks. Some of the response times were too short for anything else.
Of course, I had no plans to thank the knife-eared bastards for helping to contain the Tau, since they had already used up what little patience I might have had for them after launching the Nth hit-and-run attack on my Vanguard forces. Still, propriety had to be observed; I'd remember them fondly for their assistance, as soon as I either had that Farseer of theirs in chains, or in a body bag.
After dealing with the Tau, of course.
XXX
The first Forms through the Teleporter Gates were a mixture of Engineers and Beta Links.
The former quickly joined roving groups of Engineers already present and went about either cleaning the now-empty battlefields of anything of value, or constructing additional Teleporter Gates to match those already present within the dozens of Poly-Complexes that I had constructed across Kaurava I. As soon as each of them was finished, a new flow of Forms burst from the simmering surface of each gate and immediately joined the growing surge of reinforcements that swept out towards the besieged Tau. Those excess Engineers that weren't combing through the graveyards that had once been a battlefield for tech, or constructing standard Teleporter Gates, were busy working on two other structures that served a similar purpose. The first was the Sky-Gate, a massive Teleporter Gate that pointed it's simmering surface towards the sky above, allowing any sufficiently maneuverable aircraft to fly through it with ease.
This was a task made even simpler due to the fact that I had yet to build any kind of aircraft that lacked VTOL capabilities, a capability that I had no intention of leaving out from any of my air-based Forms. The second structure was the aptly named 'Heavy' Teleporter Gate, which couldn't be described as anything other than what it was: A Titan-scale Teleporter Gate with an internal diametre measuring around a hundred metres across. It was overkill for the movement of anything less than fully equipped invasion forces, or mega-structures that I couldn't, for whatever reason, assemble as needed from Nano-fabricators. For my purposes on Nan Yanoi, it was perfect, if only because it could transport my heavier Forms in such numbers that the Tau would be unable to easily remove my heavier weapons from play with concentrated firepower, as they had been doing since the beginning of the Nan Yanoi Campaign.
The Beta Links, on the other hand, formed into Chains that flowed through the constant activity just behind the wave of reinforcements, disconnecting from the greater whole before finding a location and rooting themselves to the spot. Metal panels unfolded to reveal the internal Teleporter Gate that quickly flickered to life as even more Forms surged through these new openings between worlds. As they spread outwards, more Gates came online and more Forms stepped on to the moon's barren surface without pause. More Engineers came as small outposts were constructed, defenses were placed and in-built Foundries cycled to life as a way to add more Forms to the growing streams of mechanical war machines that were steadily marching towards the Tau Stronghold. Compared to the massive output of the continent-covering Poly-Complexes of Kaurava I, the output of these outposts was just another drop in a bucket, but that didn't suddenly make the extra production unwanted. Attrition and exponential growth were my bread and butter, so having more bodies to throw at an enemy was always welcome. Plus, having that additional production would only help me further down the road, as it would mean that I could start throwing more and more units through a Gate with greater and greater ease.
Though, that was for the future, and I could put it to one side as I watched three new types of units step, or fly, through the various styles of Teleporter Gates as each of them finished in turn. The simmering pools of energy forming for just a moment before being burst as the first Forms slammed through the veils of energy and sent ripples across the water-like surface of the portals. Striding forth in perfect lockstep, I watched as my new Warrior Battle-Forms stepped on to the moon of Nan Yanoi before setting off without pause in a slow, but unstoppable march. Not that they could really move all that fast to begin with, considering that each of the damned things was a six metre tall colossus of armor plating, self-repair systems and raw physical strength that brokered no equal upon the field of battle. Power Field-equipped Warhammers and two-handed Maces were grasped within titanic hands as the Warriors marched onwards, even as internal systems checked over their forearm-mounted Multi-Meltas, Shoulder-mounted Quad-Ion turrets, and thigh-mounted Smart Cannons. Refractor Fields, Power Fields, and stasis 'Hardeners' hummed to life as added protections even as all other systems reported that everything was online, finishing just as the last of the initial wave of Warriors finished exiting the Gate to allow my older Forms to march through. My 'vehicles' lumbered through the gates, looking like rocks in the middle of a river as smaller Forms flowed around the larger Fabrication Walkers, Ruiners, Maulers, Rainmakers, Diplomats, Juggernauts and Bolos.
Alongside the deployment of my ground forces, my air forces came flooding through the Sky-Gates as more and more of them came online as a literal tide of Wardens took to the lunar skies. Among this solid mass of flying death-machines, another new Form lurked. This new Form was a dropship, something taken from the lessons of the Tau in how useful they could be to allow for greater tactical mobility and flexibility. Fast, well armored, passive stealth features and with a sizeable cargo space, these Nomad Battle-Forms could transport large numbers of infantry-formed around a battlefield with remarkable speed, at least in simulations. Larger Forms could also be carried, either internally or externally depending on what was needed and where. PD turrets dotted the outer hull of the craft, complimented with a generous mix of Refractor Fields, self-repair system nodes, and Hardeners. Two retractable turrets hide under the 'chin' of the Nomad, each armed with a heavy array of weapons to go along with the under-wing missile fabrication arrays that had been copied over from the Wardens. The first turret held a pair of rotary Smart Cannons, while the second turret held a Pulsar Cannon and a Grav-Lance on either side of the thin mountings designed to reduce the target profile of the weapons.
In terms of cargo, each Nomad took to the air with a full load of Forms, primarily Infantry, but more than a few were also carrying either a Ruiner, a Mauler, a Diplomat, or a Rainmaker underneath their main hold. However, some held a new type of infantry-Form, created from the lessons the Tau had been so happy to teach on the usefulness of giving heavy weapons to units capable of greater tactical mobility. These Forms, called Executors Battle-Form, were purpose built to take advantage of these lessons, along with the tech engineered from either the remains of the battlefield, or from the ever-productive minds of my Coven and Forgeminds. At four-point-five metres tall, each of them was as tall as a Templar, but was near skeletal in appearance. Four legs allowed for greater stability as shoulder mounted pods held the majority of the weapons for these Forms, while a standard mix of melee, close-range and self-defense weapons dotted over the rest of the body to compliment the Refractor Fields, Hardeners and self-repair systems.
By the standards of my other infantry-Forms, the Executor was a glass cannon, even with the additions of dozens of protective systems. However, since the machine was neither meant to be a frontline combatant, vanguard, or a shock trooper, it hardly mattered. It's real job was to function as a kind of tactical heavy weapons platform, taking advantage of the Tau-inspired stealth and mobility systems that had been implanted within it, along with the Anti-Grav and Inertia manipulation devices to rapidly shift from one location to another to rain death on its unsuspecting targets. To do this, the twin shoulder mounted pods each contained an array of Fabrication systems that could allow for each Executor to rapidly construct the right tool for the right job. Three such weapons could be held inside each pod, with space being available for ammo storage, if any of the chosen weapons required it. Currently, those Executors waited with their pods mostly empty, only containing a single Cyclic Ion Raker or Multi-Melta each, as Nomads flew them towards deployment zones.
Absently, I turned my gaze back to my original base of operations on the moon, noting that the flood of steel only grew as more Gates came online. I felt them moving in perfect coordination as information was exchanged at the speed of thought, allowing entire formations to rapidly shift as they marched over the burial grounds of Tau Fire Warriors and other Forms alike. I could see the data moving, see the strings of code that connected them to their commanding Battleminds, and their commanding Warminds, and to me in turn. I could pick up the requests for more information, sent by the ever-industrious Forgeminds as they searched for more things to work through and to reverse-engineer as the Coven worked itself to a fever pitch as the various members tried to keep up with their self-imposed task of producing designs that were 'worthy of my attention'. I felt a bit of amusement at that, since I had seen some of those same designs that they had thrown away, thinking them flawed and unworthy of even being sent to me. Admittedly, some of them were interesting, if only because they were novel ideas, but a lot of them did have flaws that would have made them impractical at best. Still, I had a group of Forgeminds looking through the designs they threw away, if only because those same designs might come in useful later down the line, as my tech-base expands to allow impossible things to become practical.
"Progress stops for no one..." I muttered to myself in the non-reality of my networks. The words disappeared as soon as they left unreal lips, being submerged into the vast web of connections and databases until nothing of them remained, not even an echo. The advancement of technology was a part of who, of what, I was now. I couldn't deny it any more than a Human could will their own heart to stop beating inside their chest. I could direct it; Channel it towards my purposes, but technological progress could be likened to time in that it would always be moving forwards, towards the next milestone and the next discovery. The only real difference between the two was that technology needed someone to keep the advancement going, while time did not. However, both could still grind away at the world, reducing the old systems to dust so as to either replace them or simply let them fall into nothingness. It was an attrition of a sort, one that I had some control over, but only for my own tech-base.
Still, I doubted that the Tau cared to wax poetic about the rapid advances in technology, even their own, when it was being used to kill them. I could hardly blame them, though, since they were fighting for their lives.
Not that it would do them much good.
XXX
The first engagement between the Tau and my heavily reinforced Forms was an interesting one.
Well, it was interesting for me. The Tau got an entirely different experience, with me being in optimal position to watch and appreciate every single moment of it as the first Warriors marched into range of the battlefield as Nomads and Wardens flew overhead. Even through the smoking remains of Tau war machines and my Combat-Platforms, the megalithic figures of the Warriors could be picked out as baneful, red, cyclopean sensor arrays glared into the world beyond. Wrecks and corpses were crushed underfoot without a glance to even acknowledge them while anything larger was swatted aside with a casualness that bordered on utter disdain. The internal AIs of the Warriors were potent things, powerful in ways that the Legionnaires lacked, yet simplistic in that they viewed the world around them with only a singular perspective. When they looked at the world, it was with the view that all they had to solve said problem was a hammer, and that every problem, as a result, was a nail needing a few good smacks. Of course, that wasn't to say they were stupid by any stretch; Blunt and direct were probably better terms used to describe them, but they were never meant to be anything resembling 'Officers', like my Legionnaires.
Still, such a difference was largely academic when you put them both of the fields of battle and ordered them to kill. Watching the Tau Stronghold, I could see that they didn't care one way or another as Fire Warriors saw the incoming wave of reinforcements marching towards them like a vast wave. From body language alone, I could pick out the exact moment that the Tau finally spotted the phalanx of warriors approaching them like a glacier of metals and polymers that submerged the surrounding landscape under the shadows of mass-produced monsters.
Alarms sounded as the next wave approached, swiftly followed by the sounds of armored boots hitting whatever Rockcrete equivalent that the Tau used for their Fortifications as semi-fresh units of Fire Caste Tau raced up ramparts and took positions. Battlesuits and whatever vehicles that remained in reserve quickly joined the defense as they hunkered down behind ad-hoc barriers of Tau alloys and even more ad-hoc cover provided by the wrecks of once-defiant Battlesuits and vehicles that now littered the Tau Stronghold. Earth Caste engineers had already gone through as many of those same wrecks as possible, ripping out any components of any worth before abandoning whatever they couldn't easily move without leaving themselves exposed.
I'd give the Tau Fire Warriors credit where it was due, their discipline was exceptional and their training was top-notch. Their weapons steady as they waited for the exact moment when the leading Warrior crossed some invisible line that ran the circumference of the Stronghold. Every member of the Fire Caste stood ready, from the humble Fire Warrior, to the pilots of the massive Ta'unar Supremacy Armors. I could see it in the way they stood, the way they held themselves as they looked down the scope of whatever weapons they held close to them, as if it was the sole lifeline they had for their continued existences. That effect was only made more pronounced by their battle-scarred appearance, with those survivors of earlier attacks being covered by cratered plates of armor, dust, ashes and with the smell of Ozone clinging to them like a ratty old cloak.
Still, appearances meant nothing on the fields of battle, and this was proven true as the leading Warrior took one more step, and a line was crossed.
Almost immediately, the silence was shattered as Tau weapons opened fire in a display of light and sound that would have shattered eardrums and left many men either seeing stars for a very long time, or blinded them altogether. Beams of cyan light, smoking trails of energized matter, carbonized gasses left behind by miniature engines and the afterimages of balls of superheated Plasma fill the air, connecting shooter and target for an instant as Fire Warriors squeezed back on their triggers and unleashed a wall of death and killing potential in a single volley. The world dissolves back into madness as war begins once more and I feel the damage reports start flooding back in as Warriors took the brunt of the initial volley before continuing onwards. Some staggered, some feel, some were crippled and some were utterly destroyed by the overwhelming firepower of some of the Tau Battlesuits, but those were the minority. Sheer density and redundancy turns aside many strikes that would have killed a Lesser Form, repairing any damage that wouldn't have immediately obliterated the Warriors and allowing them to keep going.
Still, for those that do not fall, the pace is quickened. The smoke hasn't even settled yet before the front ranks of my Warriors are bursting from the smoke and dust of the battlefield, weapons in hand. From high above and all around, the Tau pelt the charging Warriors with everything and anything they could get their hands on. Fire Warriors picked their targets carefully as Battlesuits sprayed down the approaching horde with their strongest weapons. Broadsides, Stormsurges and the Ta'unars all brought their heavy weapons to bear as the air filled with detonations, smoke and whatever fragments were launched into the air with every impact. Beams of Ionic energies and Fusion Plasma leapt from barrels, minor rotations in positions turning these short bursts into ultra-lethal scythes of devastation that bisected entire formations of Forms as the raw firepower battered through Warriors before making a mockery of whatever armor and defenses my lesser Forms possessed. Other Battlesuits joined the fray, along with what few vehicles and aircraft that still survived among the Tau motor pool, throwing whatever weight of fire they could on to the encroaching horde in some attempt to survive.
And above it all, I could easily make out the centre points of Tau resistance as the Ta'unar Supremacy Armours marched closer to the ramparts of the Stronghold. With every step, I watched as two of them slaughtered entire formations of Forms with Tri-axis Ion Cannons, reaping a bloody harvest as my machines were shattered by the ungodly amounts of energy being directed through them. However, the real show stopper was when the third Ta'unar finally decided to show its own main weapons, opening up with Fusion Eradicators and literally boiling a Juggernaut out of existence in the first shot. Beams of ultra-heated matter streamed from the weapons, boiling anything they touched out of existence and reducing the surrounding land into nothing but a canvas of molten glass. Back mounted Pulse Ordnance Multi-Drivers quickly added to the weight of fire, scattering countless orbs of barely contained, highly unstable Plasma across the battlefield, triggering scattered detonations throughout the approaching swarm of death machines that drew closer with every breath. Signals bloomed throughout the battlefield as I watched targeting systems highlight Forms and then designate who fired at what. Even without access to the rest of the Tau information network, I could see them putting their hard-earned skill and experience to good use as what remained of the Tau forces shifted aim and focused their fire with practiced ease that could only come from a life-or-death struggle.
It was impressive.
It was inspiring.
And it was utterly useless.
For every Form that the Tau destroyed, another five were stepping off the assembly lines of Foundries and marching through one of the innumerable Gates that now populated the land surrounding the Tau Stronghold. Tau aircraft struggled to remain in the skies above, as more Wardens flooded through Sky-Gates and threw themselves into the chaos, eager to argue over just who held total control over the skies of Nan Yanoi. It was an argument that the Tau were losing, as skill, experience and luck meant very little against an enemy that could simply drown an enemy in war machines. Indeed, several Tau aircraft found themselves the losers of such debates, being sent hurtling towards the Stronghold in a tailspin that was aimed straight into the heart of the once-mighty fortress of the Greater Good. It was only the excessive amounts of Anti-air weapons that had held back the flood of Wardens for so long, and it was having difficulties responding in time as the number of targets only seemed to grow.
Likewise, Tau ground forces were fighting a losing battle with their backs to the wall and no chance of retreat. Exhaustion, both mental and physical, was biting it's fangs into every Tau that survived while depression and despair thrived in the hearts and minds of those furiously working to find some way of living to see another day. Mistakes were piling up as Fire Warriors were slowly breaking down under the stress of combat with no end in sight, as reflexes dulled with every moment that they weren't allowed to even take a breath without worry of being killed by a stray round. It was only due to the vast networks of Drone weapons and automated systems that they had managed to endure more, pushing past the limitations of a purely organic garrison to ensure they survived just a bit longer. And while Drones kept their creators alive, Fire Warriors did their best to force down any feelings that might negatively impact their performance, either through sheer grit, or through a chemical substitute of some kind. Of course, the sight of the Ta'unar Supremacy Armours also helped as they butchered anything unlucky enough to be caught in the sights of their massive weapons.
To the Tau, I could only guess what those massive suits must have looked like. Probably something inspiring or courageous as they almost seemed to walk through anything that my Forms threw at them with a casual indifference that could have been mistaken for disdain or smug superiority. It was little wonder why they had become the three main rally points of resistance around the Tau Stronghold, with a flock of lesser Battlesuits escorting them around the complex and ever vigilant to any attacks that might come.
Too bad this vigilance proved to be for nothing.
With so many Anti-Air weapons and sensors distracted by the seething mass of Wardens swarming through the air, no one noticed the passively-stealthed forms of my Nomads until it was too late. Coming in low, weapon assemblies unfolded from armored sheaths and opened fire as they streaked through the air over the Tau Stronghold and opened fire upon targets of opportunity. Ramparts, barricades, Drone turrets, Area Denial Nodes, vehicles, Battlesuits and any sufficiently dense formation of Tau Fire Warriors suddenly found themselves under attack from a new direction as Nomads made themselves known. Streaks of Plasma found targets as they traced back to previously unnoticed distortions in the smoke filled air as weapons shifted their aim to fire upon the new priority targets that had appeared on their radars without prior warning. Instantly, the tempo shifted as explosions detonated throughout the Tau complex, incinerating the Fire Warriors that stood guard over the lives of their kin and reducing men into chunks of burning meat. Drone turrets disappeared in a flash of burning heat and light, creating fresh cracks in the Tau defenses that they had no chance to fill in time.
And if that wasn't enough, things were complicated further when infantry-Forms were directly launched, not dropped, into the heart of the Tau's last bastion. Throughout the fortress, my Forms landed with an impact as they went about causing as much damage as possible. Reserves of Fire Warriors needed to be redirected to fighting off these invaders, preventing them from joining their kin on the walls and leaving the entire force stretched thin as battle spread into the, until then, untouched heart of the Tau facility. Overhead, Nomads continued to attack and fade into the smoke-filled skies as groups of Tau forces came under attack even as they moved through areas they believed to be safe. Flocks of Drones were evaporated by streaks of Plasma while Fire Warriors were either turned into little more than burning meat, or crushed into something the size of a golf ball. Templars and Sentries turned corridors and pathways into killing fields, forcing Fire Warriors to take longer routes around conflicted areas in some hope of dealing with one enemy foothold before moving on to another. What Battlesuits that could be spared were sent into the breaches as soon as they were discovered, with the hope that they could tip the scales as quickly as possible and allow them to focus their firepower elsewhere.
When they did appear, it proved their undoing. Executors struck without warning, burning molten holes through Tau armor plating and reducing the once proud Battlesuits to little more than burning wrecks that were marked for looting and reverse-engineering. Before the Tau could even react to the appearance of yet another until-then-unknown enemy unit, the Executors moved on with a predatory hunger for more, shifting around, cloaking and disappearing into the chaos of battle until they could strike once more. Unprepared, the Tau found themselves struggling to react in time to such force concentration within such a stealthy unit that they faced on the fields of battle, and within their own base as well. Dozens of Tau lost their lives before anyone knew what was going on and even more were 'fortunate' enough to only be crippled for however long they had to live. Even the mighty Ta'unar Supremacy Armors were not spared, as they found themselves falling prey to the hidden daggers that now flickered around them. At least one of their number had been mission-killed, having had its leg blown out from under it and collapsing to the ground due to a lack of support, now it lay face down on the ground with no way up without assistance. Assistance that could not be given, as any attempt to gather enough workers together would be spotted and targeted in a heartbeat. Not to mention, ensuring that one of the most powerful weapons the Tau had available to them, their Fusion Eradicators, was removed from the battle entirely.
Another had its combat efficiency reduced by half, as one arm had been blown off and at least part of the back-mounted weapons it carried had been rendered into nothing but scrap metal and dead weight. It was only due to luck that the monolithic machine hadn't been rendered into scrap, as a last-minute turn had saved the machine from oblivion. The third machine was equally lucky, it's shields taking the brunt of the surprise attack, but still leaving it damaged as servos in the left leg had been ruined to such an extent that the machine now limped from one point to another.
Instantly, whatever hope the Tau might have had disappeared in a heartbeat, replaced with an ever-growing pit of dread that even their rock-solid discipline struggled to suppress. Said pit only grew deeper as the final nails were hammered into the coffin for the Tau. Distracted, divided, disorientated and decimated by the sudden turnaround of events, the Tau found themselves too few in number to maintain the defense of the outer perimeter, struggling to push back the ever-swelling number of Forms that kept rushing towards them even as Drone turrets sprayed into the oncoming horde with abandon. Eventually, the tipping point was reached as a group of Warriors charged forwards, using the corpses of their fallen as shields as they sprinted directly towards one specific point in the great walls built around the base.
Warminds, Battleminds and Forgeminds had worked through countless sensor reports and observations from an equally countless array of Combat-Platforms to isolate the ideal locations to breach into the Tau Stronghold as they analyzed everything about the great structure for any imperfections that could be exploited. Previously, they simply could not be reached as Infantry-Forms were killed before they could get close and anything heavier was targeted and blown apart from further away than that, as to prevent them from becoming a factor in the ongoing battle. With so many small blind spots now present in the Tau firing lines, and so much damage already done to the walls, the Data-minds saw their chance as they issued the orders for what came next. With those orders, the Warriors moved forwards with a unity of purpose and intent that only a machine could muster, armored bulks shrugging off anything that could not pierce their defensive systems as massive hammers were shifted in hands. Time almost seemed to slow down as the Warriors approached the already-battered wall, grasping their hammers and pulling them back, only to release them and all but slam them against the colossal walls with an earth shaking crack. Kinetic amplifiers, Power Fields, Vibration generators and internally fired Melta Charges focused the power of these weapons and turned an already impressive blow into something beyond words.
The sheer power behind the impacts, coupled with the synchronized nature of the strikes and the resonating shockwaves that quickly bounced through the massive structure, was something to be seen to be believed. An absent thought was enough, recording the image as I watched the wall shake and buckle around the points of impact, cracks growing and spreading from already-present damage or forming from seemingly nowhere as the entire area was rocked by what must have felt like the hammer of a god. Soon, fragments were falling from reinforce concrete-like walls as they shook themselves apart, causing larger and larger pieces to come crashing down until the final outcome was reached. The material science of the Tau failed them as the entire length of their wall came crumbling down as pieces the size of tanks were thrown into the air and flung over both sides of the wall, crushing Forms and Tau alike. The dust hadn't even settled before the first of my Combat-Forms rushed through the breach and started flooding into the Tau Stronghold.
Just seeing that, I could tell that the Tau were not long for this world. Raw attrition had already reduced them to a fraction of what they once were, and the floodgates had just been blown open with no way to stem the flood as the ground was carpeted with Collectors. Infantry-Forms flowed through the complex as they searched for any potential threat and eliminated them with extreme prejudice, aided by the larger Combat-Forms that came marching into the facility after them. Even the slightest sign of resistance had Forms being redeployed so as to ensure that an overwhelming response could be provided, with Warriors and Templars taking the vanguard of every assault and turning any enclosed space into a killing field. While this systematic assault was taking place, the last bastions of Tau might, in the form of the two Ta'unar Supremacy Armours, were under constant siege. Executors were hitting them from every direction and it was only due to their rapidly dwindling escort of lesser Battlesuits, the skill of their pilots, and their own durability that had kept them in the game. Well, at least one of them anyway, since one had been reduced to a glorified turret due to having only a single working arm and having it's legs literally ripped out from under it by a Warden using a number of lesser Battlesuits as improvised projectiles.
The one that still stood on its own two feet was no better, as swarms of Executors surrounded it like vultures circling a wounded and dying creature. There was no doubt that the Ta'unar was as good as dead, but it was doing everything it could to ensure that it didn't go down easily, shooting weapons meant to destroy Titans with wild abandon in an attempt to scorch the hidden clouds of Executors from the land and air. However, like trying to swat a swarm of flies with your bare hands, the effort was in vain. Shields flickered and died as blind spots were exploited to destroy emitter after emitter and render the behemoth of Tau engineering as vulnerable as a newborn. Lesser Battlesuits were not as lucky, as Melta and Ionic Beams, Smart Bullets and Heavy Bolter Shells, and more all rained down on them like a tropical storm that had appeared from nowhere. Wrecks were left scattered at the stumbling feet of their once-proud and defiant champion as it was left to fight alone, attempting to hold back the flood as more Forms raced towards it and charged without care of their own survival. Wide Ion beams savaged the approaching mass of war machines, but did very little to hold back the swarm as it clambered over its own dead without a side-ways glance.
An Executor lined up a shot and fired, hitting the still standing Ta'unar in the back, removing the remains of its potent Multi-Driver from existence as it destroyed what remained of the Shield emitter that protected it from the brunt of the onslaught. A Diplomat fired its main cannon, it's shell containing an oversized Melta Charge and sheathed in a Power Field as it drilled through the air before detonating in the shoulder assembly of the giant machine and causing it to stagger to one side. Its aim thrown off along with its balance, the Ta'unar was unprepared for the charging Juggernaut that materialized from the hidden depths of the horde with it's fist already in motion and weathered in the crackling envelope of a Power Field of its own. The air shook with the reverberations of the sudden impact, shaking the ground and causing a few of the still-standing buildings to suddenly collapse as their battle-damaged structures finally passed the tipping point.
Hit by the colossal Power Fist, the Ta'unar's chest didn't so much cave in as it was blasted to pieces as the machine was launched from its feet. Momentum carried the Battlesuit as it left the ground for all of a moment before the Juggernaut flashed into motion, grabbing the lifted foot of the war machine, anchoring its own feet and pulling. Instantly, momentum was reversed and the entire Battlesuit found itself following the arc of the Battle-Form's arm as it spun the KX139 Ta'unar Supremacy Armor around before slamming it back into the ground with jaw-dropping force. If the pilot had survived the initial hit, then it the most definitely did not survive the reintroduction to the ground as buildings were reduced to even more rubble and dust under the weight of the latest corpse on the battlefield. Not waiting, Collectors swarmed forwards as the Juggernaut turned away, it's attention attracted by the Ion discharges from the one-armed remains of the last Ta'unar that the Tau had. Ionic energy and the smell of Ozone fluttered through the air as Shield layers were stripped away by the continued bombardment as it advanced forwards. With every step, shields buckled and dropped as the weapon fired again and again in desperation and despair at what was to come. Standing over the last Ta'unar, the Juggernaut didn't pause as it grabbed the weapon-arm of the Tau machine in a strong grip before ripping the entire assembly free from its mountings at the shoulder and throwing it into the ever-shifting sea of Collectors. Warminds marked it down as a priority item of Reclamation, but it was just one among many, and the list was already very extensive.
With the arm gone, and every other weapon that the Battlesuit had either proving ineffective or non-function due to one reason or another, the Battlesuit fell silent as the Juggernaut raised a clawed foot above the machine and then pressed down. Power Field-coated talons ripped through Tau materials and reduced the once-proud suit of advanced engineering into so many metric tonnes of scrap metal before moving onwards. Turning, the machine intelligence immediately returned to supporting the advance into the rest of the complex as it opened fire with its shoulder-mounted Particle Cannon and catching a retreating group of Crisis Battlesuits in the back and turning them into nothing but a molten stain on the ground.
It would not be the last.
XXX
Watching, I could only shake my head as I watched the Ethereal, Aun'Ro'Yr, along with Shas'O Ore'es'Ka and whatever other Tau remained alive up until this point. They had barricaded themselves inside the command centre of the Tau Stronghold and put as many ad-hoc defenses and barriers in place as they could, thinking that they could out last my forces and survive long enough for rescue to come. I honestly didn't know, nor care, what they were thinking when this idea came up, but I did know one thing for certain: There were no Tau ships left in the system. No rescue would have come, even if they had managed to survive for longer than ten minutes, if only due to my Forms being systematic in their search for any remaining Tau that might have still escaped the initial battle.
Costs and gains were weight against each other as every encounter was evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Earth Caste Engineers offered no challenge as even few sporadically armed members of the Caste were very little challenge for even the weakest of my Forms. Alongside them, captured Fire Warriors were pulled back from the frontlines after they had either surrendered, failed to respond to my Forms advancing, or had been overwhelmed and dealt with before they could even react. Considering that my Forms had reaction times that were orders of magnitude faster than un-augmented organics, that generally meant that individual Fire Warriors had no chance of outshooting even a single Form. Though, those Tau that managed to survivor at the side of the local Ethereal were another story altogether, since they remained alert and held high morale at the side of their pseudo-political officer.
As a result, the last stand of the Ethereal and his followers was probably meant to be heroic and dramatic, something that would have been immortalized in history as an example of the Greater Good and standing for one's beliefs to the end. Probably as a way of hyping up those soldiers that remained at the Ethereal's side in order to let them push passed their fatigue and despair. Unfortunately, it was immortalized in my slowly growing galleries under the name of Fool's Hope. I honestly thought it was fitting, especially since it was an image taken from the optics of their killer as it raised both hands into view before releasing a storm of Bolter shells. Done in a simulation of water or oil-based paints, the effect was rather impressive, if only in a morbid way as blood, gore and viscera coated what had once been the Tau command centre.
What had remained of their corpses had already been taken for Reclamation, with their head's surviving in suitable enough condition that information could still be extracted from the remains. Still, it was a low priority thing, since the Tau were now a non-factor for the conquest of this system. However, even without the heads of the local Ethereal and the garrison Commander being Reclaimed for any secrets they might have known, I was still bringing in a wealth of technological secrets from Reclaiming their technologies and the various captive members of the Earth Caste and Fire Caste that had been collected from the complex, along side the various corpses. The analytical minds and memories of the Earth Caste workers provided treasure troves of information and insight, more so than the tech as they also gave me background information that was rather interesting in its own right. Bits and pieces of news reports, the latest events from back with the rest of the Tau Empire, the newest scientific discoveries that the Tau had made, and even a few bits and pieces related to the odd 'mystery'. Though, I had to laugh at that last one, since a lot of it seemed to come from fucking around with things that the Tau either really shouldn't have been fucking with, or trying to 'make sense of Imperial superstition'...
Regardless, Tau stupidity aside, that was one less faction I had to deal with for immediate control of the system. Already, I was sending out orders for my Forms to start moving towards the Gates they came through, to transport them to Lacunae so that I could try and grab some of that Dark Eldar...
... What the fuck...? What the hell is...?
Oh Shite…
XXX
AN: Ok, there you have it! Hope you lot enjoyed this chapter and I'll hopefully be able to start writing another one soon-ish. I have no idea about any kind of timeline on the next chapter, or anything, but I'll see what I can do.
PS. Also, just for anyone interested; No, the neither faction of Eldar is the cause of that little reaction at the end.
Edit: Changed the last few sections to show that captives/prisoners were taken. Hope that makes it a bit better and fitting with the story.