Chapter Seventeen

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"Sanguinius. It should have been him. He has the vision and the strength to carry us to victory, and the wisdom to rule once victory is won. For all his aloof coolness, he alone has the Emperor's soul in his blood. Each of us carries part of our father within us, whether it is his hunger for battle, his psychic talent or his determination to succeed. Sanguinius holds it all. It should have been his…,"

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It is the Thunderhawks hovering around and evading the haul of spines and spores from Zoanthropes that gives off the signal that they are finally at the Forge. The Forge is not exactly a Forge but another Mechanicus Building specializing on creating materials and weapons of the unique kind and not in the daily manuals of the regular STC's. Every major planet has a Forge and this one is this. Unfortunately it is being heavily assailed right now by Tyranids with the Adeptus Astartes at the ground creating an impromptu perimeter in the entrance of the Forge and prevent the Tyranids from breaking through. With them are an assortment of Guardsmen and Skiitari which is deployed in defense of the Forge.

From above holding at the waist a calm Elindra and a closed eyed Mira who is apparently not used to heights without a steady place to put her feet in, Sanguinius can see the entire battle line from above. He can see the Imperial Guardsmen defending against the oncoming wave of Hormogaunts. Thanks to Astartes support, the Guardsmen have the Tyranids outnumbered. The zeal of the Astartes in their task inspires the mortals creating in them a zeal as they rain down hell fire of las-fire towards the Xenos.

Landing at the middle of the plaza where the Astartes has created a safe cordon where ammunition and supplies are being stockpiled, Sanguinius gently places his two passengers on the ground, the taller one dusting off the bare skin of her stomach and lower chest while Mira on the other hand vomits at the side not so gracefully, her pale skin, whiter than usual.

Immediately they are approached by Sergeant Phineas of the Second Regiment, the de facto head command of the Astartes with Captain Tyrion coordinating with the Seventh Fleet above at the Purgatory.

"My lord father," he bows at the presence of Sangunius. "We have held the position as best as we can. But we need to evacuate soon Lord father. Word is the Tyranids are making a strong push and our position here is untenable once the horde descends on us,"

"I understand, all that we need is a delivery mechanism for the Forge to make for the poison to be injected into the Feeding Spore of the Hive Fleet and then we can all leave,"

"Here is the poison that you have me carry son of the Anathema," says Elindra holding loft the large yellow vial to Sanguinius who then hands it over to Mira.

"Captain Mira I am assigning you to make sure that the mechanism for the poison is built and finished inside while we hold the Tyranids off," says Sanguinius to the Cadian Captain who looks a split second from protesting again before she grits her teeth and nods as she takes the large vial with both hands.

"I will make sure that it is done my lord," she simply says in acquisition.

"Sergeant Phineas, take her inside and make sure the Tech priests not brush her off," commands Saguinius to the Angel Encarmine who bangs his fist to his chest.

"It will be done lord father," he responds before shepherding the Cadian Captain up the stairs of the Forge to its depths leaving Sanguinius standing outside with Elindra who looks far ahead.

"So, we shall challenge the might of the Great Devourer this time around huh?" The Eldar Farseer comments making Sanguinius grin at her.

"Why, you scared Farseer?"

Her only reply is to twirl her Singing spear before grasping it with one hand sidewards. "As if, the day I am afraid against any foe is the day you lose your ability to fly,"

"That day might not be far off you know, with how many enemies we seem to be facing,"

"And I'm supposed to be the one worrying about the future from the two of us," snorts the Farseer before looking ahead. "I can sense the darkness coming; let us go meet our fates shall we?"

The Tyranids appear like a mass from street cordons like a wave heading straight at the middle of the Imperial lines. Bolter, cannon and laser fire meets the wave like a heat shield decimating Tyranids left, right and center. The mass however continues its momentum dragging on like a giant entity. Space Marines with flamers advance attempting to stop the wave with fire but only to be gobbled up by the mass of creatures that bulldoze anything and anyone attempting to stop them.

Sanguinius strides forward slamming his spear in the pavement with Elindra at his side before leveling it at the mass of creatures. Immediately a beam of light from the Spear of Telesto blasts forward turning to charred beings those at the front line of the mass stalling the stampede for a second or two. It is all that the Primarch needs as he leads the charge with a war cry that can be heard throughout the Forge.

"For the Unity! For the Emperor!" Sanguinius calls out before slamming head-first to the Tyranid mass, a single golden figure. With a war cry, the middle line of Astartes seing their gene-father at the forefront bull rushes forward with their own war cries with many a "For the Primarch!" and "For the Great Angel!" before managing to face the Tyranid horde head on.

Sanguinius fights with ferocity as he leads the charge. His left hand is holding the combi-bolter that fires rounds after rounds at the Hormogaunts and Gaunts, his right hand swinging the Spear of Telesto that cleaves through scores of Tyranid warriors that dare stand in his wway. Behind him the Space Marines fire their bolters alongside Heavy Devastators and Imperial guardsmen with their lasguns, hellgons and stubbers at the Xeno Creatures. The Great Angel crushes through a dozen Warriors, his momentum so powerful that even through the mass, that anything that is in his way gets turned into shredded meat. The more powerful synapse creatures that try to stop him are brought to the hands of death either through his combi bolter or the spearing of the Spear of Telesto. Elindra is also at his side cackling in glee as she swings her own Singing Spear down on the head of a Tyranid Lictor, and the psychic anti-matter weapon shatters the thick carapace of the Tyranid and spilt its insides into the ground. Around them the Astartes of the Angels Encarmine fire their bolters in coordinated positions, keeping off the worst off the primarch taking down Tyranid warrior after Tyranid Warrior not to mention the uncountable Hormogaunts. It is Sanguinius however who is at the forefront, his golden spear cutting dozens of Tyranid creatures with each strike. His combi bolter never stops firing taking down scores of the enemy with him at each fight.

Then the ground rumbles.

The entire line stalls, Imperials and Tyranids as the ground explodes around them alongside each street bringing what seems to be giant tunnels on the ground roaring their presence for the entire world to see. The sudden appearance of the tunnels brings with it a psychic null backlash that even Elindra has to hold her head as from her nosetrils erupts geysers of blood that throws her to the ground. Sanguinius wastes no time gingerly picking her up and pulling her to safety. Sanguinius merely frowns at the loudness of the noise and wince at the high pitched shrill inside his head, the shadow of the warp increasing as the attention of the Hive Mind of the Splinter Fleet becomes focused at the area. All around him, Guardsmen and Astartes are holding their heads at the sudden blinding headache assailing them like an avalanche.

Then from the giant tunnels come more Hormogaunts and gaunts moving in precision and coordination that the previous Tyranids lack. It is as if the new arrivals are smarter than the previous ones and they charge the Imperial lines with a surety and cleverness that is missing from the previous swarm of Tyranids that assailed their positions.

Sanguinius of course does not fail to notice this sudden change of behavior. He does not ignore his gut feeling about it also. Said gut feeling has saved his life many times in countless battles.

"To me sons of the Ninth! Rally to me!" For the Unity! For the Emperor! Not one step backwards! Let these xenos feel the wrath of humanity provoked!" the Great Angel roars out and the Astartes seized by fervor with the presence of their gene sire gathers around him in droves even as the Tyranids surround them.

Sanguinius pours his psychic will to his words even as the Guardsmen around them, especially at the front are overrun by Tyranid creatures that outnumber them by the factor of ten at least. The Astartes however holds no fear as they come into ordered lines and holds their weapons, bolters mostly facing the Tyranid horde. Even Elindra manages to finally pull herself together and wobbly gets to her feet leaning on her singing spear even as she wipes the blood from her nose.

"Fire! For Humanity! For the Emperor!" Sanguinius barks out and the sound of his multi bolter fires out shredding a Tyranid Warrior. The sound of fifty plus or so bolters and heavy bolters quickly follows alongside hundreds of lasguns firing in a pattern.

The hormogaunts and gaunts that come at them from all sides suddenly stumbles over dead as many bolter rounds pierce their flesh making their organs explode inside and out. The many lasguns also cooks them making them double over as the Imperial Guardsmen defending the forge add their rate of fire. Lightning chains blasts form Elindra tearing too shreds almost a platoon worth of Gaunts but still, there are too way many of them.

Sanguinius cleaves through five Gaunts beore emptying his multi-bolter into the head of a suddenly appearing Lictor from the mass. He kicks its body down back to the horde before cracking his knee into the face of a Hormogaunt bigger than the rest before it can reach its claws on him. As the creature reelins in pain, the Speear of Telesto pierce its forehead sideways before tearing its body to the side. He senses another Hormogaunt to his left and Sanguinius levels his gun to it only for it to "Click" in emptiness. He forgets that he has emptied the weapon before as he presses the trigger. Still, his sudden pause can barely be taken into account for his reaction is unhumanly fast, the Spear of Telesto making its way back to his defense. Even as the Hormogautn charges him head first, the golden spear snaps to attention skewering the xeno.

Something clings itself to his wings and he feels the weight of a Hormogaunt as he pulls the golden spear from the monster he just killed. He feels the pain as it hacks his wings. The creature has hooked itself to his appendage and he roars in anger as it attempts to slash down on his skull from above. The creature does not get the chance as it is blasted away by three lightning strikes from Elindra, the Farseer noticing the sudden threat to Sanguinius and has aimed her lightning at the Xeno at his back. More Space Marines are advancing at each side, acting as buffers to prevent the Great Angel from being overwhelmed. Those with flamers are especially on the works as they blast apart large groups of the gaunts and hormogaunts leaving only warriors for their brethren to deal with. Heavy bolters and bolters explode and burn their way through the waves of Tyranids forcing the line back even as the Imperial Guardsmen try to cover any breaches that come around. Despite the advancements though throughout the line, one can see that it would not hold. Heavy weapons teams are being taken down one by one which are essential to stemming the tide. Crews and gunners are being hunted down by Lictors and Tyranid warriors one by one killing them all.

Still despite the chaos, the Space Marines of the Angels Encarmine chapter hold their line. Their bolters and melee weapons are working overtime. As they move in tight formations, the Space Marines rain down desperate deaths against the Tyranids inspiring the mortal defenders with them as they fought alongside their gene-sire. Also with them are Elindra, a crimson ghost that fells Tyranid after Tyranid like wheat stalks, none can catch or touch her as she fights alongside the Primarch.

Sanguinius himself is fighting like his life depends on it as he is the backbone of the defence. He elbows another Lictor in the head cracking its skull before slamming it with a chainsword he picks up from one of his dead sons shattering the creature's head into bones and blood as he revvs the weapon. Another Tyranid warrior roars and rears its bone swords. Sanguinius moves back a step but the creature has reach and its bony weapons scrape across his right shoulder pauldron making a horrible screeching sound as the bony weapon drags across the ceramite armor. Sanguinius' golden spear makes a trip into the creature's chest in retaliation. The creature roars in pain as sanguinius' pushes the spear through ending its life in the process.

"For the Unity! For the Emperor!" Sanguinius booms again through the din of battle,a golden figure amidst the chaos of the fighting.

He swipes his borrowed chainsword sideways. Immediately four heads are decapitated by the swing before he pushes forward slamming the Chainsword at the back of a Hormogaunt mauling a guardsman saving the person's life as he nears cut the Tyranid in two. More explosions surround him and Sanguinius see another heavy weapons team raining down hellfire at his back preventing a mass of Gaunts from assailing his wings while he has his back turned. As it is he turns his attention to the bigger creatures. A Tyranid warrior's skull shatters at a single poke of the Spear of Telesto then the Primarch grabs another and throws the body at the Tyranid mass crushing many of the smaller organisms with it.

Then without warning Sanguinius felt tense impact upon his chest. His ceramite armor protects him but he can tell that the attack is dangerous. It almost manages to punch through. As it is he espies a Tyranid bigger than the rest that he has seen so far.

"A Tyranid Prime," he remembers as the large creature presses its attack forcing Sanguinius to take two steps backward as the right claw of the Tyranid impacts with the Spear of Telesto.

The large Tyranid leaps forward making swipes of its left-claw-wing at Sanguinius who manages to evade the deadly attack by taking another step backward. Long and bitter experience teaches him to avoid the poisonous looking claws knowing that t they wouold be fatal if they ever manage to get past his power armor. He counters immediately. He swings with the chainsword at the side of the Tyranid Prime only to realize that the weapon cannot cut through the carapace well no matter how much he presses. As it is he drops it and shifts to the Spear of Telesto instead. Just in time too to block another attack, claw vs spear in a brilliant flash of light and spark. A lightning strike from Elindra at the side hits the Tyranid Prime head on making it stumble. The Tyranid Prime screeches in outrage as it lifts its right claw freeing the golden spear from the deadlock as it slashes down upon Elindra who dives at the side. Sanguinius swings down hard at the joint of the creature's left claw. It fell with a heavy thud making the creature screech in pain.

It backs away seeking relief from the assaults on its good self but Sanguinius is not going to give it such ease. He launches himself forward swinging the golden spear at the creature's torso. The Tyranid Prime screeches as flecks of its carapace are ripped to pieces. It counters by attacking the offending figure trying to kill it. The reflexes of the Primarch however are superb as he blocks the flurry of claws again and again. Sanguinius strikes the creature forcing it back against a half-crumpled metal wall. Without warning however it opens its maw and from out of it belches out a poisonous green squirt straight at Sanguinius. It might have worked if not for Elindra landing atop its head spearing its long open mouth closed with her singing spear before jumping away barefooted, leaving her spear pinning the creature's mouth closed. She rolls to the side, her bone sword punching through the last of the carapace of the Tyranid Prime's defenses tearing a massive gash across its body. The creature screeches in agony despite the spear closing its mouth. A single sideswipe of a graceful golden arc slices through the front part of the creature's head felling its face and the rest of the head follows as it lands with a dull thud on the feet of Sanguinius.

A great uproar is head as the Tyranids scream in agony. They lost coherency and control. Hormogaunts and gaunts mills confused and Tyranid Warriors stand as if not knowing where they are. Lictors embedded throughout the mass suddenly found not liking their fellow Lictors and are attempting to rip each other apart. The Space Marines and the other defenders of the Forge does not miss their chance. They fire and they fire upon the enemy. Lasguns, hotshot lasguns, bolters, flamers and psychic power slams into the army of Hormogaunts and gaunts. Within a few minutes the entire Forge is full of Tyranid dead, their bodies reeking from the slaughter that they just faced.

As it is a tired Sanguinius simply stares at Elindra who is also covered in blood, slime and dust who chuckles simply as he grabs her bare pale waist and pulls her to his side giving her a companionable squeeze on the shoulder feeling her warmth despite the ceramite separating his skin from hers. They have gotten through the worst of it with little to no damage. They just stare as a running Mira appears holding an injection device the size of her arm holding it for both of them to see.

Finally, a device that would enable them to end the Tyranid invasion and save this planet.

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Author's Note:

Hello so another chapter done. I probably won't be able to update tomorrow but I'll try my best since its All-Souls Day. Anyway I hope you like the Elindra, Sanguinius duo supporting each other during the fight. Sorry if I suck at fighting wars. My brain is having trouble putting to words what is in my head. Hopefully I did not disappoint you all.

Yipee! We are three chapters from the End. Stay close readers. More coming from our dearest Primarch on the last chapters. Hopefully you will all support me until we reach the end.

ROFL I've got so Elindra and Sanguinius shippers that I totally do not expect that. I mean I get Papa Smurf and Yvraine, but Elindra and Sanguinius? Is there even a chemistry there? She's sarcastic and he's kind of indifferent to her but finds her aesthetically pleasing lmao hehehehe.

Anyway enough of my rant. As usual please review for your reviews are the song to this writer's heart.