As the dust settled on the battle at the Chaos Temple and the wounded began to moan, their pain resonated across the tortured world. "You summoned me scorcerer?" the Warpsmith asked. The purveyor of the warp turned from his auguries, some technical, others more arcane and bloody. "An opportunity has arisen. The filthy Xenos have done our work for us. To the south the Corpse God's followers are laying in their own blood." The Warpsmith smirked, "I would prefer to have killed them myself but that does save the necessary time and assets. What does this have to do with me?" "The Eldar care nothing for what they left behind. A treasure trove of bodies and equipment...to include a Sicaran. It will be a fixer upper but I imagine you will enjoy the challenge of filling in the bright lance holes. Take what equipment you find but bring me the bodies." He waived ambiguously at some braziers in the corner, "I have my own needs for them."
The Chaplain listened to the reports coming over the Vox. Damn those pointed-ear bastard! They would pay for what they had done later but with almost an entire company down and a sacred relic of the chapter there was not time. He rallied his remaining troops. "We launch. Now!"
The chaos troops took position with the Havoc squad setting up on a hill, covered with the bodies of fallen Fists. The chaos terminators moved into position at the second pile of bodies. The Rhino with the tac squad drove towards the Sicarn laying stricken in the middle of the clearing. The Rhinos and Land Raider of the Imperial fists crashed into through the trees and the Imperial Fist Devastators took the high ground on their side of the field. The Havocs open fired with their las cannons on one Rhino, crippling it. The Defiler opened fire with its battle cannon, killing four of the Devastators outright.
The Imperials fired back but failed to cause any damage.
Overhead, a Heldrake screamed and swooped towards the crippled Rhino and its deployed squad. Balefire scorched the tac marines and they broke, their bodies covered in unholy flame. The Havocs switched their fire to their uncorrupted kin and cut down the last of the devastators. In turn the Imperials' Land Raider opened fire on the Defiler, wounding the fell creature. The first of the Imperial Fists Storm Talon joined the fray but it's fire was ineffective.
The Helldrake turned and raked the Storm Talon with its claws, smacking it from the sky. The Defiler fired it's battle cannon at the nearest Rhino, causing a hull point of damage and killing another of the Tac Marines, soul fire burning another to death. The Tac Squad showed the resolve of Dorn and rallied, returning to the hill on which their fallen brethren lay. The other tac squad opened up on the chaos bikers, killing one with the machine spirit of the Land Raider cutting down another.
The Havocs cut into the tac squad killing four and the chaos biker took another. However the tac squad took out the remaining bikers. Two more Storm Talons and a Storm Raven dominated the skies. One storm talon cut down the last biker before it could reach the Tac Marines in front of it. The Storm Raven took its revenge on the Heldrake, riddling it with holes until it was a flaming wreck. The land raider fired on the defiler which failed to wound, its previous one healed by its demonic powers.
The defiler charged the land raider, ripping it open like a ration can, trying to get to the sweet meat of the Chaplain within, which the rest of the Chaos Hoard either held onto its position or traded impotent fire with the Loyalists. All Imperial fists opened fire on the Havoc squad, trying to rip them off of the hill but three were left standing. Drawing from the courage of their champion the managed to hold position. The chaplain charged the fell robotic abomination in front of him but was cut down by its dark power.
The Imperial Fists quickly dragged their wounded and the progenoid glands of the two groups that they held on to then fell back, knowing the day was lost.
Darkness fell on the battlefield. The Warpsmith ran his hands along the hull of his new prize. There would be rites of resurrection to be performed, or failing that, rites of demonic installation. Either way the garish yellow of these loyalist fools would be stripped off. Perhaps something in the way of black. And Spikes. Yes definitely spikes. And maybe a hood ornament made out of the fallen Fists if he could find a body no too beaten up.
The sergeant dragged the body of the Chaplain back to the awaiting Storm Raven. They had lost a Land Raider which stung but that the Sicaran was not in enemy hands was a disgrace he would not soon forget. Miraculously the Chaplain had survived! Hope for Lemnos remaned, so long as the Iron Hands prevailed they would cast the forces of Chaos from this system, but it was time to call for reinforcements.
