The Hive Mind Denied

Lolan Quay, Yuion's major processing center and transportaion hub was usually the epitomy of efficiency, but now looked like a sick nightmare of mechanical consumption. Cargo loaders full of people and precious food stuffs were being feed into the mouths of large interplanetary cargo haulers being shipped off to Kandavar. Those given into fear tried to push their way past PDF forces and make way to the haulers without waiting in line causing further congestion and delay. Panic was ripe and fights broke out in the streets, casualties started to rise even before the Tyranids made planetfall as Adeptus Arbites units worked to beat the population back into normalcy.

There was very few static defences on Yuion and none of them were used for space defence. The bioships made planetfall onto Yuion with out a single shot being fired. Mycetic spores dropped in their billions disgorging the swarm at the remaining population. The mouths of bioships snaked down from the heavens to assimilate the vast biomass of the planets oceans. The Devourer was here and little stood in its way.

On the verdant fields outside of Lolan Quay Commader Isaac Vistrowski of the Cadian 794th Tank Brigade stood in the command hatch of his beloved Vanguisher and watched as the sun was eclipsed by the decending Tyranid spores.  As stoic as any Cadian he prepared his brigade to form a cordon around the city. His force would hold the line allowing as much food and civilians to make their way off until reinforcements arrived...

A wall of dust heralded the proximity of the swarm. Commander Vistrowski, gave the order to fire as soon as that wall was almost with range , knowing there was no need to aim at this point. The tanks roar at the bugs charge was deafening as hundreds of them opened fire at the same time. Thousands of the creatures died in that instant, but it might as well just been a cold wind blowing against them as the swarm paid those deaths no mind and charged forward all the more. With those shots being heard throughout the city real chaos broke out. The population no longer cared about being bludgeoned or shot at and the strongpoints were overran by the hysterical crowds.

Shot after shot of the main cannons were fired at the swarm, but nothing could slow its advance.  Soon the crews were forced to open fire with their secondary weapons and more care was devoted to felling the larger, controlling creatures. As those monsters went down, the defenders started to see their first reprieve. Their second came on trails of fire. Space Marines of the Emperors Shadows arrived from Tanacus and began their assualt. They arrived with earth shattering results, blowing chunks of land, trees, and bugs meters in the sky as 30 pods landed simultaneously on the western flank. Bolters, autocannons and flamers scythed down the lesser organisms in their hundreds in that initial landing, but as ammunition became scarce even the Emperor's finest were hard pressed to hold back the onslaught.

In the center and eastern flank things faired worse for the defenders as Trygons burst forth from the rumbling ground knocking over tanks, or sending them tumbling down the dark holes from which they emerged. The defenders were forced to fall back towards the city as their lines started to become overrun.

Up above The Sons of Medusa and Charcadons were fighting  a void battle to break the siege on the planet. The two chapters couldnt be anymore different. The Sons of Medusa choose to allow their long range to pick apart the bioships from range as they were occupied feeding on the planet, and the Charcadons charged their more heavily armoured ships headlong into the mass, dislodging boarding torpedos so their marines could tear apart the foe blade to blade. The combined assualt was devastating and many of the bioships burst apart under the barrage or ceast movement as they were blown apart from the inside.

With the majority of the bioships dying above the swarm began to faulter. With the Hivemind unable to send more synapse creatures into the fray the Tyranid assualt fell apart. The Sons of Medusa now sent in thunderhawks to deploy reinforcements  and Commander Vistrowski wasted no time in pressing this new advantage against the broken enemy.

Orbital lances fell from the sky breaking apart the last pockets of resistance and the combined might of the Imperium punished them for ever coming to this planet. The Tyranids were held back at Yuion at great cost to the planet and lives of the defenders.

Commander Vistrowski meet with Captain Jonus Kiln of the The Sons of Medusa 3rd company as protocal demanded. The meeting was short. Captain Kiln told Vistrowski to pack up his men and send them to Kandavar. A larger Hive Fleet is inbound for the capital.

The Devourer Strikes

Since the destruction of most of Hive Fleet Kraken years before, Kandavar has played an integral part in providing forces to defend against another emergence of the dreaded Tyranid foe. PDF forces have been drafted from nearby worlds, deep scanner probes sent out into the cold void, massive fortifications and newly forged space stations now stand defiant on the eastern fringes.

However, space is vast and scanners, soldiers, and even walls can be overcome with the right application of power and cunning. The Hivemind adapts and overcomes or starves and dies out. The Hivemind has gourged on enough human biomass to have gained a better understanding of its prey. With this knowledge infiltrating lictors and genestealers now understand that eliminating certain targets can allow for the bioships to come to lesser harm when attacking a planet.

PDF commanders, watch standers, astropaths and even power generator operators are all targets once they can be identified .

The fall of Signa IV came from one of these infiltrations as a genestealer stowed away on a Rogue Trader ship made way onto the moon and infested deeply into the the defense force and the servitors operating the scanners were all eliminated by las shots to the back of the head.

When the bioships arrived there was little warning for defenses to be raised on Signa IV and the moon was quickly stripped of all life. Barely satisfied the Hivemind moved on to bigger and better meals and Yuion is next in line to be attacked.

Yuion is almost 95% covered in water, with the major export being varying types of seaweed that can be used as dry rations. On the small amount of land a very small fruit is grown called the "Yui" fruit. This small fruit is only grown on Yuion and is used in medicinal practices and highly sought after. Combined with the fact the Yuion is the largest agri-world within three subsectors, its survival is detrimental to the existence of the people of Kandavar and their neighbors.

The Hivemind has shown itself again now and forces are being assembled to thwart this new threat. Fresh off of the loss of Tanacus the Emperor's Shadows make haste to Yuion. Also, arriving late to the attack at Tanacus the 8th company of Charcadons make warp transit into the Sector at the head of 3rd, and 6th company of Sons of Medusa. Bolsetered with more of the Emperor's elite Yuion most hold.

This planet is the perfect recipe for the Tyranids and if consumed would not only greatly expand the the Tyranids biomass reserves, but would make the sector fall apart to hunger. Will the defenders hold onto their precious resources, or will they be the appetiser.

The Fires on Tanacus

As the Tau approached, what remaining Imperial Naval Forces prepared for battle. The twin orbital platforms were ready to fire soon after the xenos ships came into scanner range and fire calculations were entered and the order given to fire once they entered maximum range. What they were not ready for was range in which the Tau could fire upon them. Three new Custodian Class Battleships stopped just short of the range of the Imperial defenses and unleashed a torrent of heavy rail cannon fire into critical points in the rings structure, causing it to collapse and plummet down into Tanacus atmosphere reaping catastrophic destruction  on the delicately assembled structure that is now keeps the planet together.
 

With the destruction of the defense rings on the attacking side, the Tau Battle Fleet moved into drop ship position on Tanacus. As the fleet prepared to discharge its cargo, the remaining Kandavar Battle Fleet struck the flanks on the Tau attempting to destroy as many ships as possible before being completely destroyed.

 Even with the battle in orbit happening hundreds of Manta and Orca crafts descended upon Tanacus thousands of battlesuits jumped from their delivery craft to lay rapid assaults to vital Imperial structures and quickly destroy as many Legio Titans as possible before they could be awakened for war. Over a dozen of the new Riptide battlesuits that were so successful at Mu'Gulath Bay cleared the way for more tau reinforcement to arrive.

The opening moments of the battle saw the Imperials sorely pressed back, and only a few points  of resistance still remained. With such a killing stoke aimed at Tanacus the planet was sure to be crushed. All hope of survival was fading from the defenders and Tau watercaste began to blair their propaganda overhead from the dropships as more Tau forces were marshaled forward.

Then from out of nowhere they struck. Space Marines of the Emperors Shadow Chapter deepstriked in behind Tau gun lines, or right between an attack force ready to crush the defenders of Tanacus. Quickly what seemed like a rout of the Imperial Forces turned into a great thrust back into the heart of the enemy. Battle Barges and Strike Cruisers came on the rear side of the Tau fleet still dueling with the Imperial Navy, destroying dozens of spacecraft in their initial assault. tau reinforcements began to slow, and the battle on the surface began to turn.

Critical to the defense of the planet was the holding of the relic Macro Cannon. With the Emperors Shadow's  pressing the assault, the Cadian  876th formed a cordon around "Old Betty" as they liked to call her. Unable to fire the cannon into space for fear of damaging the allied ships there, the cannon was realigned to fire at the Tau landing zone and killing thousands in its first call to war.

When all seemed to be turning in favour of the Imperium, the worst thing happened. In the opening moments of the battle when orbital platform sections fell into the planet and broke apart one of the major grav generators holding the metal surface of Tanacus together. At first one section fell and then more begin to break apart of crumble down in to the fiery core of the planet.

The Tau were defeated and denied the planet Tanacus, but it also no longer belongs to the Imperium. Space Marine forces teleported back to their battle fleets, but billions of citizens died as they could not make it to a bulk carrier in time to escape.

With the loss of Tanacus Imperial Forces prepared to return to Kandavar when a signal was received. A Tyranid threat has re-emerged and struck Signa IV the outermost moon of Yuion. With the Tau pushing in on the Sector the timing on the Tyranid threat could not have been worse. However, this is the Time of Ending and things can always get worse.