The apothecary was triaging the wounded and the dreadnoughts were helping to carry those too wounded to walk back to the Stormbirds.
"Captain," said Sgt. Hakron from where he lay immobilized on the ground. The word came out as a mixture of grunt and hiss. *
Captain Krangaar leaned over the stricken warrior.
"What about Carsis," the broken man wheezed.
Captain Krangaar stood up and radioed to his Stormbird to get ready to depart immediately.
"Sergeant Haarn, take over the rest of the evacuation, I'm leaving immediately. I need to get a force to Carsis right away."
He moved towards the landing zone as quickly as his terminator armour would allow.
*for what happened to Sergeant Hakron see: TMP link
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The three ships moved in skimming the waves. They would drop the marines off as soon as the sensors indicated the water was shallow enough for wading. Hostiles had been picked up near the refinery and Krangaar thought this was the closest he dared land his men.
"Angron is going to be pissed that we are late for his summons," said Chaplain Kristof.
Krangaar stared straight ahead. He knew that Kristof despised Angron. As one of the oldest marines in the Legion he had not been impressed when they had been introduced to the primarch. Angron's behaviour since that time had not done anything to improve his opinion.
The light changed from red to green inside the cramped compartment of the lander. Soon all the marines were piling out the back of the vehicle, splashing down into muddy, brackish water knee deep.
They moved towards the shore where fires could still be seen burning in the darkness ahead.
Movement could be seen in the shadows cast by the still burning buildings.
Krangaar ordered Kristof to take squads Accalu and Toma along with Turgal to the left to see if anything was left of the pumping stations. Krangaar was going up the center with squad Gista and Terminator squad Dakan while squad Ciara and Birrkahn would move towards the entrance to the barracks on the right.
Squad Gista ran ahead of the Captain and the terminators, slowed slightly by their armour. Sergeant Gista yelled over the coms, "Enemy in sight, moving to engage."
What followed was yelling and bursts of gun fire followed by explosions and screams of agony.
Kristof piped over the coms that he had the man storage station in sight and were moving to secure it.
More bursts of fire came from Gista's squad and then confused talking quickly replaced by screams and then silence. Krangaar tried to raise Gista then the corporal then anyone as he hurried to their position.
He emerged from the water and the vegetation at the edge of the water to see hideous creatures standing over the prone forms of ten space marines.
Turgal was now reporting that he was engaging some sort of enemy skimmer. It was firing wildly at the marines as they advanced. With the massive claws the creature possessed it raked the armour of the dreadnought but the entombed warrior managed to get his power fist into the thick carapace of the floating monstrosity and tear great chunks of it away.
Marines poured bolter fire at the enemy behind the two giant combatants who returned fire with as much furour if not as much volume.
Wading into the hideously deformed creatures standing victorious over his marines Captain Krangaar ripped one in half with his chain fist, another one grabbed at him and he paired the blow with the fist tearing the creatures attack arm from it at the elbow. Punching again the powered chain blade ripped through the center of another assailant. The creature that seemed to be the master of these monstrosities started to move away from the World Eater and his creatures followed suit.
There was no relief for the Space marine commander though, leaping from piles of debris from a crashed Imperial aircraft more of the lithe aliens attacked Krangaar, tearing at him with scores of rapid blows with sharp knives. There were too many to parry and the Captain could feel them finding weak spots in the armour and tearing through to his skin.
He lashed out with the chain fist and soon the alines that were not dead were running.
Breathing heavily he looked up in the darkness to see bizarrely coloured xenos moving towards him. They leap and skittered over the terrain as though it were not there. He pounded up the slope of the crater left by the fighter and smashed into the first of them, it tried to leap aside but Krangaar adjusted his attack catching the creature at the waist and splitting it in half.
He could feel the blood pouring out of him as he fought. The creatures surrounded him and as one attacked to his rear it darted out of range while another attacked from a different direction. One even turned a somersault over his head, striking down at his top as it went over him.
The moved to his right just as the darkness solidified to his left and a crackling glaive came down on his left leg cutting right through his armour and tumbling him to the ground.
Crippled now, his leg almost completely severed, Krangaar saw the night lit up by fire. Several of the aliens screamed in agony as they were engulfed.
The warrior that was standing above him ready to administer the coup de grace moved towards the terminators that had emerged from the vegetation at the edge of the water.
Unable to stand Krangaar watched as Squad Dakan's boaters rattled through the alien ranks, mostly bouncing off armour so dark it made the night seem well lit by contrast.
The Terminators then charged the aliens, as they did the alien leader emerged from behind her men, leaping forward with a massive spear. With almost impossible quickness she landed blow after blow among the terminators. Some were turned aside by the bulky armour they wore but several struck home and the Terminators screamed in absolute agony before falling.
Several aliens were cut down by the World Eaters power fists but neither side budged as the battle raged on.
The brightly garbed warriors Krangaar had been fighting leapt over him and behind the Terminators, then charged into the fray with admirable bravery, thought Krangaar.
Their blows were more surgical than hammer like but they were effective and soon all three remaining terminators were on the ground.
The aliens were granted no reprieve in their success. Belter screamed among the unarmoured ones blasting them to pieces. Squad Ciara came charging forward out of the Darkness. The aliens moved away from them. Sergeant Ciara saw Krangaar and moved towards him, kneeling at his side while pumping bolter round after bolter round towards the retreating enemy.
Kristof reported that they had driven the enemy before them or slaughter them where they stood. He was now moving towards the main refining area.
Just then there was a viscous snarl over the coms and the sound of a plasma pistol discharged, the sound of a struggle ensued and then Kristof's com went dead.
Behind him, Krangaar could hear ancient Birkhan behind him. The sounds of the heavy bolter was followed by the high pitched screams of the enemy. He heard the familiar pulping sound of the dreadnoughts power fist catching and crushing an enemy body. He dragged himself to see the fight.
"Whatever these creatures were, cowards they are not," he thought as he watched the fragile-looking aliens dance around the dreadnought.
Light was coming up now and as Sergeant Ciara and two of his men were dragging Krangaar back towards the landing point Krangaar gave the order to withdraw. They couldn't afford to be in the open come full light.
