Princeps Quilp scanned the horizon for signs of the enemy. His sensors were being pushed to their maximum limits as the wind caused the snow to whip through the buildings masking both heat signatures and making visual contact difficult. He ordered his maniple forward as quickly as possible. The sooner they got out of the landing zone and the more quickly they pushed through the tundra the sooner they would be able to be reinforced.
He recognized his mistake very quickly but the entire band was moving now. The enemy emerged from underground bunkers almost right in front of them. Only a research complex separated the Loyalists from the Traitors.
The only welcome the invaders received were repeated salvos of missiles that shattered the void shield protection of the Steel Marquis, the Warlord that took point for the battle group.
Quilp winced as he saw twin volcano cannons pound the lead Warlord, watching thick plates of armour melt and pour off the massive God-machine.
Still it strode forward, undeterred that its weapons were damaged.
"Brass," Quilp yelled over the coms to the Steel Marquis commander, "why are you not firing back!"
"All of our weapons are off-line, we are endeavoring to bring them back up," Sampson Brass responded.
"Then fall back!" Quilp ordered.
The only response was the titan raising its left arm that showed the massive power claw still functioning, but soon that was shot through.
The titan lumbered forward, no armour left to speak of anywhere and taking hits from two enemy Reaver-class titans and one Warlord.
Still it stormed on, the white squalls of snow removing the massive machine from its compatriots view now and again.
Quilp couldn't worry about what Brass was doing in the Steel Marquis, he sent orders to the two Warhounds to move up on the flanks and to his Reaver, the Kahil's Axe, to press the attack.
One of the enemy Reaver's charged the Warhound to Quilp's right and smashed it to the side, damaging its leg. Quilp ordered Kahil's Axe to shut the War Griffon Reaver down.
The princeps of the Kahil's Axe responded quickly. Twin las-blasters and bolter array knocked down the loyalists shields.
"Excellent, Trent, now finish it!" screamed Quilp over the coms.
But then a massive explosion engulfed the enemy titan and Quilp saw the read out for the Steel Marquis was gone. A Warlord titan just obliterated.
The loyalist Reaver staggered forward slamming into the Warhound before collapsing into a heap.
As the ash and debris rained down Quilp saw the enemy Warlord, damaged from the explosion of the Steel Marquis but still standing, he pumped two rounds from his volcano cannons into the machine and the twin blossoming explosions melted away any armour that was left on the massive machine.
It quivered for just one moment before erupting itself into a massive explosion as the plasma reactor inside detonated spraying melting debris across the battlefield.
The buildings around them were in ruins now but the loyalists were down to two titans.
That was when one of the Warhounds just stopped moving.
"List, what is the matter!"
"The engine is shut down, guv'nor," said Isaac List, it was damaged in the collision with the Reaver and now the whole titan is knackered."
Quilp pushed forward, they needed to clear these buildings.
The loyalists spent their fire on the other Warhound that had pushed past them but their weaponry was ineffective against it and faced with the impossible superiority of an undamaged Warlord and two other intact Titans the last two Reavers quickly withdrew.
Quilp, having achieved his objective, was happy to let them go.
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