With a bang, the melt breaker on the head of the landing craft tore through the metal of the hull.
The ensuing inertia knocked Jacob slightly against the seat behind him, and then the seat belt tightened sharply, saving him from the inertia penalty caused by the retrorocket launch of the landing craft.
The lights of the landing craft were extinguished one by one, making the surroundings darker and darker, but through the optical components on his eyepiece, the 10th Company sergeant could still see the clear outlines of nine recruits, wearing safety belts and huddled next to him. All around, everyone was completely wrapped in silver-gray power armor. The brand-new coating and chapter logo on the armor surface reflected the light of the flashing status lights in the cabin from time to time.
They held weapons tightly in their hands, ready to slam into the enemy like ferocious beasts at any time. Jacob could feel the recruits' confidence surging.
In fact, strictly speaking, he is still a new recruit, which is slightly older than these "little guys" because they were all transformed during the Maelstrom Expedition, and he is a "veteran" who has already participated in the expedition.
Naturally, he became their leader.
What they have to deal with is a passenger ship full of people and the remnants of the Genestealers hiding inside.
A few months ago, their company commander Bahram began to conduct actual combat training after completing the environmental training of the new recruits, so he used two cruisers to take the tenth company to the Ben Tosun system near the Neisan system.
There are two colonial worlds in this system, and a Genestealer riot broke out on one of the planets called Tosun One. Although the scale was not very large, the Genestealers had developed for many years and had sufficient armed forces. The local guards were completely unable to deal with such a problem and could only stick to the unconquered area to temporarily confine the gene stealers to a certain area.
If it develops according to the regular rhythm of the empire, since "the matter is not serious", there is a high probability that the planet will not receive any support. Even if a Space Marine accidentally learns of this matter, it will not care until the planetary governor finds a way to solve the problem on his own. Or if he is eliminated by the gene stealers and the entire planet is on the verge of falling, then the armed forces of the empire may notice this and send troops or intervene.
But the planetary governor of Tosun No. 1 was very lucky. It happened that the Astral Knights Chapter came out for "practical training". When Bahram appeared with his troops on the governor's spire, the planetary governor knelt down excitedly. To praise the emperor is to kowtow.
After all, the gene stealers have been wreaking havoc for two years before this. I don’t know how many resources and troops the governor throws at them, but they are always suppressed. Poison gases are set off, fires are set, blockades, sit-downs, curfews, and so on. , the scorched earth strategy was used, and perhaps more civilians were wiped out in the process than the gene stealers, but they couldn't be eradicated, and instead the opponents spread like wildfire in the bottom nest...
Why exactly?
The governor scolded his officers again and again, but to no avail.
Seeing that the tithe payment period is coming soon, if it cannot be calmed down, their tithe collection for this period will probably not be carried out in time. The consequences will be quite serious. After all, there are many people eyeing the governor's position...
Just when the Governor was so anxious that he was about to go bald, the savior finally came.
Bahram didn't waste any words and directly asked the other party to hand over the military command completely to him. Of course the governor accepted it. Not to mention the command power, it was no problem to give the other party all his wives!
What happens after that is simple.
Bahram was well aware of the Genestealer's patterns of activity, and after reviewing two years of the Planetary Guard's battles, he immediately discovered the problem.
The Governor did promptly close the roads, pipelines, shafts and most of the passages that can accommodate a large number of people. However, facilities can still be connected between various areas, that is, huge pipeline passages, which often provide energy and power for those giant facilities. The integrated pipeline, although crowded inside, is enough to allow flexible creatures like genestealers to move.
In fact, the Governor may not be unaware of it, but this is a matter that is under the control of the Adeptus Mechanicus. In addition, the Adeptus Mechanicus ensured that it was already filled with high-voltage current and it was impossible for living things to pass through smoothly, so he didn't care too much.
However, Bahram refuted this view on the spot.
Point, the electric current in the Mechanicum's comprehensive pipeline channel may not kill an adult immediately, and the physique of the gene stealers is far stronger than that of normal humans, especially the purebloods among them, who are covered with chitin shells. The body is extremely resistant to arcs.
Almost all the cases where the Planetary Guards were attacked from behind were initiated by purebloods, which shows that the opponent is definitely capable of passing through the integrated pipeline channel.
So Bahram immediately ordered the Adeptus Mechanicus to close all the comprehensive pipelines in the fallen area, and then roughly analyzed the locations of several of their possible "nests" from the gene stealers' activity trajectories. The fastest way to deal with the gene stealers was There is no better way than to eliminate their clan leaders and elders first.
Then Bahram planned a grand hunt. He first asked the Planetary Guard to launch a full-scale attack to attract the attention of the gene stealers, and then used the governor's most elite guards to launch a feint attack on the suspected targets. According to the gene stealers The intensity of the reaction quickly targeted their three nests.
This is the shortcoming of Gestalt creatures. Many of their actions are almost instinctive, especially those related to the topmost creatures.
Bahram immediately ordered the tenth company to start a raid.
Soon, the roar of Land speed boats and Javelin speed boats could be heard in the dark and dark shantytowns and complex ruins of the Undernest. At the same time, hundreds of Eagle-type mechs belonging to the Tenth Company were also released onto the battlefield. On the battlefield, these flying machines are important objects for Bahram's new tactical drills, and they are also projects that Soshyan told him to carry out.
Under the control of the mechanical priests accompanying the army, these flying mechs quickly collect battlefield information and feed it back to the frontline warriors as soon as possible. When the opponent needs to raid a certain target, they will immediately launch a raid in small groups.
Each squad leader can call for the support of the Greedy Vultures. Their relatively small size also facilitates their activities in the bottom nest of pipes.
The Genestealers obviously did not expect that Space Marines would participate in the battle. Although this was the first time for the recruits to fight against such aliens, they had received sufficient training. Everyone strictly followed the instructions of the squad leader and killed in an orderly manner. A monster that taints human genes.
Their offensive was overwhelming, with explosive bombs piercing each deformed head, chain saws tearing apart the fallen flesh, and iron boots trampling the sticky internal organs and blood.
Just three hours later, all the nests were breached, and all the elders and bishops inside were killed, but the patriarch was still nowhere to be seen.
