While digging through the ground for more blackstone fragments, the servitors had discovered an immense Necron pylon, which was presumably one of the conduits for the xenos's contra-immaterial nodal matrix that was stretching over the Nephilim sub-sector. Skitarii Hunter Cohort 428-Sigma, which had been tasked to oversee the excavation of Noctilith and provide security for the dig teams, happened to be on site when the blackstone pylon was unearthed.
<Destroy it,> Theta-Rho commanded. <Disassemble the foul xenos pylon and unmake it from reality. We cannot allow them to persist with their efforts to engulf us in this fugue.>
The "fugue" being the Stilling, as the members of Battle Group Hephaestus had suffered as they pushed deeper into the Nephilim Sub-sector. 44-Kariya knew how vital his mission was to destroy this and minimize the detrimental effects.
<Understood.>
Fortunately for the Skitarii Hunter Cohort, the Necrons were still asleep in their tombs, their metallic forms dormant and deactivated. A few had inevitably awakened, but were swiftly eradicated by the esoteric weaponry that Cohort 428-Sigma carried, the Skitarii Rangers putting them down before they could muster in force.
However, a warning flared up in the noosphere, and 44-Kariya swore when he linked into one of his scouts. The accursed Drukhari and Corsairs had returned to Kuroishi once more, seeking revenge for their previous humiliation.
"You will pay for wiping us out last time!" The Archon bellowed atop his Raider, surrounded by his elite retinue of Incubi.
<Of all the time to...> 44-Kariya groaned in binharic. Battling around the Necron pylon was a confusing nightmare as overlapping dimensional oubliettes and localized teleportation corridors added to the tangled devastation already created by the pylon's emergence. Clearly, the Drukhari were using the dimensional passages to slip out from the webway to assault the Humans.
Fortunately, Skitarii Hunter Cohort 428-Sigma had already prepared for this eventuality, having calculated and estimated the probability of any future raids. At 44-Kariya's swift instructions, they hunkered down in prepared positions, ready to defend their exacavation site and their spot around the pulsing Necron pylon as the Drukhari and Corsair raiders aggressively swooped upon their position.
Two Ravagers slid from the webway, their sleek and spiky forms bristling before they opened up with their dark lances. While their exotic beams failed to penetrate the ion shields wreathing the pair of Armigers that had sallied out, the Reavers dove and opened fire with a heat lance, gouging a chunk out of the Onager Dunecrawler. The Scourges weren't as fortunate, unable to see much as they opened fire with their dark lances from afar. While Kabalite Warriors disembarked from Venoms to fire at the Skitarii Rangers, the stealthy cyborgs avoided the worst of their fire.
Kaji reacted immediately to the encroaching Kabalite Warriors, his Armiger Moirax spinning to open fire with a gout from his irad cleanser, killing three outright. The other two fired their splinter cannons ineffectively against an Onager Dunecrawler, while the second squad of Kabalite Warriors' poisoned weapons took out almost half of Skitarii Ranger squad Delta-1.
Unfortunately for Onager Dunecrawler Alpha-1, he was charged by the Archon and his Incubi, who had alighted their Raider to charge at him. Under a swirling dance of deadly blades, they scythed down Tech-priest Enginseer Magos Epsilon Mugurma before cutting the poor Onager Dunecrawler apart. Skitarii Ranger squad Alpha-1 found themselves embroiled in the desperate melee, but they managed to take out a couple of Incubi in revenge.
The Venom charging squad Delta-1 had less success, failing to knock down anybody, but the Kabalite Warriors that had decimated their squad hopped back in.
However, the Skitarii had blunted the Drukhari's ferocious assault.
<Time to fight back, fellas!> 44-Kariya crowed. <Shoot them with everything you've got!>
Despite his orders, Skitarii Ranger squad Alpha-1 fell back in good order. The Incubi made to pursue, only to be cut down by a volley of galvanic and plasma from Skitarii Ranger squad Beta-2.
Ironstrider Ballisatrii squadron 28-Tetsuo fired, but their lascannons did nothing against the Ravager. Instead, it was the second squadron, 33-Tetsuya, that destroyed a Venom with a burst of lascannons, spilling the Kabalite Warriors who had hopped into it. Sato followed their example, his Armiger Warglaive loping forward. Thanks to his ion shield protecting him from the worst of the ravages, his machine spirit stayed strong and his aim true. The meltagun did nothing, grazing ineffectually against the sleek hull of the Ravager, but the thermal spear struck home, blowing the Ravager apart.
Onager Dunecrawler Delta-1 fired, his neutron laser obliterating the floating Kronos from existence, while his cognis heavy stubbers all but erased the Kabalite Warriors that spilled from the destroyed Venom that had been taken out by 33-Tetsuya's Ironstrider squadron. Onager Dunecrawler Beta-2 had to move a little, but it was worth it as he finally had the second Ravager in his sights. With a burst of fire, his missiles and Icarus autocannon shredded the skimming ship, sending it crashing.
Kaji's volkite wasn't as powerful, failing to destroy the Venom, but he proceeded to crush it with his siege claw, and the two surviving Kabalite Warriors hopped out and dove through the wall of the hab-block that Skitarii Ranger squad Beta-2 was currently occupying, almost taking them by surprise because their attention was focused on the Incubi they had annihilated, leaving just the Archon by his lonesome.
The Mandrakes melted away into the shadows and reappeared to continue pummeling Skitarii Ranger squad Alpha-1, who surprisingly hadn't suffered any casualties...until now. The Venoms continued zooming forward, and with a powerful heat lance damaged Sato's Armiger Warglaive severely, but he hung on. The Raiders and Scourges didn't fare well, missing their dark lances, or having their anti-tank fire bounce off harmlessly from the Armigers' ion shields or the Onager Dunecrawlers' emanatus force fields. Kaji's Armiger Moirax staggered as beams from the dark lances tore through his machine, but somehow, his Hardened Defenses allowed him to survive with just a single wound remaining, rolling 5 6s out of 15 damage to survive the lethal onslaught.
"Hah! The Omnissiah protects!" Kaji yelled triumphantly, rotating his ion shield skillfully again and again to deflect incoming fire from the Raiders and the passengers aboard one of them.
"HOW?!" The Archon roared in disbelief, even as he threw himself to butcher squad Alpha-1. At least his grenade had partially wrecked 28-Tetsuo's partner, sending the Ironstrider engine stilting. And the Reavers came rushing in to assist him, though the Raider and Mandrakes failed the charge.
On the other side, the Incubi came in and slew a few more Skitarii Rangers, reducing squad Delta-1 to less than half. The four survivors fought back ferociously, managing to club at least a couple of them to death with their rifle butts. The Kabalite Warriors mirrored their leader's courage, charging squad Beta-2 and 44-Kariya despite only numbering two against eleven, and though they killed maybe one unfortunate cyborg, the weight of numbers drowned them in a sea of gun smashes and augmetic stomps, pulping the fragile Drukhari.
Skitarii Ranger squad Delta-1 withdrew so that their Onager Dunecrawler escort could obliterate the Incubi with a hail of cognis heavy stubbers, though his neutron laser wasn't exactly optimal for firing into infantry. Onager Dunecrawler Beta-2 had more success, destroying the Reavers with anti-air fire, after the remnants of squad Alpha-1 fell back. The Ironstrider Ballistarii fired with uncanny precision, and this time they succeeded in downing the Raider.
Sato, inspired by their clean kill, did the same, his melta weapons melting the second Raider to slag. The Kabalite Warriors were forced to leap clear as their transport listed and plummeted, exploding and sending shrapnel into the already damaged Armiger Warglaive. Meanwhile, Kaji pushed his Armiger Moirax further to pursue the retreating Scourges, but despite burning them with his irrad cleanser, a good number survived, with only one Scourge succumbing to his intense fire and missed volkite.
Onager Dunecrawler Delta-1, dissatisfied that his cognis heavy stubbers failed to wipe out the Incubi, decided to charge in and kick them with his legs, actually killing one. In doing so, he tied up the surviving Incubi in combat to prevent them from charging the beleageuered Skitarii Ranger squad Delta-1, saving them from certain death.
The Archon was still keen to visit death, his Mandrakes joining him to massacre the remnants of Skitarii Ranger squad Alpha-1. Prior to that, he fired his blast pistol and destroyed 28-Tetsuo's squadron mate, sending the Ironstrider Ballistarius toppling in a wreck, before he plunged into the infantry with his twirling blades. By the time the blood had settled, about three of them had survived, and were hastily withdrawing for squad Beta-2 to fire into the Mandrakes, wiping them out.
The Scourges, though, continued to pummel the Armigers, leaping out. However, Kaji had one final display of defiance, overwatching with his irradiated flamer to kill all but one Scourge. It wasn't enough, as the second squad of Scourges tossed a grenade that detonated and blew apart his already failing armor. They then fired their dark lances, scything down Sato's Armiger Warglaive, which had taken further damage from the Kabalite Warrior's weapons.
The final surviving Scourge fired, his dark lance tearing a good chunk out of Onager Dunecrawler Beta-2, despite his emanatus force field.
With his squadron mate fallen, 28-Tetsuo took revenge, training his twin cognis lascannons on the Archon and firing. This time, he scored a direct hit, the Drukhari commander's cloaking field failing him for the first time, and the screaming Dark Eldar was obliterated by the ruby beam.
<Serves you right,> 28-Tetsuo growled, lowering his sights. <That's for my squadron mate.>
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The second squad of Ironstrider Ballistarii moved up and fired on the Kabalite Warriors, eliminating more of them, reducing them to half and scattering the remaining five. Meanwhile, the Onager Dunecrawler was able to annihilate the full squad of Scourges with his Icarus Array. Unfortunately, he was destroyed by the last remaining Scourge with the dark lance, who flew away.
On the other hand, the Kabalite Warriors fought back, their dark lance destroying one of the Ironstrider Ballistarii in 33-Tetsuya's squadron. Needless to say, both 33-Tetsuya and 28-Tetsuo avenged the fallen rider by spearing the surviving Kabalite Warriors with lascannons, though with only four lascannon shots, at least one Kabalite Warrior survived.
By the time their fury ceased, there was only a single Scourge left in the Drukhari side, flying away desperately when he realized how outnumbered and outgunned he was...only for him to be shot down by the cognis heavy stubbers from the last remaining Onager Dunecrawler.
"You've got to be kidding me!" The sole surviving Kabalite Warrior leader whined. "We got our asses kicked by those metal monkeigh again!? How many times have we lost now!? We keep throwing ourselves forward and getting annihilated by their firepower! What is this Skitarii bullshit!? I blame the new balance dataslate for the imbalance!"
Sigma 44-Kariya shook his head as he watched the sole survivor of the Drukhari-Corsair force escape.
<We won.> He sighed in relief. <But at what cost?>
The defenders had lost quite a lot of their units, but he supposed it was worth the strategic victory. The pylon remained under the Adeptus Mechanicus's control, and Archmagos Theta-Rho could begin destroying it. Apparently, he had retrieved an archeotech device from the secret vaults of his Ark Mechanicus, an ancient weapon that was capable of dissassembling the Necron pylon at the molecular level.
<No,> Theta-Rho said, as if reading the Skitarii Marshal's thoughts. Or perhaps he really did. <This empyric temporal dissonance disassembler unmakes the xenos machine temporally.>
<Huh?>
<Meaning it reverses the state of the pylon back to a time when it does not exist, thus erasing it completely from time-space.> Even though 44-Kariya couldn't see Theta-Rho's bionic features, he could hear the smile in his binharic pulse. <There is no vile technology the xenos possess that can surpass the immense ingenuity of the Omnissiah. Praise to the Holy Trinity of the Machnie God!>
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