On the primary world of the Avellaneda System, dark clouds shrouded the surface illuminated by a green sun, rapidly descending toward the ground.
Within the gray fortress, upright Rat-Face creatures worked the control levers with both claws, aiming anti-aircraft artillery at the sky.
Their long tails extended from their furry flanks, curling through the triggers as they scratched at the sharp teeth in their mouths.
Laser beams suddenly emerged from beneath the black clouds, exposing their black hulls only as the attack began.
Inside the cockpit of a Shadow-pattern Stormbird, someone pressed the firing button.
"Die, xenos scum."
Semenio smiled inside the cockpit.
Through the narrow field of view, he looked down below.
Twin-linked Lascannons unleashed beam after beam, merging with the fire from the other Stormbirds of the 10th Battalion into a dense ocean of light.
The crackling of lasers ionizing the air resounded through the sky, stabbing into the dusty eyes of the Rat-Faces.
The beams pierced the anti-aircraft artillery, detonating the bloated xenos and tearing the Rat-Faces in half.
*The Stormbird technology we possess far surpasses that of the Imperium's other Legions.
Only the Raven Guard seemed to possess similar vehicles. Theirs were smaller and carried fewer personnel; we could achieve the same results with a larger craft. That was truly something to be proud of.*
Although Semenio knew the Raven Guard had chosen smaller vehicles more because of their tactics than technological limitations, the Legion's comprehensive and specialized Stormbird technology still filled him with pride.
As he pondered, the Stormbird lowered its nose and began to dive.
Semenio clearly saw a Rat-Face, its sharp incisors protruding.
Slime dripped from them as its tail clenched tight and it frantically pulled the anti-aircraft artillery's trigger.
Scattered shots rose from the dense barrage, only to be swallowed by glittering