Between battles, the Thunder Warriors rushed into nearby buildings, searching for anything that could be put to use.
They broke appliances and other equipment down into raw materials, then swiftly manipulated those materials into War Machines. Iron Men and armored vehicles, tasked with holding back the slow-moving Necron Warriors, were built to cover the civilians' evacuation.
The ships beyond the world established a teleportation point in an open area not far from those on the ground, creating a zone capable of resisting Necron counter-teleportation disassembly.
Anyone entering that zone instantly became a streak of light and rose into the sky.
The Salamanders quickly established a temporary defensive line nearby, using the buildings for cover as they fired upon the invaders.
The situation was somewhat chaotic. Civilians needlessly hunched low as they moved through the Salamanders' firepower toward the landing point.
Tu'Shan stood at the forefront of all his battle-brothers, Bolter in hand, personally forged by the Lord of the Fire Dragon. Every shot he fired stopped an enemy trying to lay poisonous hands upon the mortals.
The fighting near the landing point continued for dozens of minutes, while the vast stream of civilians was teleported aboard the ships beyond the world. Then Tu'Shan saw the end of the line—a woman dragging her child along as she screamed and ran.
"Get out of here!" Tu'Shan ordered the Astra Militarum soldiers. Firing as he advanced alone, he moved so far forward that he even passed the Thunder Warriors.
Just as Tu'Shan was about to reach the mother and daughter, the ground shook. Then a huge Black Scorpion burst from underground. That simple movement by the Canoptek construct kicked up a cloud of dust that filled the sky, and the mother and daughter, not far from where the scorpion emerged, were struck by