Sharpfang roared, utterly ignoring the plasma bolts powerful enough to melt light tanks. He let the searing masses of energy hammer his absurdly thick breastplate, welded together from multiple layers of warship armor, sending brilliant showers of sparks flying.
His enormous Power Claws whistled through the air, one on either side, and clamped viciously around the heads of two Stealth Battlesuits.
Crack!
The sturdy titanium-alloy helmets, along with the pilots' skulls inside them, were instantly crushed into a pulp of brain matter, blue blood, and wiring.
Within its very first second, the battle had become a one-sided massacre.
The tide of Gretchin surged madly down the narrow corridors toward the depths of the platform. Wherever they passed, they left no bodies behind, only drifting dust scattered across the floor and walls riddled with green bullet holes.
"Hold steady! Hold formation! Rain of Fire support will be here any moment!"
Along a broad main passage leading to the central engineering area, the T'au defenders finally established a respectable defensive line.
Dozens of enormous XV8 Crisis Battlesuits formed an impenetrable web of fire from behind sturdy cover. Pulse Cannons, plasma rifles, smart missile launchers... the muzzle flashes of all manner of high-tech weapons lit the entire corridor as brightly as day. Any creature attempting to cross that line of death would be vaporized instantly.
The commander of the defensive line, an experienced Shas'ui, watched the green tide ahead through his helmet. Though shocked, he remained rational. According to the battlesuit's tactical computer projections, the enemy's weapons lacked range, and they had no heavy fire support. As long as the defenders maintained their distance and kept them suppressed, victory was only a matter of time.
"They can't get through! Whatever those monsters are, against superior firepower and range, they're nothing but..."
Before the