A scream came from beside him. Victor turned and saw that half of Anton's body was gone. A Pulse Cannon round had struck him head-on, shearing him in half at the waist. His lower body was still twitching, while his upper body had already begun to smoke.
Victor vomited.
But he had no time to grieve.
An XV8 Crisis Battlesuit had leaped directly over the trench.
A massive mechanical foot came down, crushing the squad leader into pulp.
Then the battlesuit turned toward Victor.
Through the cockpit's transparent canopy, Victor saw the T'au pilot's face.
It was a blue-skinned face, astonishingly similar to a human's except for the T-shaped nasal slit and the sensory tendrils on the forehead.
Their eyes met.
Victor raised his Lasgun and pulled the trigger.
The laser struck the cockpit, but left only a scorch mark. The armour was too thick.
The T'au pilot raised his Pulse Cannon.
Victor closed his eyes.
Just then, a thunderous roar rolled across the sky.
A huge missile plunged from above, striking the Crisis Battlesuit squarely. The explosion blasted the suit to pieces, and the shock wave hurled Victor away.
He slammed into the ground.
Victor opened his eyes and saw a Thunderhawk Gunship circling overhead. Support from the Imperial Air Force had arrived.
More Thunderhawks and Stormraven fighters dove out of the clouds, dropping bombs and firing rockets at the T'au positions.
The T'au Sun Shark Bombers immediately moved to engage. The sky became a vast arena where aircraft from both sides fought furiously. A Thunderhawk took a hit and fell, trailing thick smoke. A missile struck a Sun Shark, turning it into a fireball in midair.
The battle on the ground also dissolved into chaotic close combat.
The air strikes temporarily stalled the T'au offensive, and the Imperial