Beams of high-energy fire lanced through the air, grazing the armored hulls of the descending Thunderhawks. For the first time, the Space Wolves realized the sheer potency of the Kin's anti-air capabilities.
Ironkin operators manned massive atmospheric defense batteries with terrifying precision. One Thunderhawk, trailing thick plumes of black smoke, spiraled out of control and slammed into the earth near the starport. Through the view-slates, they could see swarms of Hearthkyn Warriors brandishing weapons as they charged toward the crash site, yet there was no way to save their brothers.
Of the initial strike force, only three Thunderhawks and a single Imperial lander carrying two hundred men managed to breach the starport's perimeter. More than half the force had been lost before their boots ever touched the ground.
But the mission endured. They had to seize the starport to secure even a ghost of a chance for the survivors. Though they did not know what manner of foe these xenos truly feared, they could not afford to gamble. Even if every soul among them was reaped this day, the gene-seed and the Chapter relics had to be sent clear of this world.
BOOM!
The gun-ships cleared the landing zones with their dorsal battle cannons and hull-mounted heavy bolters. The assault ramps hissed open, and the Space Wolves leapt from the bays while the craft were still meters above the deck. Once their passengers were deployed, the Thunderhawks pulled into a steep climb, attempting to break for the upper atmosphere.
As the Astartes carved out a beachhead against the starport's surface guards, the fragile Imperial lander touched down. Two hundred Cadian Shock Troops, armed with meltaguns, plasma rifles, and various patterns of rocket launchers, stormed out of the hold. They unleashed a devastating fusillade upon the surrounding Votann warriors.
Standard-issue lasguns were largely ineffective against the Hearthkyn's Void Armour or power-plate, to say nothing of the solid metal chassis of the Ironkin. Only by saturating the field with heavy specialized weaponry could the outnumbered humans hope to achieve a meaningful result.
Seeing the Cadians temporarily suppress the guards, the Space Wolves moved to seize the starport's primary facilities, specifically the space elevator terminus. A Techmarine labored over a massive blast door forged of fortress-grade ceramite-alloy, eventually bypassing the locking ciphers.
The moment the great doors groaned open, the Votann within unleashed a coordinated volley. The Space Wolves reacted instantly, flooding the interior with smoke grenades to choke the enemy's vision while they charged into the gloom, guided by thermal-tracking optics.
The sounds of rending metal and the guttural roars of dying Hearthkyn echoed through the haze. Under the cover of the melee, the Techmarine moved to hijack the elevator's control cogitator.
BOOM!
A thunderous detonation rolled down from the heavens. Both the Cadian Shock Troops holding the perimeter and the Votann warriors looked up in unison. Even in the harsh light of day, the explosion beyond the atmosphere was blindingly bright.
The orbital starport, along with the large transport vessel docked within it, had been vaporized. Countless shards of burning wreckage streaked across the sky like a rain of falling stars. As the station disintegrated, a massive kinetic shockwave traveled down the length of the space elevator's tether, hurtling toward the surface.
"Sirs, evacuate! Get out now! The starport is gone!"
A vox-operator sprinted from the perimeter into the smoke-filled base facility, screaming the warning. The Space Wolves, startled by the sudden shift in fortune, abandoned the facility immediately.
Outside, they watched as the colossal space elevator began to buckle and collapse. After leading his men in a desperate scramble to avoid the falling superstructure, the Wolf Lord gazed up at the burning debris in the void.
"It seems we are too late," he growled. "Signal the Thunderhawks and the lander to retrieve us. Tell the reserves to stand down, extraction is no longer an option. Consolidate all combat strength. Whatever foe is coming, we shall meet them in battle. For the Emperor's glory!"
As they waited for their transport, an odd thing occurred: the Votann began to abandon their assault on the Imperial positions. The defenders, prepared for a final stand, were left in a state of bewildered confusion.
Then, the sky began to fall.
Thousands of streaks of fire descended from every quarter of the heavens. Through the auto-senses of their power armor, the Space Wolves saw the true nature of the "meteors." They were massive vehicles and gargantuan metallic crates of a design utterly alien to Imperial records.
"Is this the enemy the Votann feared? What in the name of the Allfather is this?"
As they watched, the silver craft began to maneuver. Strange, sleek fighters dived into the low atmosphere, hovering with eerie stability. Their intensive plasma fire swept the ground, reducing any resisting Kin forces to scorched earth.
Bulky transport vessels touched down throughout the Votann city, disgorging ranks of silver mechanical entities that marched in perfect, terrifying unison.
The massive crates unfolded.
Mechanical behemoths, rivaling the scale of Imperial Titans, rose from the dust. The Kin's Land Fortresses were plucked up by these giants like toys and crushed into scrap. The rail cannons that had easily gutted Leman Russ tanks failed to penetrate the shimmering energy shields of these colossi.
Occasionally, a smaller mechanical entity would have its chassis pierced by heavy fire, only for the liquid-metal alloy to flow back into place, mending the wound in seconds.
The powerful Hearthkyn attempted to charge, but they were cut down in swathes by orange beams of light emitted from the machines' limbs. The Hearthkyn in exo-armor, who had proved deadly even to Astartes, were effortlessly cleaved, armor, weapon, and flesh alike, by pale gold blades manifesting from the machines' wrists.
The Ironkin tried to shield their organic kin, only to be vaporized alongside them by high-output beams. The sheer efficiency of the slaughter stunned the Imperial observers.
Soon, the silver tide reached the Imperial lines. Tension gripped every soldier, human and Astartes alike.
However, the machines simply ignored them. They bypassed the Cadians, the Space Wolves, and even the small groups of fanatical Tech-Priests who were, even now, scavenging wreckage from the battlefield. The machines' fire was surgically precise, avoiding every Imperial lifeform.
Realizing these new metallic entities were not hostile to them and possessed a lethality far exceeding that of the Votann, the Tech-Priests grew bold. Some began to follow the mechanical units, attempting to scan them.
Then, to the shock of all, it became apparent that these unidentified machines seemed to possess a strange, inexplicable aversion to the Tech-Priests. Despite being capable of routing the technologically advanced Kin, the machines appeared to scatter and flee when chased by the chanting, overzealous disciples of the Machine God.