Space E-war

[The Kingpin]

Serephir sighed. this wasn't enough information to mobilise. attacking the Covenent blindly was a waste of manpower, firepower and time. "You have no idea whatsoever on where we might be able to go? possible sources of information? details on a base they used for planning, or storage?" asked Serephir...

[dinoman666]

"Unfortunately, the Covenant has spread rapidly, as well as gained several allies," the Geth replied. "It is impossible to ascertain an important base location at this time. Our suggestion would be to find one of the seven Halo Installations created by the Forerunners. They are significant icons in Covenant society, and one or more may have been partially colonized by them. In addition, there are places you can gather additional resources. The Citadel, once abandoned by the heretics, was left for other races to find now that its location had been discovered. It is quite capable of sustaining life, and it is possible any races that have currently colonized it would be willing to assist against such a threat."

[Doc 42]

Blackfire landed back at her hive's small mountain retreat, two dead hormagaunts in her claws, snatched from the remains of a battle before the arachnids could take them away. The bodies were hidden well and left for the workers to feed off. The workers were young and would need food if they were to grow properly. This land didn't suit the Raka-anra. They would need a stable food source quickly to have any hope of surviving.

[TyrannoTitan]

The Hive Mind, reinforcing the small group with more hormagaunts, sent them back out of the mountains once more, though they were supported by a small army of winged Gargoyles from the air. They were also supported by allies currently unseen...ones that would make their presence known once a threat emerged.

[dinoman666]

Once again the Ripplers attacked the Tyranid force, but they focused on the Gargoyles, recognizing the fliers as the main threat, considering the lack of ranged weaponry on the part of the Hormagaunts. They attacked from a distance, shooting down several Gargoyles in the initial blast of stingers...

[TyrannoTitan]

The Gargoyles split up to avoid the barrage, soon surrounding the swarm of Ripplers. Firing their ranged weaponry, tiny beetle-like creatures were sent burrowing into their enemies' carapaces, eating them from the inside out. While the Gargoyles were not very durable, their small size and fast speed enabled them to avoid the spines quite effectively.

[dinoman666]

More Ripplers soon arrive, attacking the distracted Gargoyles from the rear, latching onto them and tearing them to pieces with their sharp mandibles and clawed legs, while the ones being fired upon simply charged into the fray themselves, ignorant of any pain, fighting on bitterly until their bodies simply couldn't function anymore...

[TyrannoTitan]

As the Gargoyles tried their best to avoid the Ripplers, a group of Raveners burst from the ground below, chest mounted devourers shooting up at the Ripplers, positioned all around the ground forces, the acid weapons damaging Ripplers and the occasional Gargoyle alike. At the same time, the Tyranids in the mountains readied support...they would rid themselves of these winged fiends one way or another.

[dinoman666]

The Ripplers used the Gargoyles they latched onto as living shields, absorbing Devourer fire before tossing the body away and going after another target. The swarm continued to thicken, more Ripplers appearing and raining explosive death down on the Raveners and other ground-based Tyranid forces...

[TyrannoTitan]

The Gargoyles adopted a new tactic, piling onto the nearest Ripplers with great haste. While many were skewered onto the various sharp limbs of the creatures, they also weighed them down heavily, causing them to descend. Hormagaunts waiting below lept onto the Ripplers that descended, able to jump a surprising height, tearing apart the insects with their bladed limbs. The warriors, meanwhile, kept moving, staying close enough to direct the swarm, but far enough to avoid heavy concentrations of fire.

[dinoman666]

This attack did little to stop the swarm, as many Gargoyles were being killed to stop only one Rippler at a time. The fliers were soon reinforced with Hoppers, which buzzed the ground forces, plucking Hormagaunts from the ground, stinging them into paralysis, and carting them away, back to the hive...

[TyrannoTitan]

As the Hoppers neared the ground, the Hormagaunts' brethren lept upon them with surprising speed, tearing apart the insects as they attempted to carry their stunned allies away, which subsequently caused the victims to plummet to their deaths. Even the warriors got involved, hacking Hoppers in two as they attempted to steal away any nearby Hormagaunts with their rending claws. More Raveners emerged from the ground, firing upon the winged fiends as they were distracted with the Gargoyles. From behind the swarm came a small army of termagaunts, led by deathspitter-carrying warriors and the Hive Tyrant itself. Firing their ranged weapons, Ripplers began to plummet from the air in rapid succession, the deathspitters and venom cannon tearing the creatures apart with only a few shots...

[dinoman666]

Seeing the new Tyranids arrive, the airborne Arachnids fled, buzzing out of reach of the short-ranged weapons of their foes. Nothing else appeared from the ground or the sky, leaving the battlefield in an eerie silence...

[TyrannoTitan]

The Tyranids had fought back the initial defense...the Hive Mind knew it was not as simple as it appeared. They would scout ahead once more, sending the weakest of the Hormagaunts deeper into the natives' territory, hoping to reveal their next line of defense...

[dinoman666]

The Ripplers continued to buzz high in the sky, not attacking the Hormagaunts as they pressed deeper into the barren plains. For the moment, it seemed as if the Arachnids had retreated...

[TyrannoTitan]

The Hormagaunts, ignorant of the Ripplers hovering above, continued to bound deeper into the territory. Already the Tyranid swarm began to push forward very slowly in the wake of the Hormagaunts, while Rippers came down from the mountains to feast on the dead Arachnids and Tyranids alike.

[dinoman666]

Soon enough, the ground caved in underneath the Hormagaunts, sending them tumbling into the gaping maw of a Tank Bug. As the creatures were pummeled and swallowed, the Tank Bug dug back beneath the earth, while blue plasma bolts began to arc over the far mountainside. The Plasma Bugs, now that they had no targets to shoot at in space, turned their abdomens to the enemy Tyranids on the ground, using their weapon's extreme range to their advantage...

[TyrannoTitan]

Without any spotters, the Plasma Bugs were shooting blind. The main base of operations for the Hive in the mountains remained largely untouched, but those out of the safety of the mountain range quickly stopped, making sure that no Arachnids were in visible sight, the highly advanced senses of the Raveners watching out for any camouflaged spotters. The Hive Mind decided another change in tactic. Further back, two Mawlocs began burrowing into the ground, creating large tunnels the rest of the swarm could move through. While they were underground, they would be protected from the artillery...but they knew the natives, too, used the underground of the planet. With Raveners, Trygons, and Mawlocs on the prowl, however, an underground ambush was highly unlikely, as such a thing would be detected long before it had time to work...

[dinoman666]

The plasma rounds exploded all across the plains, not aiming for the mountains, but concentrated on where the Tyranids in the open had stopped. High above, a pair of tiny, mosquito-like Recon Bugs watched the Tyranids below, too small to be spotted by most means, especially with Ripplers buzzing around them, sending pheromonal and mildly telepathic signals back to the Plasma Bugs to increase their accuracy...

[TyrannoTitan]

The Tyranids began to fall back before any of the slow-moving projectiles hit too close, the Hive Mind deciding it was not safe. Soon the creatures began to pile into the newly made tunnels, which were large enough for even the Hive Tyrant to pass through. The tunnels were located not far from the mountain pass, giving the illusion the creatures were retreating fully into the mountains...