Procesos cuánticos de la amplificación óptica

Layr had chosen a position deep in the desert for its solid ground and excellent vantage point. The promontory looked out over the On a series of crags that ran near the road to Dig Site

113, guardsmen had abandoned their debilitated Chimeras and had perched themselves in natural cover. Bullets rained down from their autocannon emplacements and cut heavily into the ranks of Necrons that advanced on the Minervan line. Entire swathes of skeletons were mowed down by the automatic weapon fire, only to reform and begin moving once again.

A Monolith appeared over the tallest of the rocky emplacements and opened its tomb-like door to a sickly portal behind it. Necron Warriors and dreaded Pariahs took the small leap from the portal door and immediately engaged the brave Minervans who had provided covering fire for their brethren. Their Warscythes cut deeply into the soldiers as they lay prone against the rocks. Some managed to rise only to be bisected by a dark, barbed staff. The Necron Lord cut the limbs from an entire squad of soldiers, then inexplicably moved in a blur to the next squad to repeat the gruesome dismemberment, its flowing robe twisted and stained in blood.

ocean of sand to the north and provided an escape route to the southeast – albeit one that would lead back to the Yngir. It was from this vantage that he witnessed a wall of steel approaching from what must have been Francillian Drill and Garren's Point. Most distressingly was that scouts reported the tanks were in quick pursuit of his forces from the west, no doubt to finish the job they had begun at Tempest Wash.

With his air support now secure within the Webway and his Tormentors confirmed as back in Commorragh, Layr began to feel the too familiar pinch of the Minervan Legion. Artillery rounds hammered the rocky escarpment while missiles fired from far off on the distance came far too close to striking the Ulia'till than he would have liked; the shadowfields were holding for now, protecting the precious wraithbone cargo within.

Suddenly a massive implosion rippled from the center of his camp and sent darklings reeling toward the dark red, maelstrom that spun where the Gate of Ransom previously sat. A Vessel of Pain that was staged to enter the Webway next narrowly escaped destruction from within the energized funnel and moved to the outer sections of the camp until the violent disturbance dissipated. The mon-keigh had managed to shell the gate with amazing precision and cut off one of the Dark Eldar's last remaining avenues of escape.

The Archon stared down from the Ulia'till at a half dozen barges, scores of captured vehicles, and a thousand human prisoners; he paused for an uncharacteristically long time and then contacted the captain of the Bas-lan’t and the Slavebringer pilots personally. A handful of Syndicates that could be trusted not to notify the others mounted their Raiders and fled toward the

Bas'lant's active portal, vanishing into the Webway. The message

was not heard in the minds of the other Dark Kin but it was immediately seen as the two Executors and the Slavebringer Assault Boats abandoned all that remained on the surface and took to the skies.

Indyuvil did not look up – she looked out on the horizon as the Minervan forces tightened the noose around her position. The

Enarathi was still not worthy of spaceflight, its shadowfield

generator could not be repaired here on Scarab, and the weapon systems were still inoperable. The Webway portal was its only redeeming feature now, but despair began to take over the remaining darklings as Hellstrike missiles struck the damaged Executor in the nose section and killed the pilots instantly. The giant craft cracked and groaned as cascading explosions began ripping the transport in half. Another volley of artillery fire smashed into its main body and sealed the fate of the Enarathi and its crew. With its systems quickly failing, it glided over the Dark Eldar camp, raining huge chunks of its fuselage as it went. Over the escarpment it fell, breaking apart and splashing into the sand. Its momentum carried the debris forward as the giant broken sections slid and tumbled to a noisy halt, half a kilometer from the advancing Imperial forces.

The inbound Warhounds bounded across the sand in advance of the super heavy tanks and other formations that they supported. The scout Titans strode through the smoking ruins of the

Enarathi, strafing wounded Dark Eldar as they crawled from the

wreckage, careful not to break pace. Salamanders quickly followed, opening fire on anything that moved and securing the wreckage. The remaining forces roared past them and toward the passes that led up the promontory and toward the main battle against the Necrons. The opportunity to kill the Dark Eldar along the way was merely bonus pay to the crews.

Indyuvil wasn't about to wait for the mon-keigh to roll over them with their clunking machines, and going anywhere was a far cry better than waiting for death to take her standing still. The prisoners were once again released like at Dig Site 113 and

herded down the passes into the paths of the incoming tanks. Some of the humans were kept behind and quickly fastened to chains and barbs; their pleas and cries were a soothing choir to the nerve racked darklings who were surrounded on every side. The humans moved as a mob down the rocky roads, motivated by splinter fire and trampling each other as they went. In the chaos some went rolling off the path and smashed into the rocks below. The bulk of the prisoners made their way to the desert floor and stumbled toward the approaching Imperial forces. As the wave of mon-keigh were about to meet the scout Titans, Indyuvil ordered the remainder of the Dark Eldar vehicles to descend off the cliff. Vessels of Pain led the charge as their gravitic drives propelled them down the promontory and across the sand dunes. Raiders and Ravagers and Barges followed closely behind, cascading down the terrain and rushing forward with tremendous speed. The Warhound crews steered their great machines toward the wave of approaching Dark Eldar raiders and opened fire. Plasma blastguns hummed and spat forth their superheated ammunition, burning the fully laden Raiders into ash.

The thirty-three Dark Eldar vehicles that managed to run the gauntlet of Warhounds now faced the full force of the Emperor as Russ tanks, Chimeras, Salamanders, and Shadowswords unloaded on the darklings. While their orders were to proceed with best speed to Dig Site 113, the colonel in charge of the regiments made sure the Dark Eldar would pay for their invasion of Scarab. The air rang with a raft of weaponry as the Dark Eldar dipped and

“The targeting of enemies with human shields is approved. I would rather that our Imperial citizens die at our hands today than live another moment at the hands of the Dark Eldar. And may no man among us show mercy to our enemies!”

Colonel Randon 8th Minervan Regiment Scarab Protectorate

weaved and dodged forward. Indyuvil had no idea what the intentions of the humans really were and in fact believed they had arrived with the intention of destroying the darklings. She did know that if they could escape this ring of armor and guns, however, the mon-keigh would never be able to keep up. Reavers with human prisoners snared in diabolical nets between their bikes now sped toward the enemy mon-keigh. Raider crews took similar steps before leaving and now cut across the sand - their skimmers' plows adorned with meat shields of screaming human flesh. Hellions took to bombing the advancing tanks with the bodies of squirming, helpless children. Instead of distracting the Minervan forces from their course of action, the horrific sights infuriated the men and women of the legion who made sure the Dark Eldar were plucked from the sky. Lance shots pierced through heavy armor while autocannons perforated the thin frames of the Ravagers. Raiders were blasted apart and spilled darkling and humans alike into the rolling dunes. The joust of two advancing forces would last but a single pass. A dozen Dark Eldar vehicles fell and then a dozen more. When the Minervan and Eldar waves finally passed only a handful of Dark Kin managed to escape the vengeance of the Imperium. Many cursed as they watched the skimmers fly past and into the desert. Almost every tank platoon volunteered to give chase to the Dark Eldar but all requests were denied - the damage they wrought would have to be enough. A small detachment of mechanized infantry were left behind to protect the prisoners while the remaining forces raced to the canyon and to the battle at Dig Site 113.