Chapter 17:
Godzilla still wasn't strong enough to tank the primary weapons of a Tau Guardian-class Mothership—but gunboats and transports? Fair game.
Tau troopships began dropping from the sky one by one. Even with deflectors raised, Godzilla's atomic breath tore through them like paper. It wasn't that the Tau shielding tech was weak—it was that the beast's energy output was simply too overwhelming.
"Commander! Ground firepower is too intense! We can't land!"
"All Crisis Teams, begin orbital drop! Transports switch to high-altitude airdrop mode—now!"
Crisis Battlesuits launched from the bays of their transports in successive waves. As they neared the ground, the jets on their backs fired, cushioning their landing and scattering them across the dense alien jungle.
"Establish defensive positions! Anchor around our armored elements and prepare for counterfire!"
Tau vehicles and battlesuits rapidly began forming makeshift firebases, supported by Fire Caste infantry and drones. A mesh of pulse fire, missile salvos, and beam weapons raked through the rainforest, blasting apart undergrowth and trees with overwhelming force.
But what they didn't know was this: there were no real enemies in the jungle. Just low-level beasts. Cannon fodder.
After a few minutes of saturation bombardment, the Tau commanders took stock—and realized most of the jungle was still intact. Hardly any trees had actually been destroyed.
But they had lost a significant amount of energy and ammunition.
If the trees could talk, they'd probably say: "Thanks for the meal, Tau."
"Commander, our position is secure. Requesting new orders."
Silence.
"Commander?"
Still nothing.
"Communications are down?"
"Of course they are."
Isis stood atop the steps of her temple, tail swaying lazily, smiling as if she'd just won a bet.
"You thought you could just drop into this world and leave as you pleased? You're not just fighting the Lizardmen. You're fighting the planet itself."
Up in orbit, the Tau fleet was in chaos.
Fio technicians were pounding away at their consoles, their fingers blurring with speed, trying to reestablish the ground link.
"Commander, we've lost all contact with our ground forces!"
"There's a planetary-scale electromagnetic field interfering with our communications. Our vehicles and suits can cut through it short-range, but long-distance signals can't penetrate."
"What?!"
This wasn't unheard of—Tau tech was robust, especially their vehicle shielding—but the idea of total communication blackout across an entire atmosphere was pushing the limits.
"This is bad. We've lost eyes on the entire operation."
"Commander, remain calm."
The Ethereal sitting at the center of the command dais spoke, his voice calm, his expression serene behind a curtain of incense smoke.
"I can feel the Fire Warriors below. They're still alive. Do not let this become a panic."
"Yes, my apologies. I lost my composure."
"If long-range comms are jammed, then we rely on the old ways. Use the transports to relay messages manually. Primitive—but effective."
The Tau had just experienced their first taste of how nasty this galaxy could be.
In the Imperium, this sort of thing was business as usual. Some Guard regiments had to rely on loudspeakers, signal flags, or even trench runners just to coordinate across battlefields. On warp-disturbed planets, even astropaths could suffer brain hemorrhages trying to send a ping.
The blackout was just the beginning.
The Tau ground forces had dug in. Their emplacements weren't quite as robust as a Death Korps trenchline, but they'd built enough of a perimeter to hold. Still, the enemy had yet to show themselves.
That changed when an XV25 Stealth Team returned from recon—dragging a corpse behind them.
"Sir, recovered a biological from the AO. Looks to be a local."
"Excellent. Bring it here."
The Fire Caste commander examined the creature—clearly a humanoid lizard, with tough, scaled hide. He immediately called over one of the Kroot.
The Kroot, once again, deserve some explanation: savage avian-like mercenaries with high adaptability and brutal close combat prowess. Think feathered velociraptor meets tribal warrior. Their unique genetic quirk? They could absorb traits from what they ate.
They had digested Orks, Eldar, even humans. Tyranids were off-limits, though—their DNA was too unstable, and devouring them often led to painful death.
"Eat it. Let's see what we're dealing with."
The Kroot warrior nodded, lifted the lizard's tail, and sank his teeth in. His powerful jaws cracked through the thick scales with ease, tearing off a chunk of flesh and swallowing it whole.
At first, nothing happened.
Then the Kroot's eyes widened. He began to clutch his head and scream. His body spasmed.
The Fire Caste commander's instincts kicked in. He silently raised his ion rifle.
The Kroot's form was changing. His limbs lengthened. His back sprouted spikes. A tail began to grow from his spine. It was assimilation—but not controlled. Not stable.
And then the creature lunged.
Before it could make contact, a charged ion beam lanced through its skull, dropping it instantly.
The Fire Caste commander lowered his rifle slowly, jaw set.
"New standing order to all field units: the Kroot are forbidden from consuming any native organisms on this planet. Full stop."
Even as the order was dispatched, he felt the ground begin to tremble.
Something was coming.
"All units—bunkers! Ready firing lines!"
The high-tech war had become a trench war in seconds.
The commander peered into the jungle. Every warrior around him braced themselves. The vibrations grew louder.
Then they saw them.
A swarm of giant lizards—each over twenty meters long—barreling toward them with unstoppable force. The ground shook with each impact.
Even the Fire Caste commander had to admit his pulse spiked.
"Open fire!"
A hail of ion beams, plasma bolts, and smart missiles lit up the jungle. But it wasn't enough. Not even close.
The lizards kept coming, shrugging off direct hits, plowing through explosions and shrapnel like they were running through tall grass.
The front line collapsed as the monstrous reptiles crashed into the Tau formation, tearing through battlesuits and drones with primal fury.
Godzilla watched it unfold from afar, letting out a long breath through his nostrils.
"Ranged resistance maxed, melee damage off the charts… These aren't Lizardmen. This is a Khorne warband in disguise."
*******
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