Betalis III Campaign - Carnage within the Delta: The Space Wolves wasted little time deploying onto Betalis III. The skies above the Tormus Delta, where the troops of Company Retribution were fighting a furious defence against Craftworld Alaitoc's forces, were slashed with over a score of fiery contrails as the Chapter's Drop Pods plummeted from the heavens, the Claws of Russ digging deep into the Ice World as close to two hundred Space Wolves made planetfall.The instant the disembarkation ramps unfolded, each Drop Pod unleashed its deadly cargo, and with fire in their hearts and bolters at the ready, the Space Wolves stormed towards the icy labyrinth.Company Retribution had already begun to reestablish communications even before the Space Wolves' Drop Pods had landed. As the Asuryani Rangers and Corsairs had done before them, teams of vox operators had climbed above the transmission-deadening icy passageways and were now able to relay orders between the scattered forces.Sniper fire from the Rangers was taking a toll on their numbers, but enough were able to evade them for Company Retribution to finally start fighting as one coordinated force. The effects of this were soon felt by the Aeldari.Where once the support platforms manned by pairs of Guardians had cut a swathe through the frozen passageways and dominated large sections of the Tormus Delta, Company Retribution's squads now set to work in a two-pronged assault.Moving through adjacent canyons, strike teams would fire mortars over the canyon walls or fix explosive charges to the thin barriers of ice and rock between them, discharging a lethal hail of shrapnel into the Guardians' positions as squads of Guardsmen, waiting just out of harm's way, stormed through the settling dust and eradicated any Aeldari who had survived.In the south-west of the delta, where both sides had seen some of their fiercest encounters, Company Retribution's officers moved in their most experienced troops. Following a barrage of heavy weapons fire guided in by vox teams and Guardsmen acting as spotters, Veteran Cadian squads stormed the Aeldari battle lines en masse.In response to Company Retribution's new offensive, Alaitoc's Farseersmoved forwards squads of Dire Avengers, and their lightning fast assault soon cut into the Guardsmen's gains.The men and women of Company Retribution died in droves, whole squads being cut down by Shuriken Catapult fire or upon the blades wielded by the expert Asuryani swordsmen. This, though was where the Sons of Russ came into their own.The Space Wolves of Bran Redmaw's Great Company charged through the network of canyons and gorges, obliterating any resistance they met. Packs of Grey Hunters prowled the maze and the canyons echoed with the shriek and roar of shuriken fire and bolter rounds as they unleashed their wrath upon the Aeldari. Then bloodied, their ceramite power armour scored in numerous places, they would emerge triumphant and move on implacably to their next objective.Of all the bloody conflicts the Space Wolves were involved in within the Tormus Delta, the most daring were initiated by packs of Space Wolf Swiftclaws.Able to move at speed through the narrow, twisting passageways, these Bike Squads sowed havoc and confusion. The first an Aeldari squad would know of their approach would be the roar of Attack Bike engines, followed by the thunder of bolter fire as they tore through the xenos' ranks, leaving nothing but carnage and death in their wake.The impatience of youth though usually comes with a lesson to learn, and in the heat of battle this rarely ends well for even those as powerful as the superhuman warriors of Mankind.Bolstered by their victories, it did not take long for the headstrong Swiftclaw packs to attempt to outdo each other's achievements, boasting over their vox comms of how far they moved behind enemy lines and the tally of their kills.Like the much larger versions wielded by Mymeara's Phantom Titans, the Aeldari responded by unleashing Ghost Warriors armed with wraithcannons to create rifts between the Warp and realspace in the path of the Astartes bikers, instantly tearing apart one of the Space Wolves pack and throwing their Wolf Guard leader from his speeding vehicle as tendrils of the dark energy lashed out at it.Dazed but still conscious, the pack's Wolf Guard leader voxed an immediate request for reinforcements, knowing that his pack would not last long against such a foe.All Space Wolves in the vicinity not already engaged in combat immediately came to their assistance, but in the meantime the Swiftclaws had to deal with the implacable advance of the Wraithguard and Wraithseer on their own.Those still mounted on their bikes roared towards the ethereal warriors, blasting bolt after bolt into them. Guided by the Spirit Stones of long-dead Asuryani, the towering Wraithguard showed no fear as they weathered the fire storm, and fired once more upon the bikes, killing another Swiftclaw as the Space Wolves jinked and weaved to avoid them.Lying injured beneath his bike and unable to move, the Wolf Guard pack leader ordered his battle-brothers to reform and concentrate their fire upon the leader of the Wraithguard, its Wraithseer.Once an Asuryani Warlock who had died long ago, its spirit now once again directed the actions of its kin. Rather than trying to take out all the Wraithguard, if the Space Wolves could injure or kill it, they stood a greater chance of surviving their encounter with these ancient Aeldari warriors.Snarling their rage, the Swiftclaws gunned their engines to full speed and circled round the wide gorge to attack the Wraithseer, the Wraithguard raising their wraithcannon to fire again.It was then that the Wolf Guard pack leader noticed that the Swiftclaws had made a tactical error. They had naturally closed formation as they had circled round. Given their proximity to each other, one hit on target by their enemy would see them all torn apart.Their deaths were prevented by the arrival of one of the Great Company's few Dreadnoughts. A steady stream of bolter casings fell to the ground as it fired into the gorge from the passage it had arrived from.The Dreadnought's rounds tore into the Wraithguards' position, critically damaging one of the five, its Spirit Stones and armour shattering like ice. In response to this new threat, the Wraithseer turned in one swift motion and, with an unnatural strength, threw its Wraithblade at the Dreadnought.The faintly glowing blade dove deep into the armour protecting the sarcophagus of the Space Wolf warrior within. The Wolf Guard raged as he witnessed the death of the Dreadnought's occupant. Powerless to help, he howled out his fury.The Wolf Guard's battle-call did not go unanswered.