Taros Campaign - The Last Battle: If the retreat had been a shambles, the evacuation was chaos. Disorder ruled the landing grounds as crowds of desperate men, fearful of being left to the mercy of the Tau, clamoured to get aboard transports. Commissars and Storm Troopers fought a losing battle to keep order, threatening the crowds with loaded weapons and shooting those who broke through their cordon. High-ranking officers were the first to board, along with important Administratum officials. Much space was taken up by equipment, which would be harder to replace than manpower. In order to protect the landing zone, the Raptors had been called upon again. Captain Orelius' Space Marines had deployed back onto Taros and thrown a defensive perimeter around the landing grounds. In many places, they occupied the defences erected by the Tallarn regiments when they landed.At 769998.M41 dawn broke as a yellow molten orb rose over the mountains, forewarning of another blistering day. Soon the heat haze was shimmering across the desert as the Raptors sentries looked out across the sand. With the yellow dawn came the distinctive swept-wing shapes of Tau Mantas, approaching low like great birds to hover in the dusty heat haze and disembark their Hunter Cadres. The Emperor's forces were beaten, but the Tau's thirst for revenge was so great that Shas'O R'myr ordered one last attack, directly against the landing grounds. Any who did not escape now would be stranded here forever. Standing between the Tau and the landing zone were the Space Marines. As the Tau ferried in their forces and mustered for the attack the Space Marines reinforced their defences with what reserves Captains Orelius and Kaedes had, and braced themselves for one last battle. Their job was to buy time for the evacuating troops. If the Space Marines' defences broke then the landing grounds would soon be overrun as well. The longer the Raptors could hold, the more men would escape Taros to fight another day.The first thrust came from the east, supported by long ranged fire from Mantas hovering on the distant horizon. Huge Railgun rounds started to impact about the defensive positions, tossing rock and earth skywards. Following close behind, Hammerheads and XV88 Broadside Battlesuits joined the fusillade, rounds slamming into the Space Marine positions. Fire Warriors and Battlesuits led by Shas'O R'myr himself, closed in and the pressure grew. Space Marine heavy weapons and Whirlwinds responded. The Tau closed to within 200 metres of the dug-in Space Marines, but there the attack faltered. Hammerheads and Battlesuits were burning, and Tau corpses littered the sand as they retreated. A second assault came from the west, in greater force. Again the Railgun rounds slammed home, again the Raptors stood firm, fighting hard to hold back the tide. A Manta closed in, raking the entrenchments with volleys of missiles. Captain Kaedes committed his last reserves and a sally of Sixth Company Land Speeders swooped overhead, racing out to attack the Manta at close range. The little skimmers dodged and weaved as Heavy Bolters rattled and Multi-Meltas roared. Three were destroyed in the battle, but the Manta withdrew rather than risk further damage. As his losses built, Captain Kaedes strode from dug-out to dug-out, directing counter fire and urging his hard-pressed battle brothers on, until a plasma blast which immolated a Predator tank also critically wounded him, peppering him in molten shrapnel. Kaedes was dragged to safety, his upper torso and right arm horribly mutilated by the intense heat. The Apothecary stabilized his valiant captain, whose super-human physique barely kept him alive. He would not fight again, but upon returning to the Chapter fortress his valour would earn him the honour of being interred in an armoured Dreadnought.By mid-afternoon the Tau forces were spent. They had battered at the Space Marine positions, but failed to break them. Meanwhile the last of the landing craft had been hurriedly loading their cargoes. With the sound of the battle reverberating all around them hordes of Guardsmen crowded into the holds. Once full the ramps were raised and the great loading doors rolled shut. Anybody not aboard now would be left behind on Taros for good. The lift-off of the last landing ship freed Captain Orelius to order the evacuation of his own forces. They had stood as the shield between the Tau and the evacuation all day at great cost, but as night fell the Thunderhawks deployed to lift the battle brothers clear. The War Talon awaited their return. By the time the Raptors' evacuation operation was complete, the remaining transports and their escorts were already retreating out of the system. The Raptors' battle barge would be the last ship to leave, bringing up the rear as the fleet made the Warp-jump out of the Taros system. The Tau fleet did not pursue. New orders now stayed their hand. The prize was the Tau's, they had won Taros and expanded their empire. The campaign was over.