Taros Campaign - Assault on Missile Silo Decima: As Strike Force A hit the ground, they came under sustained fire from the Hydra emplacement. Explosive Autocannon rounds began to kick up dust and tracers flashed past the descending Raptors. Unable to hit their attackers in the sky, the AA gunners had waited, and now laid down a hail of shells, the quad-barreled cannon thundering. Despite the heavy orbital shelling, it seemed most of the defenses had remained intact, as had the silos. The area was scarred with smoking impact craters, but the bombardment had scored no direct hits. The craters would be vital cover for the following the assault; Veteran Sergeant Igis found himself in one such crater. Two of his squad had already been seriously wounded during landing. There was no time to waste. The crater offered cover, but his Battle-Brothers had to silence that gun before the other Thunderhawks arrived. Gathering his warriors immediately around him, Sergeant Igis gave the order to move forwards, before launching himself over the crater rim. The barrage that greeted him was intense, autocannons barking as their rounds flashed across the desert. As the Assault Marines rushed forwards, several more were hit, the force of the rounds knocking each Raptor clean off his feet. Sergeant Igis was the first to arrive at the target, weaving through the onslaught, Bolt Pistol in one hand and Melta Bomb in the other. In one mighty leap, he cleared the emplacement parapet, ducked under the red-hot gun barrels and rolled to the base of the turret. He was quickly followed by two of his Battle-Brothers. Igis activated his Melta Bombs and slapped the magnetic disk to the turret. "Six seconds!” he warned over the comm, as the others placed their charges and jumped away.Within the turret the gun crew knew what to expect when they heard the metallic clang of the Melta-charges being fixed outside. The gun's commander threw open the hatch and leapt clear as the Melta-charges detonated in sequence, a triple explosion that turned the turret into a blazing inferno. Molten metal sprayed the compartment within, killing the remaining crew before igniting the remaining ammunition store. Fragments of the gun turret were thrown high into the air as it was ripped apart from the inside. Igis and his men rolled away, their Power Armour peppered with flames and shrapnel but most of the lethal blast clearing them. The first part of their mission was complete. In all, three assault brothers had been seriously wounded in the headlong attack. The others who had been hit were not quite as injured, saved by the adamantium shell of their armour; they would continue the fight.Now the distant sound of Thunderhawk jets could be heard growing louder. The silo’s security platoon, who had survived the orbital bombardment in their underground shelter, began to emerge. At first they faced little fire, only the Bolt Pistol rounds from Squad Igis, who were now clustered around the wreckage of the AA turret. Then, as the roar of the Thunderhawks' engines grew closer, Heavy Bolter fire began to sweep the area. It was a deluge of firepower raining from above as the Thunderhawks raced in, slowed, hydraulic landing gear lowered, and the aircraft flaring back its nose before touching down. The ramps were already opening, crashing down to reveal the Space Marines within. The Tactical squads rushed down the ramp and into the battle, Boltguns levelled at the hip and rounds slashing across the silo compound. The Planetary Defence Force security squads had seen enough. Most broke ranks rather than face the wrath of the God-Emperor's Angels of Death. As mass-reactive shells detonated all around them, some sought cover, while the rest fled. The Tactical squads advanced steadily upon the traitors whilst the Devastator squads took up their firing positions. Only seconds after landing, the Thunderhawk behind them powered skywards again, leaving a thickening pall of dust swirling in its wake.Underground, in the silo command bunker, the controllers were frantically trying to arm and prepare the missiles for launch. News from the battle above was confused and unclear. It was a race against time. The command bunker had a clear target, the Battle Barge stationed in low orbit above, but could they get their missiles launched before the silos were destroyed? For the Space Marines, overcoming resistance on the ground was simple enough. The security platoon had offered little fight after the first uneven exchanges of fire. The attacking Tactical squads had little to fear from Lasgun fire. The perimeter turret emplacements were a different matter. These weapons were sighted to defend the base against a ground attack, but they could also sweep the silo site with fire. Captain Orelius had diverted Strike Force B to engage them, hoping to use the Devastator's heavy weapons to destroy the well-armoured guns. They were now engaged in a heavy exchange of fire. Meanwhile, against only light resistance, Strike Force C had reached its target silo. Having cut through the encircling razor wire with their combat knives as if it was little more than a stretch of yarn, the squads were already planting and fusing their Demolition Charges. The first silo was doomed. The second silo was holding out due to the fire of the turret emplacements, but as the Devastator squad began to win the engagement, destroying the turrets with Krak Missiles and Lascannon hits, the assault units were closing in on it too.The desert shook to the sound of the first silo being destroyed. The shaped explosives of the Demolition Charges splintered the reinforced plascrete silo roofs, causing them to collapse. The launching tube within was choked with rubble. Any attempt to launch now would cause the missile to explode inside, with catastrophic results. Realising they had lost the race, the command bunker crew abandoned their posts. Soon the Raptors would be blasting in the bunker doors and sweeping the interior with Boltgun fire. The command crew fled rather than face certain death.Target Decima had been taken, the second silo destroyed soon after the first. The last remnants of resistance surrendered or routed. It had been a frantic but short-lived battle, and the Raptors' casualties had been light. One dead, five seriously wounded, twelve lightly wounded. Captain Orelius surveyed the smoke-blackened scene; the dead lay scattered in the sand where they had fallen, while his Space Marines moved quickly into new positions to defend the site's perimeter. Upon hearing each squad report in and declare their area of the perimeter secure, he contacted the War Talon with instructions to launch the Sixth Company.