Tyrannic War Veteran - Deployment: When the Hive Fleets overwhelm a planet, there are many options available to Imperial Commanders -- the mobilisation of huge swathes of Astra Militarum regiments, fortification of Imperial placements or even Exterminatus.However, when a planet is of particular importance to a star system, Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar mobilises Ortan Cassius' Tyrannic War Veterans, who then deploy from their Strike Cruiser Vengeance of Macragge into a battlezone.With all the pragmatism and tactical nous of the Ultramarines, these Veterans are trained to deal with any scenario on the ground, and local Imperial officers are often honoured to cooperate with the battle doctrines of these revered warriors.Whether the planet has a large contingent of domestic planetary defence forces or has only limited numbers garrisoned there, whether they have to deal with harsh environmental conditions or terrain ill-suited to defensive actions, the Tyrannic War Veterans will process and execute a plan to deal appropriately with the Tyranid threat.Once engaged, the Tyrannic War Veterans smash through seas of chitin in Land Raiders. The vehicles' Heavy Bolters and Lascannons are able to eviscerate broods of Gaunts, fell Hive Tyrants and Tervigons alike.Once into the thick of battle, the Veterans charge down the vehicles' ramps and continue their slaughter of the hungry bio-forms. Tyrannic War Veterans are trained to read the movement of the swarm and understand the baser xenos instincts, so the Space Marines excel at guiding the battle at range.However, the Veterans enjoy nothing more than to face the bio-horrors close enough to smell their burning carapaces and spilt ichor. These sensations go some way towards satisfying the Veterans' urge to avenge the warriors of their Chapter's fallen 1st Company.Over the years, the Tyrannic War Veterans have learnt to observe different behaviours in the Hive Fleets. Whereas the Behemoth preferred blunt attacks, overwhelming planets with Tyranid war beasts, the Kraken proved more insidious.As a consequence, the strike force has adjusted its tactics. Against the remaining splinters of Hive Fleet Behemoth, Cassius maintains rigorous fortifications on the ground, but often attacks off-world from the Vengeance of Macragge, in order to weaken the coming Tyranid assault.Against the forces of the Kraken, however, Cassius often takes the fight to the Tyranids themselves. On the Shrine World of Saint Theresta, Cassius led a stealth mission into the capital city's hab shrine.The Veterans flushed out hordes of the Kraken's Genestealers, who had been skulking within the many hundreds of levels, and burned their rotten forms.Whether fighting as their own force or assisted by Veterans from other Chapters, Cassius' strike force continues its crusade to save key Imperial worlds from Tyranid invasions. Given the unpredictable presence of the current assault by Hive Fleet Leviathan, there are always a number of vital Imperial planets suffering from the incessant attacks of the swarm.Cassius' work is endless. Yet it is thought by those Space Marines who sometimes fight alongside the Tyrannic War Veterans that Cassius has observed some pattern in the movement of the Hive Fleets.With his closest Battle-Brothers, Cassius discusses his prime theory concerning the Leviathan. He is convinced that this Hive Fleet is seeking to cut off the Segmentum Tempestus from the rest of the galaxy in order to create a vast Tyranid breeding ground.All that remains certain is that few Space Marines are better skilled in the subtleties of warfare against Tyranids than Cassius and his legendary Tyrannic War Veterans.