Taros Campaign - Day Two – The Crisis of the Second Lift: The entire lift process was repeated again on the second morning, with the second wave being loaded and lifting-off to reinforce the first lift. Overnight the hydro-plant had been secured, stragglers had been rounded up and a perimeter established around the base. The men of the second lift would now jump into that perimeter and move to reinforce it. Unlike the first morning, the element of surprise had been lost, and the Tau were now waiting. They were also mobilising to re-take Hydro-Processing Plant 23-30, their Mantas loading up fresh Hunter Cadres. The first lift had bypassed the Tau defences relatively unscathed, but the second lift had a far harder task. The Tau diverted their available Barracudas to intercept the air train. The Valkyries and Vultures, although potent weapons in their own right, were no match for the high-performance jet fighters in a dogfight. Flying in formation, they were vulnerable. The Imperial Navy continued to provide fighter protection, and as the second lift approached the target they encountered the incoming Barracudas. Thunderbolts and Barracudas twisted and turned, strafing with Autocannons and Burst Cannons as they wrestled for air superiority. By now, the two sets of pilots were old foes, many having learnt the others’ tricks. As dogfights raged around them, the transports raced on towards the target, but those Barracudas that broke through created havoc amongst the formations. Scattered like sheep before wolves the Valkyries tried to escape the Barracudas, but seven were quickly shot down. The scattering of the formations would also cause problems over the target. Many units were expecting to be reinforced, but confusion now reigned as squads became lost and intermingled. Despite the unexpected losses, the remaining Valkyries bravely flew on.On the ground, dawn had seen the start of the Tau counter-attack. Weary from yesterday’s combat and with many units low on ammunition, the Elysian platoons now dug-in around the hydro-plant saw the great winged shadows of the dreaded Mantas approaching over the desert. Shimmering in the morning heat hazy the Mantas began to deploy their cargoes. The Tau attack would come soon. All around the perimeter - from buildings turned into heavy weapon strong points, on walkways, behind barricades of steel piping, from slit trenches dug in the sand or behind sandbagged positions - tense, dusty, hollow-eyed Drop Troopers awaited the inevitable Tau attack. Isolated in their small airhead, they were now surrounded on three sides, with their backs to the sea. When it came, the Tau attack could come from any direction. As they checked their weapons or sharpened knives one last time, the men were heartened by the thought of the second lift winging its way closer by the minute. Following that drop would be the Imperial Guard relief column, even now rumbling across the desert towards them. The Elysian Guardsmen had to fight hard and hang on until the reinforcements arrived.The morning's battle started with a wave of Tiger Shark bombers. Just as yesterday the Tau bombers raced in low. This time rather than dropping more Drones, they unleashed missiles and Ion Cannons, blasting the hydro processing plant with massed fire. Regardless of the damage they were inflicting on the facility, the Tau pounded the Elysians, preparing for their ground attack. As explosions mushroomed about them, all the Guardsmen could do was hug their cover closely and wait for the ordeal to end. As the noise of the aerial bombardment faded, the whine of approaching jet engines grew. From all directions came Devilfish transports and Hammerhead tanks. Fire Warriors with their distinctive long Pulse Rifles could be seen scurrying forwards into range, with them came the Battlesuits. The Tau attacked with a calm, ruthless ferocity, blasting the Elysians with heavy weapons and massed pulse fire in a long-range firefight. The Tau outgunned the Guardsmen, but the Elysians were not powerless to respond. Their own heavy weapons, Mortars and Sentinels returned fire. Rounds slashed across the no-man's land between the two forces, but the Drop Troops held their positions as the firefight intensified. Well dug-in and concealed, the Elysians could not be moved by firepower alone. They would have to be rooted out with grenades and in bloody hand-to-hand combat. Their attackers were reluctant to use such methods - yet.With the firefight still raging around the perimeter, the Valkyries and escorting gunships of the second lift came into view over the southern horizon. Climbing to jump altitude the men inside were already waiting to deploy directly into the battle. Reinforcements had arrived to even-up the odds. The second lift jumped directly into the battle, but was exposed to the Tau's heaviest fire as they fell. Looking down from the rear ramp of his Valkyrie, General Syckava could see the panorama of battle laid out beneath him. He could see the Tau armoured vehicles and infantry and hear the hail of fire that now waited to greet his men. A few moments later he was out of the door and falling through the weaving curtain of fire thrown up by the Tau forces. As he fell he saw one Valkyrie, both engines gushing flames, plunge towards the ground and impact in an orange fireball in the desert. Another was hit by a missile and nose-dived into the sea. In their attempts to avoid the Tau’s anti-aircraft fire, the pilots of the Valkyries took emergency evasive action, but as the transports manoeuvred, the carefully planned formations of the Drop Troops were being scattered across the desert surrounding the target. Some fell within the perimeter; others plunged into the toxic sea and died screaming. Others fell amongst the surrounding Tau forces, shot down as they fell. The second lift had jumped into a storm of fire, and already it was scattered and taking heavy losses. On the ground, the firefight had paused whilst the Tau turned every gun they had on the second lift. Defenceless men were being killed in mid-air, bodies tumbling down to hit the ground dead. For the men of the first lift, it was a respite from the heavy fire, but a heart-breaking disaster for the operation’s chances of success. Hammered in the air, the men of the second lift now had to try and regroup, and find their way to defensive positions before getting into the fight.Once the drop had been completed, the surviving Valkyries sped away, many peppered with holes or limping on single engines. The Vultures had tried to respond to the Tau, swooping in to unleash rockets and Autocannon rounds, but their fuel tanks would only allow them to linger for so long before having to return to refuel. The pilots did what they could for the defenders before following the Valkyries back to base.General Syckava was injured by a stray pulse round during the drop, and the regiment’s second-in-command, Colonel Balach, was informed to take charge of all ground forces. From his position on top of the administration block, the Colonel realised that air support was the key to keeping the Tau at bay and surviving the cauldron of fire that the regiment was now trapped in. He needed more air support quickly, and so sent a priority communication to General De Stael’s headquarters making such a request. The message was heard loud and clear by both the Lord Marshal and Tau commanders, who were listening in from within their Manta. As the Imperial Navy scrambled a fighter wing to join the fray, so the Barracudas were vectoring in to intercept them.Now the effects of the Tau's earlier daring raid on the airbase were felt. Already most of the Navy's fighters were in the air supporting the relief column and protecting the surviving air train returning to base. This third request stretched the Imperial Navy's remaining resources. They had received no replacement aircraft since the campaign had started, and fuel supplies were starting to run low. In all, only six air-worthy Thunderbolts could be found for the new mission. It wasn't enough. The six Thunderbolts encountered twelve Barracudas as they approached the target, and after four aircraft were shot down, the surviving Thunderbolts found themselves fleeing back to base. Colonel Balach did not get his air support, he was on his own.At Hydro-Processing Plant 23-30, sporadic firefights continued for the rest of the day and throughout the night. The Tau were happy to sit back and besiege the defenders, wearing them down with their long-ranged fire. The Tau were husbanding their forces for a final assault to clear the Drop Troopers from the plant.