The situation was urgent, and Marcus knew the airborne Lictor was the most dangerous target.
He immediately used his Mind Power to send four bayonets hurtling toward it.
But unlike the Tyranid Warriors he'd faced before—creatures without psychic ability—this Lictor possessed formidable psychic powers. Before the blades could reach it, an invisible force halted them in mid-air.
No matter how Marcus pushed his Mind Power, the weapons wouldn't advance an inch.
Frustrated, he cursed inwardly, noting how different the Lictor's strength was compared to the version in the original game.
He recalled the bayonets and turned them on the Hormagaunts and Gun Worms rushing in. Then he raised his Plasma Pistol, switched to charging mode, and unleashed a ball of searing plasma at the Lictor.
This time, the shot wasn't stopped outright. But the Lictor conjured a green orb of psychic energy, intercepting the plasma and detonating it prematurely.
"Concentrate fire on that Lictor!" Marcus barked over the comms to Titus, Chairon, and Gadriel. "I can hit it with a Meltagun, but I need cover and distraction."
The three hacked down nearby Tyranid Warriors with their Chainswords before turning their Bolters on the airborne target, unleashing a hail of rounds.
Meanwhile, Marcus sent three bayonets around to flank the Lictor from behind.
The creature caught most of the Bolter rounds in a psychic net, deflecting the few that slipped through. Marcus's bayonets, even with the distraction, failed to pierce the psychic barrier.
But they were only a diversion.
From below, hidden amid the swarming Tyranids attacking the Astra Militarum lines, a single red-painted bayonet suddenly shot skyward. The Ork-forged blade moved so fast it blurred, driven by Marcus's will. It tore through the psychic obstruction and drove deep into the Lictor's body from beneath.
Marcus sent the weapon tearing inside its target, ripping through alien flesh. The Lictor shrieked psychically in pain, shattering the eardrums of over a dozen Guardsmen, dropping them to the ground.
Marcus grimaced at the creature's resilience.
Without pause, he floated the Meltagun from his back into position behind the Lictor. As it strained to suppress the raging bayonet inside it, Marcus pulled the trigger with his Mind Power.
A stream of superheated plasma erupted, melting away more than half the Lictor's body. The rest, stripped of psychic control, crashed to the ground.
A system prompt chimed in Marcus's ear, but he ignored it, scanning the battlefield. Without the Lictor's psychic support, the Tyranid assault faltered. Guardsmen, rallying from the earlier psychic shriek, poured fire into the alien ranks.
With the combined might of Titus's squad and the Lehman Russ tank, the Tyranids spewing from the orbital cannon base were annihilated.
When no more emerged, Titus contacted Major Sarkaana. "Major, the orbital cannon facility is secure."
"Praise the Emperor!" she replied. "I'm inbound in a Valkyrie."
Half an hour later, Valkyrie gunships touched down. Major Sarkaana emerged, flanked by Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priests sent to restart the orbital cannons.
She ordered Guardsmen to pile Tyranid and fallen soldier corpses in the plaza, burning them to deny the enemy biomass. Then she led her escort and the Tech-Priests into the facility, guided by Titus and Marcus.
Along the way, Marcus checked the system prompt:
[Codex Unlocked: Neurothrope]
The panel displayed a detailed image of the alien. Marcus knew firsthand how dangerous such a creature was—even to an Astartes—when endowed with psychic strength.
He now had multiple Tyranid codex entries: Hormagaunt, Gun Worm, Tyranid Warrior (Bone Swords), Tyranid Warrior (Lash Whip), Venomthrope, and Neurothrope. Summoned together, they'd be a fearsome force.
Minutes later, they reached the control center.
"Get the orbital cannons back online!" Sarkaana ordered.
Then she turned to Titus and Marcus. "We're going to punch a hole in that Hive Ship big enough for a frigate to fly through!"
Marcus shook his head. "It won't just sit there and take it."
"It?" she asked.
"The Hive Mind," Marcus explained. "The Tyranids' collective consciousness—it controls every organism."
A Tech-Priest turned from his station. "Major, the cannon's energy reserves are depleted. We need time to awaken the machine spirit."
"Then make it quick!"
Marcus glanced skyward, spotting the Hive Ship's silhouette. "They'll throw everything at us. We need to prepare our defenses."