With an operational bastion to work from, the defenders of Drawbridge needed to strike back against the Tyranid swarm hard and fast. Without a rapid counterpunch, it was simply a matter of time before they were overrun.
Captain Nampo of the Mantis Warriors and Brigadier Cholmondley-Maugham of the Hagan Lampreys quickly came up with an aggressive strategy. If they could find and destroy the major synapse creatures on the ground, the Tyranids would become disorganised. During that period, if they could muster the remaining defence forces, they might be able to recapture the planetary defence sites, get them operational and use them to drive the Hive Fleet out of orbit. This would allow the Imperial Navy to continue landing operations, as well as denying the Tyranids reinforcements.
Analysis of the Tyranid attacks gave them three likely sites to check. The original landfall had occurred on Drawbridge's southern continent, in an area of dense rainforest, and there was a good chance the Tyranid leader beasts were still there. A detachment of Valkyries were launched to drop Scions in the area, whilst another Scion attack group moved to support the besieged industrial city of Barbican, where the Tyranids were currently pressing hard.
The Mantis Warriors were already a depleted force, but Captain Nampo insisted on leading a scout team to check out the largest spaceport on the planet, Crenel. It had fallen to the Tyranids only days ago, the defenders going silent after a massive discharge of psychic activity. This indicated the presence of some sort of Synaptic leader, Nampo reasoned, a lead that needed to be checked out.
Nampo took a fast-moving group of seasoned elites and raced to the ruins of Crenel, hoping to ambush and assassinate whatever Tyranid leadership they could find there.
The Drawbridge Campaign part four - Stylus is commanding the Mantis Warriors tonight, but he's in for a surprise...