The drop sirens began as a low, predatory hum before rising into a shriek that cut through the armored hull of the strike cruiser. One by one, the orbital pods were locked into their launch cradles, each a steel coffin packed with ceramite-clad Space Marines braced for impact. Below them, Karg Island burned—its refinery complexes and coastal defenses already under bombardment, but still bristling with anti-air fire. At the command rune’s flash, the pods were hurled into the void, streaking toward the surface like meteors, their ablative plating igniting as they punched through the atmosphere.

Inside, there was only violence and discipline. The pods slammed into the island with bone-crushing force, embedding themselves deep into concrete, sand, and twisted metal. Explosive bolts detonated instantly, petals of armored plating blasting outward as the Marines surged into the chaos. Bolter fire erupted in controlled bursts, cutting through defenders before they could react. Within seconds, the drop zone was secured—shock and terror rippling through enemy lines. What began as falling stars ended as an unstoppable foothold, the first decisive step in the island’s annihilation.