Chapter 155: Chapter 146: Heard but Not Heard
A dim, yellowish glow seeped through the glass, casting a feeble light upon the deck of the Fourth Knight.
Hades felt a tingling sensation on his scalp as he stared out the window at a corner where the minuscule Necron ships would soon enter the attack range of the Iron Warriors' fleet. At most, they had just over a Terran hour left.
He swallowed hard.
Following the recent uneasy parting, Mortarion and the Death Shroud were the first to return to the Death Guard's fleet, directing the somber green vessels to hide within an asteroid belt flanking the 106th planet's moons.
Due to the main fleet of Galaspar not yet being recalled, the Death Guard's current fleet numbers were limited. Relying on ships supplied by the Emperor, their integration with the original Death Guard fleet was less than seamless.
This meant that, for this phase, the Death Guard could not bear the brunt of the space battle as the primary combat force.
Thus, they opted for a strategic retreat to avoid confrontation.
Of course, Hades had his own reasons for this choice. The Death Guard had already suffered considerable losses in the previous engagements at Galaspar. It was imperative they not incur significant losses in this battle.
Hades fixed his gaze on the few Necron vessels, their hulls small and scythe-shaped. From what he remembered, Hades could barely make out that the enemy had deployed only the Jackal-class and Dirge-class raiders.
And they were up against a full fleet of the Iron Warriors.
After a moment of contemplation, Hades felt that these small ships were more like a preliminary probe of their fleet's strength by the enemy.
Even though they were just small raiders, they were likely enough to give the Iron Warriors a run for their money.
The inertialess engines of the space Necrons allowed their ships to accelerate to an astonishing speed in a short span of time. Normally, most beings couldn't withstand such immense acceleration without their bodies trembling apart.
But the space Necrons, devoid of flesh, were essentially forceful bricks in flight.
The advanced technology of the space Necrons rendered most of the Imperium's naval weapons quite ineffective against their fleets.
That being said, the Necron ships currently approaching the Iron Warriors were doing so at a pace that was hardly considered fast.
They were leveraging the Imperium's arrogance and ignorance about them.
Hades realized something as he watched those ships.
The Iron Warriors' fleet formation was relatively concentrated.
At the heart of the formation was the Iron Warriors' Pride, the Blood of Iron, silently floating among her progeny, with the glow of the plasma shields flickering across her massive hull.
On the side facing away from planet 106, the Iron Warriors' defenses were noticeably weaker.
This was far from ideal.
He needed to find a way to warn the Iron Warriors.
However, Hades knew it was highly likely that his warning would fall on deaf ears. In their recent encounter, Hades sensed that Perturabo was already irritated by Mortarion, and he would be unlikely to heed the advice of a Death Guard.
Regardless, he decided to give it a try.
Hades first requested to communicate with the Iron Warriors via a private channel from the Fourth Knight's signal transmission hub. Such requests are typically approved by a Primarch, but at that moment, Mortarion was occupied with addressing his legion—
The Primarch had temporarily granted Hades the authority to command the fleet.
Hiding away in the asteroid belt of a satellite, it looked entirely unlikely that a battle would take place, so Mortarion decisively went off to do "something more meaningful" rather than witness the Iron Warriors' fleet swat a few "little flies" in space. Mortarion deemed it a waste of time, though he didn't voice this opinion outright.
Displeased with Perturabo's actions, Mortarion knew he needed to engage in something else to erase the irritating image of his brother from his mind. And what better way to soothe himself than spending time with his progeny?
Moreover, a competent leader knows when to delegate authority. Mortarion, not considering himself a tyrant, naturally wanted to provide his subordinates with opportunities to gain experience.
So here stood Hades, in the command center of the Fourth Knight.
Although Hades had a lot on his mind, he figured he now understood how Karastasephon managed to leave the Death Guard in the lurch back in the day. Well, it was a done deal.
The distinct sound of an electric current indicated that Hades' request for communication had been instantly approved.
He sought to contact one of the Iron Warriors, a member of the Trident, Dantioch.
Previously, aboard the Blood of Iron, Hades had obtained Dantioch's private communication channel.
Though it appeared they were all being punished by standing against the wall, in reality, Hades had sent a channel contact request to several members of the Trident.
To Hades' relief, while most of the Trident had declined, there were those who agreed.
[...]
The channel opened, and silence ensued from the other end. Hades hurriedly spoke up.
"Hello, this is Hades of the Death Shroud, also serving as a Tech-Legionary for the Death Guard."
"Currently, I'm overseeing the Death Guard's surveillance and response to the enemy,"
Hades paused for a moment,
"In my personal capacity,"
"The enemy's ship engines are quite unusual, appearing to be capable of short-range acceleration."
Hades felt it would be impolite to say more. Would it be acceptable to directly point out the vulnerabilities in the Iron Warriors' fleet?
[...]
The other side remained silent. Hades quickly thought of a remedy,
"I hope to share information about the enemy with the Iron Warriors. I believe that the details you observe and recognize are more comprehensive and accurate than what the Death Guard has gathered, and it's worth our time to learn from and refer to."
[...]
Still no response from the other end.
Damn, had he dialed the wrong number?
However, a deep voice finally emerged, like gears slowly turning,
"Understood, thank you for sharing, Hades of the Death Shroud."
"[On behalf of Dantioch personally, I will share intelligence regarding the Iron Warriors with you in due course."
Amidst the steel jungle, beneath his helmet, Dantioch gazed at the figure before him and spoke slowly,
Perturabo stood in silence over the strategic table where, within the atmosphere of planet 106, the enemy had also launched a small number of aircraft.
A communication request from another fleet would naturally be approved by the Primarch, even if it was a direct access to a private channel, it would be intercepted by Perturabo,
After all, Perturabo prided himself on his precise control over the battle situation.
Dantioch realized that his Primarch had overheard the conversation, yet Perturabo showed no reaction.
Dantioch remained silent, not expecting Perturabo to want the Trident to speak at this moment, Perturabo silently observed the Necron ships.
Their streamlined hulls, with small engines protruding underneath.
Faster, a multitude of information converged in Perturabo's mind.
The Primarch suddenly realized, from previous Necron skirmishes, that these silent, rust-streaked, robot-like aliens adapted exceptionally well to high acceleration.
No, no matter how fast they were, such a sparse number of ships was merely a futile effort.
Perturabo began to calculate, as long as the first volley of torpedoes from the Iron Warriors hit 30% of the targets, they could eliminate them as soon as they entered the firing range.
Did the Death Guard presume to teach him how to act? Was his brother now hiding behind a window, watching him make a fool of himself?
Watching him cowardly disperse his fleet?
Perturabo remained still.
The order to attack was given, and a squadron of Iron Warriors' cruisers broke away from the defense fleet and charged directly at the Necron ships!
On the other side, an early attack?
That works, Hades thought, testing the enemy's speed ahead of time while disrupting their formation.
Although it's highly likely that these cruisers would be sunk, they would provide time for the other ships of the Iron Warriors to change their formation and react.
It seems they did understand what he was saying after all.
Hades thought with relief.
But how did Dantioch convince Perturabo? Hades wondered briefly, but then he dismissed the question. This was an internal matter for the Iron Warriors; why should he, a member of the Death Guard, care?
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