章節 94: Chapter Twenty-Eight: Death in Calixis (Part V)
Location: Stellar Glory EF-89 Star Galleon in the Dyatlov-Rho system.
Date: 893.M30 (Shortly before the Valiant Steel's destruction.)
Captain Henrietta Maevish tensed her grip on the command throne. She watched the ragtag collection of Imperial ships approach her vessel through the viewport. They were so damn close. Within cosmic spitting distance of the Mandeville point. With the Night Lords keeping the Xeno's busy, escape would be possible. The only thing preventing the Stellar Glory and the rest of the Resupply Fleet from leaving was elements of the bloody cowards that had brought the Aliens here in the first place. No, that was not fair. She had seen the Auger readings on the Worm… thing. If separated from the rest of the Crusader Fleet, then running from that abomination was the best option.
That did not change the fact they currently delayed their escape. Mass warp-jumps could not be done without coordination. It was easy for a single misaligned or poorly navigated ship to smash into others while in the Warp. At best it could knock a vessel off course. At worst, damage the ship or its Gellar field. An easy mistake that the Imperial Armada had long dealt with. Simple communication between all jumping ships could alleviate virtually any danger. So when it became clear the Refugee ships would be joining the evacuation, the Expedition Fleet had sent hails. Hails quickly returned by about half of the ragged Imperial fleet but ignored by the other half.
Scores of more damaged ships spread out across the Retreating Imperials did not respond to any communication. Vox, astropathic, even a few more exotic types employed by the Mechanicum. Every scan they employed showed them as badly damaged but still functional Imperial ships. Psychic probes had trouble locking on, but that could be caused by a depleted crew, or problems with the Warp Drive and Gellar Field. To have one or two ships like this after presumably heavy fighting and a desperate retreat was understandable. This many though? It raised the hair on Henrietta's neck. Something wasn't right. They could attempt a jump but she did not like the idea of a small fleet of silent ships rattling about in the Warp Current with them. A feeling that her fellow captains and superiors seemed to share.
Drumming her fingers rapidly on the polished metal of the throne, she barked an order at the Comms officer.
"Mister Hart, send another wide-band hail to the nearest mute ships." Pausing for a moment and deliberating, she continued "Ensure it includes a targeting warning and friend/foe queries."
The next logical step but a grim one. The mute ships would find a way to respond, cease their advance towards the Expedition Fleet or risk being fired upon. As reports came in about more Night Lord casualties it became clear they had little time. As Henrietta feared, still no response, and the refugee fleet only got closer. They did receive some questioning hails from refugee ships asking why they had their comrades targeted.
The Stellar Glory was neither fast nor particularly well-armed. Its nature as a Star Galleon was in its reliability and durability, not its firepower. That made it one of the reasons Captain Henrietta Maevish's ship found itself positioned close to the refugee ships and slightly behind its siblings in the Expedition Fleet. This vessel could take significant punishment, and even deal some in return if truly pressed to. It and some faster strike cruisers made up the rearguard. As the senior captain of the detachment, it fell to Captain Maevish to take a course of action.
With no clear options, she made her choice. "Vox all responding refugee ships. Tell them to group up and separate from the mute ships. They will jump with us and the others will jump after us separately. "
Not a perfect plan but a passable one. The message filtered from the fleet and after some hesitation, the responding ships complied. Breaking ranks quicker than she expected. Perhaps she was not the only one with apprehensions about the silent vessels.
"Have the Valiant Steel move to meet them. Cover their retreat and prepare to respond if the mute ships try anything." The fast Cruiser would make a good herding hound, moving the tattered flock away from their sick brethren.
The Valiant Steel broke ranks and prowled towards the incoming fleet. It lacked the inverted void shields the Night Lords favored but its design and crew earned the vessel a reputation for speed and stealth. Cutting through the Void, the Cruiser was soon within boarding distance of the responding fleet. In response some of the mute ships accelerated, moving to follow their escaping kin. Valiant Steel moved to intercept, broadcasting overt target locks. Hoping to warn off the mute vessels. No such luck, drastic measures were needed. Henrietta swallowed down bile and gave the Valiant Steel permission to fire.
It never got the opportunity. Streams of hard radiation poured from the nearest mute ships. The concentrated bombardment quickly overloaded the Valiant Steel's shields. Leaving the vessel naked to the blistering fire of monochromatic energy that followed the Gamma pulse. There was no time to issue a warning, no time for the cruiser to strike back. The ship went dark, its systems and crew burned out by the entropic weapon Imperials would learn to hate, Rangda Shadow Blasters.
The mute ships soon turned their fire onto the rest of the refugee ships. The Vox exploded with frantic confused hails and reports. Henrietta stared wide-eyed. The sensors had detected nothing and still didn't. Only registering the energy attacks once they had already fired. Something was very wrong. Pulling herself up from the Command throne with a snarl. The Captain barked "All ships open fire on the silent ships. They are not human, kill without mercy!"
The tension of uncertainty and mistrust snapped and quickly replaced by the stress of battle. Valiant Steel and its fellow rearguard moved into position. Opening fire on the mute ships. A lucky shot from a Cruiser in the advancing formation tore a chunk off a mute ship. Revealing the milky-white plastic meat of Rangda design. Parasite ships, another danger dreamed up by perfidious alien intellects.
A million questions flew through Captain Maevish's mind. What were these strange vessels wearing the husks of Imperial vessels? Why didn't scans show any sign of this oddity? When were these ships hollowed and infested? A bevy of damnable questions, but ones meant for other servants of the Emperor to answer. The only questions that mattered to her were quite simple. How do we kill the enemy and survive the process?
The Stellar Glory and its companions in the rearguard formed a line of battle and traded fire with the Rangda Parasite Ships. A Star Galleons' shields are designed to take heavy blows and the Glory proved itself again and again. Radiation and Entropic bolts enough to kill smaller ships fizzled against the layered Void shields. Imperial fire was focused on a few Rangda ships individually. Maevish didn't want to take any risks, and ordered all ships under her command to make sure the Xenos were really dead while also providing a narrow line of fire, one that the escaping refugee ships could evade. The Imposters would burn, but the rearguard still had a duty to fulfill. In contrast to the Imperial technique, the Rangda spread out their assault in a steady bombardment. Perfect for picking off weaker fleeing ships. Henretta bit back a grimace as she saw ragged Imperial ships go dark. Soon most of the refugees would be behind her battle line.
With fewer targets and more distance between themselves and easy prey. The Parasite ships turned more of their fire onto the Stellar Glory. Their shields held, but the radiation counters started to shriek. Decaying atoms smeared around the vessel bombarded it with a steady stream of radiation. Gene-therapy would be required for much of the ship's important crew. Sterilization would be the only fate for the unlucky and unworthy. Another shrieking claxon alerted the bridge crew. One of the secondary Void shield generators had suffered damage. Overtaxed, the techno-arcane systems had given out. The Tech-Priests were confident they could fix it but said it would take time. The sustained concentrated fire was not something they could handle for much longer.
Something new flickered across the Auspex display and a moment of worry worked its way up Henretta's spine. Fading as she recognized the signature of an inverted Void Shield being replaced by standard defenses. A squad of Night Lord ships emerged from the darkness of the space and struck at the Parasite ships. Vox hails from the lead Strike Cruiser reached the Stellar Glory.
The gravelly underhive accent of a Night Lord had never been a comforting thing for Henretta, even after years of serving with the VIII Legion. Today might be the first exception to that rule. As the maniac voice of one of the Emperor's cruelest Angels echoed across the Vox.
"This is Brother-Captain Ravanos of the Darkened Blade. Run along mortals, this is Night Lord's work. These Xenos have been Judged, Weighed, and found Wanting!"
The Vox cut off just as the start of a mad cackle escaped the Astartes on the other end. Gesturing to her crew and opening her own communications with her fellow captains. Henretta prepared her next move.
"As the Brother-Captain says. Let us leave this engagement. Keep us between the battle and the refugees. Keep up fire on the Xeno's as we retreat. Any distraction we can provide will let Cruze's sons slip in a knife."
With the Night Lords reaving between the parasitic ships, they had an opportunity. One they would not waste. Leaving the battle the rearguard and refugees joined up with the rest of the Expedition Fleet. They had barely reached the edge of the Mandiville point when Jump data poured through the Comm, and hundreds of Warp Drives ignited. Quickly joining them the intact and now swollen Expedition Fleet 89 (Resupply Division) prepared to leave Dyatlov-Rho. Fleeing the Rangda and the terrible worm-ship that pierced the void.
The first Warp rift opened, created by a hulking Forge-Ship of Mars. Soon dozens more split the fabric of reality and bled impossible colors. Warp-shutters started to shut across the fleet and Henrietta found herself silently thanking the human minds that had given her the tools and training to survive this nightmare. She took one last look out at the assembled fleet. Working hard not to glance at the crawling chaos visible in the nearest entrance to the Warp. Even in the Materium and at a great distance, gazing upon the Sea of Souls could prove destructive.
Observing the fleet her eyes caught on one of the Refugee ships. It had not started up its Warp Drive, and instead moved closer to the fleet's middle. After a moment Henrietta was about to turn to her Comn officer. Hoping to signal the strange ship and get an answer. She got one before she even fully turned her head. The vetted and contacted Refugee ship, whose captain she had spoken to personally, shed its skin.
Shedding its skin might not be the right words. The husk around the hidden Parasite Ships exploded outward in a wave of mega-shrapnel. Striking nearby ships with literal kilometers of warped slag. Another of the Refugee ships detonated, then another. At least a dozen erupting in shot-cannon blasts capable of crippling Imperial vessels. Freed from the camouflage the Parasite Ships opened fire. The trap had been two-fold. Henrietta swore violently as a spear of Adamantium that had once been part of a Cruisers keel struck the Stellar Glory. The ship shook and alarms wailed. One, in particular, set itself apart. It's horrible keening something all who sail the Void long learned to fear above all else. The Gellar Field had failed.
Hundreds of Warp rifts dotted the Void around them and the Stellar Glory's own Drive had been ignited and started to cut open reality. The ship was badly damaged and ripping open a path to its own death. Recovering quickly the Captain shouted orders. They would abort the Warp Drive's ignition and get the Gellar Field operational again. It was then when death struck the bridge. Mechanisms and Cogitators sparked and a few crew members bent over in pain. A metallic taste and the smell of burning meat filled the ship's bridge. Shakily Captain Henrietta Maevish raised her hand to her face. Feeling the blisters of radiation burns raising along her skin. The great mechanisms of an Imperial Ship continued as the Bridge and most of the vessel's upper decks burned alive with flames on the atomic level.
The Warp Drive finished its task and opened up reality. As blood vessels ripped open and skin sloughed off her. The Stellar Glory's Captain stared into the Warp. . Her ship, its crew and her were slowly moving towards the open maw of Chaos. Fresh meat thrown to hungry things circling in the dark. With fingers already burnt and rotting, Henrietta reached down to her sidearm. Death was inevitable but she would not die in the domain of Thirsting Gods. A final act of desperate fearful defiance.
"BANG"
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