Chương 162: Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Two

It is with only the greatest flex of will power that I am able to resist skipping through my Class Three D-POT. It's going to take me weeks before I actually believe I nabbed a Warrant of Trade, even after holding it in my hands. I exit the craft, and there I find that Odhran and Eoghan are also back in their power armour and armed to the teeth.

Odhran even has his dog, which he has heavily modified as it is now almost as tall as he is and has been kitted out as a mobile, shielded artillery platform, mostly missiles and las cannons. The rest of his squad also have a mastiff, but they're the standard urban patterned gun dog and just hold ammo and other munitions. Well, if you want to call a thousand or more rounds of multiple types of bolter ammunition 'just'.

I glance at the ridiculous cyber mastiff and say, "I see you put your time confined to base to good use."

"Ah, Magos. This is just one of them." I pause halfway down the ramp, then continue, "I see. Everyone needs a hobby, I suppose." Raphael and Lyre have also changed, putting on hyperweave undersuits and armourglass helmets from the emergency supplies within the shuttle. They've also returned their phosphor stubbers and swapped them for MOA shields, custom Kalibrax V-I Pattern Lasrifles, and a dozen hotshot power packs each. The rifles have been modified into carbines.

The carbine design works better with MOA shields and in the smaller corridors of a shuttle, especially if you don't have a mechadendrite to carry your shield. Greedy fuckers. Those power packs are really expensive and hold up to four times as much power in the same space as a standard pack. Do they really need twelve each? A hotshot power pack can give significantly more shots or let you overload the gun.

They're often used to power long-las and some patterns of hellgun, like the D'Laku Crusade-Pattern Hellgun used by some Skitarii forces. Hot shot power packs are not standard issue, even for a Kalibrax, but they are worth it as the Kalibrax is one of the few designs that can fire a hotshot powerpack on maximum discharge without damaging the gun, making them almost as powerful as a hellgun without the added fuss of a backpack sized powerpack and potentia coil like the Marwolv Mark II requires.

An Imperial Guardsman is usually issued four standard packs; that gives them approximately two hundred and forty shots with a Mars MkIII 'Short' Pattern Lasgun or a Kantrael Pattern M36 Lasrifle, arguably the two most common and popular designs. Taking twelve hotshot powerpacks each is total overkill.

"Magos, you have some ridiculously good gear! I can't believe that you're using Crusade Era weapons as emergency gear. What's this Marwolv Pattern Mark II that I spotted your Heralds holding? Are they even better? You absolutely must sell me some!" Holding back a rant, I say, "You can put those guns back when we're done with them, along with all the other stuff. That includes signing them back in. As a guest, that comes with a lot of extra administration." Lyre snorts and Raphael loses his smile.

Yeah, you bastards knew exactly what you were doing.

"Understood, Magos," says Raphael.

"We appreciate the loan." I shrug, my armour clanking slightly, "If you want to join the line, rather than sit safely within my personal shuttle, I am not going to stop you. The undersuit you are wearing will stop most stubbers and lasguns, and the shields will stop most bolters for two or three shots, though your arm will not survive the experience. They will not save you from the guns my Heralds and Space Marines are carrying." Raphael and Lyre shoulder their armaments, then both fold their arms and stare at me.

Their almost identical poses are supposed to be intimidating, but to me they just look silly. I continue, "I'm sure this isn't your first firefight, Commodore, but keep your head down. I do not want to contact the Navy High Command and tell them that they lost an officer because he was too excited to shoot a new gun rather than stay hidden. Where are your bodyguards anyway?"

"I didn't want to bring Ogryns to dinner," says Raphael, scowling, "and I left my voidsmen in our own shuttle, which is in a different hangar. The voidsmen are all newly press ganged, so I didn't see much point in having them watch our back."

"I understand your argument. Let me add to it, you don't have anyone else because you weren't expecting to need well mannered guards beyond the official borders of the Imperium either, therefore none were issued to you nor did you see the need to pay for them out of your own pocket."

"Not quite, I paid for the Ogryns, but you're right about the rest."

"Commodore, let's stop our conversation here. I'm going for a quick space amble. Bedwyr, while the hangar is becoming increasingly full, ever since the Space Marines put on their proper armour, see if you can get the remaining locals to clear out, or at least take cover somewhere. Ask that wandering Tech-Priest if we can have permission to move our shuttle a bit. I want it facing the front of the hangar in case we need to use our main guns.

Oh, and if you haven't already, make sure Ardent Bane's crew can't just drop that void shield and vent us out of the hangar or deploy their internal defences and shoot us in the back due to some 'malfunction', or other such nonsense."

"Aye, Magos," says Bedwyr, "We already did most of that, let me send a squad or two to cover you, as well as half our Vanguard Armour."

"I have no issue with that. I'll even use the tow cable on the Vanguard Armour to secure myself. It's rather easy to get lost out there after all." Once I'm halfway across the hangar, I hear Lyre say, "Captain Keane, is there any reason why we can't close the armoured doors?"

"Yes, Sir," says Bedwyr.

"They are incredibly heavy and take ten minutes to open and close. That will not help us if we must depart quickly. While there is an emergency override that closes them much faster, that deliberately overloads the mechanisms, melting them. This forces any invaders to cut through the door, rather than seize control of the mechanisms, or lever it open with a few jacks. This would completely close off our primary escape route and possibly reinforcements as well." Did you know this story is from Royal Road?

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"Very well," says Lyre. Thinking about how I might get better scans, I order my bodyguards to spread along the hangar entrance in a long line and all point their auspex into space and send me the data. I then use it to create a composite stream of information that is much more accurate than what I could have got on my own, similar to how a very large array telescope might work. A single Vanguard Armour stands behind me and engages its maglock.

The war walker has four additional magnetic anchors that it can deploy along thick wires, like a harpoon. They're usually used to secure Vanguard Armour during transit, but if you were feeling bold you could probably use them to walk up and down a vertical surface if you took it slow. No one has ever tested it though. My Servo-Harness grips one of the anchors from the reel on the Vanguard's hip and I take a running leap out into the void.

It's hard to make out what is happening as there are a lot of explosions happening that are messing with my auspex. I open my third eye and large amalgamations of flame-like energy overlay my vision, letting me pick out most of the vessels around Cobalt. That gives me something to focus my composite sensors on and I quickly get a better idea of what is going on.

The Stellar Fleet has launched a lot of strike craft, who are intercepting a massive salvo of torpedoes that has been launched at my fleet from a Drukhari cruiser and two light cruisers that were previously hiding from us somehow. Trader Modren's transporters have also launched hundreds of strike craft and are trying to contest the torpedo salvo against me. They've also launched strike craft towards the Imperial Fleet.

I can't tell what kind, though I suspect they're assault boats; the transports don't have the guns to contest the Navy vessels in a slugging match. I can only assume that Captain Benagune is in on the deception and aware of his Drukari allies if his transports are acting against the Stellar and Imperial Fleets. Most of the crew clearly doesn't know though as my assault group is still moving through Ardent Bane without opposition.

Six more Drukhari vessels, escorts this time, appear from one moment to the next amid the snarl between my strike craft and Trader Modren's. I gasp, I can't believe they can hide from soul sight! I know that Drukhari have a fair amount of soul based technologies, but hiding the crews of multi-kilometre long vessels with it is quite ridiculous.

"Fuck, the torpedoes were a trap," I mutter, as I watch my strike craft get overwhelmed by the escorts' defensive fire. The escorts are immediately bombarded by the Stellar fleet and turn to flee. I'm guessing here, but the coordination between what remains of my strike craft and their motherships is letting the Stellar Fleet pick out the exact position of the Drukhari escorts, despite their annoying Holo-Fields that are making it impossible for me to pick out their exact position from my location.

The Drukhari flip their kilometre long vessels one hundred and eighty degrees in just under a minute while somehow slipping between most of the rounds of the Stellar Fleet plasma macro-cannons. I have no idea how they can pull that off, but it lets them quickly retreat from the carnage they wrought. My people aren't without their own tricks however, and clearly enough of my torpedo bombers survived the defensive fire of the Dark Eldar escorts to launch their own retaliatory strike at near point blank range.

"Wow!" I wasn't expecting torpedo bombers to be sent with interceptor squadrons, and neither were the Drukhari. The Stellar Fleet strike craft do not chase down the crippled escorts and head back to their vessels. One escort explodes in a giant flash of light, and the other five are crippled, limping away at a much reduced speed. Hardly surprising given how many torpedoes they all took to their main thrusters and their gravity sails just can't make up the difference.

The exploding ship breaks apart into three large chunks and millions of debris shards that spin out into the void at high velocity. With the board mostly cleared of human strike craft, all three Drukhari line vessels launch their own, all of which head straight for Ardent Bane. I suspect that they lost contact with Sciéno and that the strike craft are Impaler Assault Boats, sent to secure, or 'confirm' her death, and this is what triggered the attack.

It's hard to know for sure with how fond the Dark Eldar are of stabbing each other in the back. Perhaps Sciéno was particularly high in their ranks or a favoured pet? My Heralds are doing a fine job of traversing Ardent Bane, and I can expect to capture the vessel about the same time as the Drukari strike craft reach Ardent Bane, which means that the incoming assault is my problem, made even more difficult by the expected sudden change in command.

Well, if it all goes 'just as planned', but those words are horribly cursed in this galaxy. I order the Vanguard Armour to reel me back in and we all return to standing in the shadow of my shuttle.

"Magos, how fares my fleet?" says Raphael.

"Your fleet is under assault, probably boarders, by Trader Modren's strike craft. The enemy strike craft will be in range of your defensive fire within the next thirty minutes. Your vessels have opened fire on the transports who are slowly retreating towards Ardent Bane while returning fire with the help of Trader Modren's two escort vessels. No significant damage has happened to either side. Your vessels are not chasing down the transports and remain in close orbit around Cobalt."

Raphael says, "What about Cobalt's three defence platforms and four monitor escort vessels?"

"Nothing has targeted them and they have remained neutral so far."

"Can you help me send a message?"

"Yes, but I will only authorise one. Each time we send something we risk Ardent Bane's crew cracking our encryption. Return messages are even worse as the signal washes over their hull and makes it far easier to intercept. I will also hear the contents of your message."

"Then let's wake the Governor first," says Lyre.

"He will be able to add his authority to the message and have the Imperial Fleet and Cobalt defensive forces cooperate.

"Agreed. We also have one Dark Eldar cruiser and two light cruisers worth of assault boats incoming and we're ground zero for one of the main ingress points."

"How many troops is that?" says Bedwyr.

"If I were to compare it to the Stellar Fleet's vessels," I say, "that would be one to two regiments that they can launch simultaneously. They likely have another three or four in reserve. Depending on how tight they pack them, and how many get through Ardent Bane's defensive fire," I scoff, "assuming the traitorous captain even fires at his so-called allies? Anywhere between twenty and sixty thousand enemy combatants are coming for us. Have you ever seen the like, Adjunct Hamiz?"

"Expect a lot of xenos mercenaries and beasts, exotic weaponry, poisons, and random assaults that are more about causing pain than of much tactical value. So long as they think they are winning that is. Kill enough of them and they will start taking things more seriously and we will have to deal with saboteurs, assassins, and highly coordinated attacks across multiple fronts."

"Understood. I estimate we have two hours before they are upon us. I still have control of internal comms. I'll see if I can route us some help and ensure that the orders to fire on the Drukhari are actually given. The primary Machine-Spirit for Ardent Bane is watching me closely though and subverting orders just won't happen unless I can get it to cooperate with me a bit more."