POV: Transmaterium Magi, Lord Eligael Eligael frowned, radiating displeasure. The loss of the Wyrmsblood was a major blow to his total fleet power. The strike itself had been precious, calculated, surgical. He wasn't sure how they had managed such an impressive feat. The strike had illuminated the Argent Drake's weapon systems, which had exceptional range and reach. They were also startlingly potent. It was clear that the Grand Cruiser was trying to bait the fleet into counter attacking it, which Eligael would not allow. It was time to get serious. "All forces ahead full, launch bombers and torpedoes. Fighters are to screen for the bombers. The primary targets are the point defenses and weapon systems of the orbital station. Secondary targets are the Purest Shadow and Argent Drake. Tertiary targets of opportunity to be taken as they come. Punish any weakness you encounter. Execute." He directed them. His multiple eyes flicked across the displays arrayed in front of him. He pointed a long clawed finger at the hologram of one of the defense monitors. Without saying a word, the weapons of the battleship were readied, and the moment they pushed into range, the vessel in question was saturated with lance and laser fire before it could retreat behind some of the more heavily shielded vessels. "Magister, you have my permission to utilize the main ritual chamber in the tower for your plan. Inform the Astartes they need to do their best to cripple the Argent Drake from the inside. They have my permission to make full use of our armouries. Have everything ready in six hours." He Voxed over. Eligael didn't see any obvious gaps in their local networks. Nevertheless, he had prepared the perfect tool to harass them and reveal any potential weaknesses in his foe. His unique blend of scrap code. He typed a series of commands into the console next to his throne. "All allied ships are to isolate their networks for an hour on my mark. I will release the Data Dijinn! Follow current orders until then. Mark!" The corrupted antenna perched on the hull of the ship like a unicorn's horn pulsed brightly as it transmitted hostile Data Djinn spirits to any nearby vessels and systems capable of receiving them. Eligael observed as the lights on two of the defense monitors flickered out, and their guns fell silent while the Djinn wreaked havoc on their systems. The Halo station was the most affected, as the coordinated defensive fire faltered and certain systems stopped responding entirely. The Purest Shadow and Argent Drake swiftly repelled and expelled the attempted infiltrations, which met expectations. Eligael monitored the networks' reactions, his mind working in real time to dissect their digital defenses. As the space between the two fleets narrowed, the void became increasingly filled with torpedoes, macro cannon fire, lasers, and burning lances. The strike craft raced through the void in large clusters while their hangars launched squadron after squadron. Massive clouds of flak and smaller projectiles joined the chaos as they approached the defenders closely enough to engage them. —---------------------------------------------------------------------- I feel the pulse of satisfaction and contentment The Argent Drake released once she had been allowed to unleash her full unrestrained fury and put the whelp Wyrmsblood in its place. I stand up and stretch, and tap into the noosphere to check our position. The Argent Drake had broken away from the defense line to get within the necessary range and come at the Wyrmsblood from an angle. Unfortunately, that left Argent having to rush back as the enemy fleet pushed forward and started to engage with the other vessels. None of the enemy vessels rising to the bait of the lone Grand Cruiser aside from a few squadrons of strike craft that were finding out first hand what a poor decision that was. As I am getting ready to head off to go get Pride, it's about time to strap him into his missile. I feel the gross sensation when the enemy releases the hostile Data Djinn. Argent repels most of them with outright contempt, but a few minor malicious spirits manage to slip into the noosphere network. One of them is close and stupid enough to target me and trigger my implants. Warning: Hostile Code Detected: Designation: Data Djinn. Hostile Data Djinn. Threat level: Minor P.R.I.N.C.E.S.S. Defensive modules engaged. Executing Response: Dispensation of Edict Edict Selected: Rebuke "Rebuke." I whisper as I summon the familiar wyvern-shaped code construct. "Would you mind taking care of the trash?" I say, patting Rebuke on the head before the little wyvern zips off to maul the hostile spirit. It occurs to me then as I watch Rebuke hunt down and remove the malicious spirits, Rebuke behaves more like a loyal uncorrupted Data Djinn than a simple defensive program. "Good wyvern." After summoning Rebuke the first time, calling it again has become almost trivial. I make a mental note that I still need to discern and unearth what other Edicts I can utilize. There might be some information on the Edicts hidden away in a few of the remaining memories I need to comprehend. —------------------------------------------------------------- "Princeps. We have all agreed it is best for you to arm yourself and for your full protection detail to accompany you." Delta-A3 said politely. I look around at the various expectant gazes of Lael, Brother Silverwalker, and even Baldos seems to have agreed. "That seems excessive. I'm not planning to leave the ship. The full squad of my Thallax, Skitarii, Two sisters, Lael, three Astartes and Baldos?" The two Star Dragon Devastators, both with heavy bolters, had come by along with the additional skitarii on orders from above. "We believe it is prudent for all your Automata to come as well." Brother Silverwalker said. I frown. "Seriously? Do you think a greater daemon will pop out next to me or something? I'm just going to the hangar and then the teleportarium." I say with a huff. "Yes." Baldos rumbles, sounding highly amused. "The Argent Drake is sailing into the main enemy fleet. We are expecting a response. If you wish to see off Captain Bolaar in the telepotarium, you should make haste." Brother Silverwalker says confidently. I throw my hands up in the air. "Fine! You'll see I'm not a danger magnet! But since you insist we're bringing all the things!" I go back into my quarters and grab an excessive amount of my pistol collection. Two sit on my hips with dipole mag-locks. My Wrath and Mauler. My Archeotech Hellpistol tucked into a discreet cross draw holster. The larger Exitus Pistol I sit in a discreet shoulder mounted MIU weapon interface. The Inferno Pistol, and the Moirean Lance I sit along my lower back with their dipole mag-locks. I grab the Endless Relic Rifle and have one my drendrites carry it behind me. I stash Toob in one of my Scyllax and then go up to Delta-A3. "Here you go!" I say as I pass him the heavy Conversion Beamer. For more chapters visit n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net He takes it with aplomb and starts performing safety checks on the weapon. "Thank you, Princeps. When you are ready, please summon the rest of your Automata." "I'm sending them to meet us at the lift leading to the Teleportarium. They don't need to to the hangar." I compromise as I grab my axe. "Princeps, what are you holding, and why are you waving it around?" Lael asks. "It's a small flag…" I mutter, putting the flag back in my pocket. "Don't worry about it." —----------------------------------------------------------- POV: Magos Zeta 9-Kane From the main spire of the Halo station, Zeta studied the lines of battle. The station's weapons fired constantly as they tracked dozens of enemy vessels and hundreds of smaller craft. The Argent Drake's surprise flanking maneuver and destruction of the enemy Grand Cruiser was a massive boon, but still, the enemy was pushing forward relentlessly. The number of strike craft hammering their defenses was staggering when paired with the immense volume of fire coming from the enemy fleet. It was clear that their vanguard forces were slowly being overwhelmed. Most of their vessels and the Halo were all struggling to fight off the insidious Data Djinn released by the enemy flagship. Zeta clenched his fist and narrowed his eyes. "What's the Argent Drake's current position?" He asked one of his Tech Priests in a burst of binary. "Magos, the Argent Drake has positioned itself perpendicular to the enemy battle line. At their current speed and heading, they would intersect the main enemy formation within the hour. They're coordinating with the Purest Shadow to try and take the pressure off of us." The Tech Priest replied as they worked furiously. "Magos! The scrapcode has gotten into the fire coordination cogitators!" another Tech Priest exclaimed in a panic. "Isolate it before it can spread, and deploy digital countermeasures! That's a Djinn!" He growled as the station shook as one of the outer rings took an unfortunately timed lance strike. The enemy had taken note of the half-completed Isolde that they were using as an additional Macro cannon and point defense platform. A fresh wave of bombers overwhelmed another of the system ships. While they were also chewing through the enemy escorts just as quickly and blasting through enemy strike craft, their forces were being whittled down. "It's not enough." Zeta muttered as he swept his gaze across the line of enemy ships. He needed to do something. "Deploy the fire ship. Time its arrival with that of the Drake and Shadow. The target shall be the Conflagration. Launch all remaining interceptors!" The fire ship was unlikely to survive long enough to reach the enemy if he sent it after one of the carriers or the Battleship. The cruiser trading fire with the Purest Shadow and the Hunter's Lady would be an ideal target. The large form of the Space Hulk and the Silver Tower hung in space well behind the enemy fleet, the structures steadily creeping closer but currently sat well outside of engagement range. "Priority one transmission from the Argent Drake! It's from Lady Cavalerio!" his communications officer suddenly yelled. "Put it through." Zeta snapped, but when they did, there was no message. The entire display simply flickered as something blue darted across the screen. Turning his gaze to the Noosphere, Zeta caught a glimpse of the strange draconic data construct as it tore one of the Data Djinn out of their systems and devoured it. Zeta felt a slight pang of relief. He didn't have time to question where the Princeps had gotten her own Djinn but quickly gave the little program the requisite permissions to fully access their network. Not that it seemed to need it. However, that relief was short-lived. "Sir! The enemy flagship has launched a Scrap Code bomb! It's targeting the point defenses and our fighters!" one of the techs alerted the room. "Deploy damage control teams! Perform the rituals of purification! We need those fighters!" Zeta screeched. "They dare to corrupt our blessed machines! These heretics will feel the wrath of the Omnissiah!" —----------------------------------------------------------------- Pride's awareness flickered back on as the stasis field deactivated once again. His internal clock informed him it had only been a few days since his last chat with the terrifying little machina anathema. Pride glanced down, and there she was. Standing in front of him with that calm, measured smile. "It's time." she spoke with a gentle smile. "I see." He muttered as he double and triple-checked his gear and the status of his chassis. When everything came back green, less than a second later, he nodded. "I do hope you've chosen something suitable." "I'm just gonna throw you at an Astartes Strike Cruiser by yourself." She said as she spun on her heel and led him out of the shuttle to what his sensors told him was a rocket. "This is your boarding… missile!" "That's a rocket. You intend to shoot me at the enemy?" He asked her incredulously. "Yes, it's one whole G below your chassis maximum tolerance. You're not made of meat, so you won't liquefy and you'll get there quickly." She said while looking proud of herself. "Orders of engagement?" He asked as he stepped past her and lowered himself into the oddly comfortable cockpit of the rocket. Her gaze sharpened for a brief moment that only his enhanced senses could pick up. "Anyone on that vessel is an enemy. Kill them all. If you manage to survive, killing your way through the entire cruiser, you are welcome to derive a means of transit to one of the other vessels and continue. I hear Eligael is on the battleship. I'll come collect you after if you fail to find a worthy foe." She told him as she gave him a sidelong look. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Pride scoffed, "Perhaps, they might field a worthy adversary for my glorious self. That is doubtful. I calculate the chance of defeat from an Astartes company at point zero three percent." The metal clamps inside the rocket latched onto him, securing him in place as the hatch slowly started to close. "Hey, they might have daemons and stuff too... Pride… This is an order. You must avoid taint. You are not to suffer those corrupted by the warp to live." She said as Pride regarded her. The more he interacted with the Child of Silver, the more it sank in that she was a truly terrifying creature. "Good hunting." She whispered as the hatch snapped shut, leaving him in silence. Pride lay there until he felt the jolt of acceleration as he sped away from the ship at a ludicrous speed. Barely a minute went by before his delivery vessel slammed into the nose of the Malefic Eye. The shaped melta charge let his ride penetrate straight through the armour layer. The entire compartment exploded outwards as the explosive bolts and remaining charges were triggered. The explosions reduced a number of armsmen that had been in the corridor to a chunky, bloody paste. He stepped out of the cloud of smoke and wreckage. His red eyes glowing in the dark as he ignited the crackling power field of his blade and stalked forward. His sensors picked up a few hundred life signs nearby, every one highlighted as enemies to be purged. Chuckling darkly to himself, Pride allowed himself to savor the moment as he started his slaughter. Hijacking the ship's local vox network with ease. "Come out! Come out and face me, little Astartes!" —-------------------------------------------------------- POV: Lord Arken Drakios "Tell our pilots to stick close to the Argent Drake. We are going straight through the enemy formation, and they need to keep up. All weapons may fire at will! Maximize our point defenses!" "Captain Bolaar, you're about to get your chance. Get your team to the Teleportarium. I can only guarantee you an hour. We're about to get stuck in the thick of it." Arken called to the Asartes Captain. "Acknowledged, Lord Drakios, we are on our way." Bolaar replied curtly. "Pride has been deployed onto the Malefic Eye." The whispered message from Nicole made Arken's head snap up. "Acknowledged." He replied as the Argent Drake flew past the Astartes vessels, leaving them behind as they charged towards the collection of carrier vessels. "Target the Hive of Woe! Fire the servitor boarding torpedoes!" Arken called as they neared the Heavy Cruiser. The Torpedo salvo rocketed ahead of the ship and struck so quickly the Styx had nearly no time to respond. "Port guns target the Sky Scourer! Strip those shields and get a teleportation lock!" Arken barked out as they passed fully into the enemy formation. Arken watched as the Purest Shadow did the same on the opposite side. The Inquisitorial vessel rammed its power field-clad prow straight through one of the Raiders that dared get in her way. Guns were blazing in all directions as they fought their way towards the Prophet of Distortion. Arken glanced over just in time to see the Collateral come rocketing upwards from around the underside of the Halo. Overclocked engines spewed plasma and propellant as the servitors onboard struggled to keep their course straight, her hull aglow and armour perforated from enemy fire. The mine layer turned fire ship, breaching upwards like a shark as it careened prow first into the spine of the Conflagration. The Inferno Class Cruiser buckled upwards before the Collateral flashed and detonated their plasma bomb payload. The blinding flash from the detonation consumed the Cruiser, and a moment later, a secondary explosion occurred as the reactor on the Conflagration lost containment, leaving naught but broken chunks of burning wreckage of the enemy ship. Living up to her namesake, the Collateral wasn't done there, as those burning chunks of ship debris sped out and forced every ship within ten VUs to perform extreme evasive maneuvers to avoid getting bombarded by the debris. One of the ships in the line of fire that failed to evade and was stripped of their void shields, The Sky Scourer. —------------------------------------------------------------- He stood ready in the teleportarium. His Saturnine Power Armour was laden with ammunition and stood pristine next to his first scale. On either side stood Brother Logen Silverfury in his glorious Contemptor Dreadnought and Brother Nemeth Solantar in his Ironclad. Each of them bore a Teleport Homer as they stood on the dais, waiting for the moment their chance would come. "Brothers, today is the day we enact our vengeance on The Sky Scourer for our fallen brothers and the crew of the Hollow Star! We shall take their bridge, take their pirate scum of a captain's head. They will feel our fire and fury!" "Fire and Fury!" Came the harmonious reply from his brothers as they chanted the chapter warcry. Across the chamber, one of the massive doors leading to the vehicle elevator slowly crept open. Out strode the familiar, petite figure of the Princeps. Captain Bolaar took in the forces arrayed behind her and could admit to himself they might have gone a little overboard. A full squad of the Sisters of Battle stood around Demi-Saint Lael. Brother Silverwalker and the two heavy devastators stood ready. Venerable Baldos loomed in the rear next to the trio of Castellax-class and the single Domitar-class Battle-Automata. The Vultrax hovered overhead. The four units of the Scyllax Guardian-Automata Maniple were arrayed around Nicole while the two Vorax Battle-Automata waited in the wings, crouched and ready for violence. The full cohort of Thallax and full squad of Skitarii arrayed protectively around the Princeps. Laden with heavy ordinance. Bolaar noted that Venerable Baldos had swapped out his main weapon arm for a second close combat weapon, along with a single disposable missile tube tucked into his shoulder. "Captain Bolaar! I got here before you left! Perfect! I know you've gotten a lot of them already, but another quick blessing can't hurt!" Nicole said in her chipper voice as she walked right up to the edge of the dais. "Of course, Princeps, we would be honored." He replied. "Ha! You whelps go have your fun. I'm going to be here. Where the real party is going to be. Want to bet who gets more kills? Silverfury? Solantar?" Baldos declared proudly, which earned him an exasperated look from the Princeps. "Don't worry, we're just going to hang out here. Just in case the Teleportarium operators need my help locking onto your homers for your trip back." Nicole said with a smile. Solantar, unfortunately, rose to the bait. "Venerable, I believe I will get more kills." Baldos cackled, the deep sound echoing through the chamber. "Oh, you'll see, whelp. Let the contest begin!" Bolaar was about to speak when the alarm sounded. "Enemy shields are down! Target Locked! Star Dragon's assault team, you are cleared for Lightning Strike!" There was a brief flash, and then after a moment of disorientation Bolaar stood on the deck of the enemy ship. One of his arms raised, and he fired his storm bolter before the enemy crew could so much as scream. "Captain, I have oriented our position. Highlighting the fastest route to the bridge." one of his brothers stated as they cleared their immediate surroundings. "Brothers! To me!" Bolaar cried as he charged down the hallway, his Iron Halo glowing prominently. The strike team left nothing but the scattered piles of minced meat and broken corpses of what might have once been the enemy in their furious wake. —--------------------------------------------------------------- POV: Lord of Change, Skra'kalichaust the Schemer It seemed like it was time. He directed his puppet to prepare itself. The moment they left the confines of Santar's warded quarters, there was little doubt they would be detected. Peggi had been successfully possessed by one of his underlings. It was a good thing because, as it turned out, Santar could not carry all the glorious paintings by himself, and his loyalist lover made an excellent porter. Leaving nothing to chance he conjured a pair of Flamer Daemons, one to scour the room clean of his presence and the second to deal with the pair of guards stationed outside. The door was opened, the flamer instantly immolated the guards, all according to plan. Casting a shroud over them both was not enough for them to avoid detection. "Come." He hissed at the possessed priestess, sending the flamer off to run rampant to draw attention. Together, they dragged one of the guard's charred bodies along with them. It took them barely a few minutes to reach the area he needed, the observation dome was devoid of people. As they overrode the shutters, it immediately became apparent that the space battle outside was getting quite heated. The Argent Drake was diving into the thick of the enemy formation. Using the blood of the guard to draw the ritual circle, they arrange the five paintings in a perfect pentagram. "Born in the light of the great rift, may these anchors open the door. We change this space and open the gate." Skra'kalichaust guided Santar through a complex chant and ritual as he drew out the circle with fresh blood. He placed the various objects he had ordered in specific locations. A candle here, a crystal pyramid there, a little trinket and a perfect machined sphere, a gilded hinge, a cobblestone. Skra'kalichaust could feel the warded vessel resisting the ritual, but as the light of the rift soaked into the paintings, they began to glow with their own intricately painted rituals that stabilized the space for now. With a burst of lightning, a gash formed in the center of the space, pink and blue mist swirling about as lightning spared, and a circular gate with a blue boundary layer flickered to life. Skra'kalichaust turned to his minion. "I will speak with their sorcerer, and then we depart. Leave her over there." Pointing to the area with the corpse. His follower didn't hesitate to lay down and leave their host. Even once the daemon was gone, the young lady was left unconscious. As the portal stabilized, the image from the other side became clear. A handful of sorcerers and many Astartes stood waiting. The first sorcerer stepped through and frowned. "You are the daemon we contracted to craft this portal? Why is it so unstable?" He demanded. Skra'kalichaust had Santar give a mocking bow. His mouth stretched wide in a crazed smile. "I am with whom you made a deal, the ritual is enacted, we stand within the seal. My bargain is complete. Be warned, mortal, this vessel is warded extensively, and should you fail to disable the Gellar protections once they activate. Well… the spatial anchors will not last long." He gestured at the glowing paintings. The sorcerer looked furious and bared his teeth in a snarl. "That was not our deal! We demanded a permanent passage!" Santar let out an inhuman cackle. "Permanent the gate is, yes? It remains as long as you power it. Its position on the ship, secure in this particular space… not quite so." Santar glanced over as the first painting caught fire. "Ah, it seems the clock is ticking. You have oh… lets say… twenty minutes?" Then he had Santar step back and flip the sorcerer the bird before he cut the strings, and Santar collapsed next to his lover. "The deal is done to the letter! Ke ke ke!" the screeching, ethereal cackle echoed from all directions. The Sorcerer turned around and began frantically waving their troops through the portal. A squad of chaos terminators made their way in first, followed by a few sorcerers who tried in vain to help stabilize the anchor paintings. "That bird bastard tricked us!" The sorcerer hissed. "The gate is unstable. If we don't deactivate the Gellar field soon, the paintings serving as spatial stabilizers will eventually burn out, and then the portal will start drifting." "You speak the truth," The lead Terminator stated. "We shall lead our forces forward. Make your assault. The Emperor's Children are coming with their venerable cursed Sonic Dreadnought. However, they failed to muster at the appointed time. We shall bring the Black Legion sapper team with us first. We, the fifth company of the Scourged, stand ready." The Chaos Captain declared. They spent the next several minutes hastily moving troops and equipment through the portal as the first painting burned up, as had the second, and the third was currently aflame and burning quickly. In the distance, the ship's boarding alarm sounded. Ignoring the unconscious mortals that had been used to arrange their entrance, laying forgotten off to the side.