40 Thousand Reasons

The second our fleet translated into real space, sensors and auguries switched to autistic mode. Then, we burned plasma at maximum and turned away, as exactly above us there were a dozen of the famous Universe-class mass conveyors, only decorated with the hated spikes of Chaos.

I had 10 destroyers and 8 corvettes, and my slightly more durable Canticle.

But closer in system there was the siege fleet from Ghalmek, the Dark Mechanicus Hellforge in the Maelstrom.

Of course, we didn't simply run away. We had torpedoes and were not afraid to use them.

One by one, the new Los Angeles-pattern destroyers launched their ship killing salvos, each of them aimed at a different troop transport. For no doubt, these were the Titans, daemon engines and other dark machine transport vessels, with the needed ammunition and fuel and food and everything else a force expecting to besiege a Forge World would need.

The Canticle and the corvettes unloaded on the eleventh conveyor, torpedoes and lance batteries, bombardment cannons and Volcano lance batteries.

The Los Angeles destroyers simply turned at 90 degrees to allow their own batteries to fire, and then the explosions began, first the chaos flak batteries firing too late at our torpedoes, then the torpedoes striking the enemy void shields, then the hull and finally the reactor and munition depots.

Eleven new suns appeared at Shenlong, far behind the gas giant. The explosions were so powerful we lost our void shields even this far away, and the Ion Shields barely saved us. Somehow, the corvettes got away easy, riding the shockwaves like leaves in a storm. The destroyers suffered worse, and reports of massive damage filled the clan's vox channel.

The Canticle was shaken so strongly that I had to use my armor's servomotors to hold on to the command chair, and many bridge officers were flung out of their seats.

It would have been nasty in the lower decks, but I didn't have time to pity the serfs and servitors right now.

"Torpedo room, time to reload?" I asked in a command voice.

"Captain...full reload estimated at 714 minutes with current effectives. Most of the gunnery crews and some enginseers are wounded or dead." the voice replied on the vox. Not the usual torpedo guy as well.

Must be really messy in there, torpedoes bouncing around and crushing people.

"Understood, help will arrive soon. Meanwhile, load only the vortex warhead in the sealed cell - Rho 0888. Not the other one!" I shouted in the vox box.

"Roger that, Captain! Vortex not bicycle warhead, aye." the voice answered seeming amused if also in pain.

I almost sighed and glared at Majoris.

He waved a few tentacles to show he was sorry for gossiping. Or make fun of me.

"Replacement servitors and a hundred tech-priests and medics to torpedo room. Lance batteries repairs secondary. Engines and shields tertiary. The rest can wait." I demanded while checking damage on my bridge.

Broken bones and lacerations weren't too bad.

The woman at long range auspex console was dead. Neck broken, seemed like.

My ship's escorts began speeding away, trying to enter the huge cargoships dead-weapon zone in the aft.

I had some distant uncle in command of those destroyer escorts, and he knew his job. Cripple the engines and we could come back later to finish them off.

The Chaos behemoth still had engine power, but was very slow to turn, due to starting from an immobile position.

The Canticle still had our last vector, aiming us outward. We wouldn't have 12 hours for my vortex torpedo to be loaded, even with the injured behemoth failing to turn yet.

"Air wing, any fighter operational right now?" I asked without much hope.

"No fighters for a few hours, Captain. There's an intact shuttle though. Somehow." the wing commander answered after a few moments.

It would have to do.

"Prepare it for vortex deployment. We have a 12 kilometers-long Chaos ship just above us." I spoke and glanced at Ludvaius.

He showed me 4 fingers, which I didn't know what...nevermind.

Just act, don't think. I was doing fine then.

I leaned back and scrolled through the howling Machine Spirit's demands for fury and vengeance. The Gellar field was broken. There would be no retreat then.

"In death ground: fight!" I said softly, and immediately the bridge became quiet.

"You wish us to board that conveyor, Captain?" Wentian asked in near horror.

"They have a Titan Legion aboard, Wentian. We have one Knight." I replied shaking my head. A single shuttle too.

Perhaps that Legion was not complete or fully operational, but it wouldn't matter.

I switched the vox channel back to the flight deck. "ETA on the shuttle?"

"We're moving sir. Perhaps one hour, maybe two." the man replied in a suffering voice.

The Canticle ran the calculations for me. One hour would work, two hours...would be probably too late.

Damn my luck.

Uncle Jorias began firing at the conveyor soon after, and one engine blew up after some 10 minutes of intense low damage fire from all the escorts. Then again, one engine on that monster was larger than a destroyer.

Our timer grew, adding more lifetime for the ship.

"Auspex scans detected, Captain. They might be preparing to teleport aboard. Our Ion Shield cannot prevent transdimensional transports." Majoris announced from his own console.

Ludvaius stepped closer to me, one hand on his bolter.

Thrasius just leaned on the wall and seemed relaxed.

Very well then. A bitter fight it was. "Battlestations! Prepare to receive boarders. Deploy armored units in hallways. Snipers, report to armory for phased ammunition."

If those Chaos marines or sorcerers dared to come, I was slightly prepared now. Phase-iron tipped bolter rounds would ruin their fancy Ruinous Powers.

My skin tingled as something deflected from the Refractor Shield up into the ceiling.

A single shot from Thrasius and the assassin melted into burning goo. Astartes were great, if they were watching my back.

"You may begin praying, everyone. This will be slightly unpleasant." I commanded just us the first lance battery came online.

With my eyes closed, I guided the Canticle to fire towards the opening hangar doors on the conveyor. Something exploded inside, then something else. I fired again, just to make sure.

A bigger explosion, and the void filled with burning daemon fighters and melted armors.

Another engine exploded from our escorts, and I decided to call the corvettes back as a protective screen.

The timing would be close, but even just the destroyers would suffice to cripple a few more engines.

But if a horde of fighters and bombers arrived, the Canticle would be in more trouble.

"Teleports detected around the engine and reactor rooms. Sentinels and Hydras have engaged the enemy." the tech-priest announced with a dispassionate voice.

Well, the reactor would be an obvious target. And that's why I had armor posted there.

"Navigator quarters under attack. And...it's over. Lord Holburn is a pyrokinetic as well." the Magos reported somewhat amused.

Although we had guards posted there too, in truth a Navigator with skill was worth a dozen tanks, at once.

"Medical quarters now. Lady Helena has good aim with that heavy bolter. Lady Catherine sings louder than the roar of a heavy flamer. And our sweet Catachans have wired the door with a melta bomb." Majoris said with a tiny snort.

Even Ludvaius chuckled a little, then swung his Power Maul at something invisible. The squelch of broken bones and crushed organs informed me he did not miss.

Another melta gun shot incinerated the remains before they reformed.

Then all the lance batteries sprang back up, and I began enjoying the battle a little more. The Canticle fired furiously, starting fires and explosions onto the exposed Chaos conveyor, hangars and barracks being lit up with continent erasing beams.

If this could last, just our numerous batteries would be sufficient to ignite the whole ship.

I tried, I really did. Fuel depots, munitions bunkers, fighter bays. I targeted anything that could propagate farther inward.

But just as my destroyers blew up another engine on the conveyor, its void shield came back up.

I held fire now, and simply waited for my corvettes to get in formation, then fired sporadically at any opening.

But whoever was in charge of the enemy transport wasn't stupid. He gathered more forces, and launched a big wave of bombers and assault shuttles.

The Canticle marked the bombers as more dangerous, but I disagreed. Torture for eternity was a worse fate than a fiery death.

I marked the landers for priority defense and began picking them off a dozen at a time.

The corvettes fired on the bombers instead, using point defense or main batteries as fast as possible.

Huge melta bombs fell towards my ship, but there had to have been entire regiments in those landers. I was almost worth it.

With a lurch, our engine came online and we accelerated, then our void shield came back as well. I urged the ship in a high energy turn, dodging most of the bombs or leaving them behind.

"Teleport diverted in our wake. Oh. It was something big...too bad it will intersect that melta bomb..." Majoris commented like it was a gladiator match.

Already fried by our plasma engines, that titanic winged construct took a melta bomb straight on and burst into hellish flames.

I urged the Canticle to finish it off, and with 10 lances it died, sending a pulse of Warp energies and screaming souls outward in a huge nova.

"Was that thing someone familiar?" I asked to make sure.

"Yes, Lord Pef. That was Lorgar, the Primarch of the Word Bearers Traitors." Ludvaius told me with a pat on my head.

I sighed inward.There was a Daemon Prince howling for my blood now. Or will be, as soon as he got respawned back in Hell.

"Lorgar wasn't so tough." I declared in a small voice. Really, he died like in 2 seconds. I kinda expected a Primarch to be stronger.

"Captain, the shuttle is ready to launch!" the flight deck declared loudly, as the bridge was kinda silent for some reason.

"Blow their reactor, and try not to die" I ordered the pilot.

"Sure thing daddy. By the way, I skinned my elbow earlier. Learn how to drive a damn ship!" my daughter Larrisa admonished me, with the whole bridge listening.

I sobbed and leaned back in my chair. My reputation was ruined now.