40 Thousand Reasons

Chapter 17: Sorcery

We arrive at Sotha by accident or miracle.Travelling through Hell is always risky. The mechanical Gellar generator pulsed twice during the trip, which doesn't fill me with confidence for their reliability.

Navigators are almost blinded by the powerful beacon emanated by the ancient xeno artifact buried here.

Also, 3 destroyers fail to arrive at our destination, and are presumed lost. The corvette didn't make it either, despite having two Gellar fields.

They might end up in a different system, if they were lucky.

We hold a short prayer for their souls, just as our lander begin loading up troops and servitors. I expect ton of problems to pop up soon enough, because this is Hell and a nice way out would disturb many futures.

My tech-priests begin setting up orbital defenses around Sotha, using asteroids and servitors to create a ring of forts and defense stations, paired with minefields and hidden torpedo launchers.

Meanwhile, my Rose goes to commandeer the local Astartes Chapter, called the Scythes_of_the_Emperor with not much success. Space Marine are fiercely independent, and they were given this system by Roboute Guilliman himself.

In the end, Rose is accepted by the Astartes, after a thorough examination of her Inquisitor credentials.

I admit, I was a bit worried, but it seems she is the real thing. I mean, every Noble house has protocols for recognizing Inquisitors ingrained in their implants and studied as well, just like protocols for every government officials.

Coded data engrams are emitted by the sanctified Rosetta emblems, and there are other ways to verify, including DNA scans and purity seals.

The problem is, the Imperium hasn't changed those protocols for 10 thousand years, and a crafty Chaos sorcerer or a traitor marine would know them as well.

Surprisingly enough, my own presence seems the deciding factor, paired with Sergeant Ludvaius. It seems some rumors have reached even this distant Astartes Chapter.

I deny everything, of course, even when invited to visit their citadel and examine some damaged machines or templates.

I'm not a miracle worker, for Emperor's sake.

Still, I can help them a little, by replacing some old machines with my own models, as a trade.

Broken Land Raider tanks might be useless for the marines, but I can trade them further to some Forge World.

I intend to visit Triplex_Phall

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soon, and perhaps Estaban_III. I just need something valuable to trade, and the Scythes have just given me 40 valuable trade goods, even a broken Glaive heavy tank.

In return, I gifted them 4 brand-new Fellblades and 200 Hydra tanks, which made them quite pleased. But a thousand marines on my side are worth a tiny sacrifice.

Even so, my Heavy armor company has grown in power significantly.

Isolated as they were here on Sotha, this poor marine chapter was somehow forgotten, and they were too proud to ask the Mechanicus for new machines, or allow tech-priests to repair the broken ones.

Well, their loss and possibly another big Favor for me. Especially if I can reverse-engineer the Volkite Carronade from the Glaive.

That incendiary gun should work wonders on any organic target, including Tyranid bio-titans and the larger bio-ships.

Deep structural scans take a whole week, and Minoris almost has a brain orgasm when touching the ancient gun.

Rose has a dozen real orgasms instead, and she promises to unlock her contraceptive implant once we are free of this mission.

Constructing the defenses, both in space and on the ground takes a whole year, and we only have to chase away a single Eldar scoutship.

Still, the game is up. If one Farseer has seen us changing things, worse enemies will soon follow. The Eldars are masters at diverting enemies toward the Imperium, the sneaky Slaanesh victims.

They know eternal suffering is their only fate, so they try to doom everyone else first.

Rose keeps trying to unlock the security seals that guard the xeno Pharos. Inquisitorial privilege should be sufficient, yet it takes a long time, as every new seal reveals another lock door or forcefield barrier.

The walls of the xeno bunker are quite impenetrable and using maximum firepower might damage the very mechanism we're trying to access. So it takes time.

Then the Warp opens and spills out a host of demonized ships, all painted red. At least 100 escort ships and 3 Grand Cruisers with unknown modifications.

They are most likely Red Corsairs, not that I intend to ask for names.

"Auspex sensors, all fleet, go autistic. Vox channels switch to Litany Sigma 03. Nothing may be sent or received except via the Litany." I demand in a command tone as the Machine Spirit starts warming up for combat.

I bring up the system map, and feel my bodyguard's hand on my shoulder. It's a show of support and kindness, which is really appreciated.

The Inquisitor is still underground, with a hundred space marines as her guard, while the entrance to the Pharos is guarded by two armor battalions and the Stormtrooper regiment.

She should be alright...as long I can hold the orbitals.

The Chaos worshipers advance at full speed, a bit faster than possible for those types of old warships. Well, logic is out already.

They have some kind of magic user speeding them up. And psykers are very versatile.

"Chaos sorcerer presence confirmed. All ships crew prepare to receive boarders. By shuttle or teleport." I send out fleet wide.

Wentian nods and stares at the greenish hologram in deep thought.

"We need fighters out front. Then form a battle line while the Victory advances." he proposes after a minute of comparing strategy and tactics in his mind.

I shake my head. Classic naval tactics, and relying of the sturdy battleship as an ice breaker.

The traitors have studied the same manuals.

If I wanted to win with 80 percent loses, I could use this tactic. But I've read enough history.

Hannibal would have wasted these morons just as easily.

Opening the command console, I start sending vectors to each ship individually. It only takes a minute, and will likely save most of our lives.

Our formation opens up, as the Victory and the light cruisers and frigates start retreating behind the orbital defenses, while I lead 20 destroyers of the left flank, and the other battlecruiser leads 20 more destroyers in an wide arc to the right.

Sure the planet will be exposed for some time, but that's why the defenders of this agri-world are all rushing to dig in, under void shields and ground to orbit lasers.

Lances and torpedoes start flying towards my ships, followed soon by Chaos fighters and bombers.

But the range keeps getting larger as the flanking groups move away, and the center battlegroup falls back.

Soon enough, the enemy fighters and torpedoes smash into our defenses, hitting mines or getting targeted by missiles and las-cannons. Even macro-cannons loaded with flak shells fire from the orbital forts, and decimate the incoming wave.

Defensive fire from the frigates and cruisers finishes off the rest, with a single cruiser eating a lucky torpedo. Its void shield fails and the cruiser is ordered to flee and return when the damage has been repaired.

"Group center. Launch fighters now. Hunt those bombers." I order as I compute intercept vectors in on my savant implant.

A thousand space fighters, including some piloted by Scythes make short work of Chaos un-escorted bombers, blowing up the demon engines with little effort.

The Litany tracks the Chaos fleet with the lance batteries, but I decide to hold fire for now.

Waiting for their commander to commit his forces.

I know he can't peek into my mind or future, so he has no other option now. Retreat would be his best choice after losing his precious corrupted spacefighters.

Then a destroyer to my port veers of, and heads for the planet.

Damn it. A traitor captain, or perhaps a successful teleport. My lance batteries turn and collapse its void shield before it goes too far.

"Group left. Ranged weapons only, target the defector. Immobilize, board and subdue it." I demand while scrolling through ship logs.

There! The Machine Spirit did detect an energy spike, visible on the low infrared auspex. But I ordered them to be set on autistic mode, to prevent such events.

Someone didn't listen.

"I repeat myself. Set all auspex and augury sensors in autistic mode. Do not give the enemy a way on board." I explain on the vox channel, still keeping watch on the movements of the Chaos fleet.

It takes an hour for them to decide. Retreat would condemn the leaders to eternal suffering, as Chaos doesn't tolerate failure.

The three Grand Cruisers with a bunch of tentacles moving about head the charge, straight into the trap.

"In groups of three, Group left destroyers engage their escorts." I announce on the vox channel.

We leave the corrupted destroyer and two boarding destroyers behind and swing around, hitting the enemy in the flank, the course angled to pass behind them as they reach our center.

A single assault shuttle filled with tech-priest and servitors stays to aid the recapture of the Illustrious sacrifice, the boarded destroyer.

We launch our own torpedoes and fire every weapon at full strength. I do not intend to salvage Chaos infested ships, and scraps will be easier to push into the sun.

Torpedoes are wonderful, especially with servitor pilots. My cruiser doesn't misses even once, and the Machine Spirit is happy as we score a dozen kills with 24 torpedoes and an hour of constant battering demon infested hulls.

Then the right enveloping attack arrives as well, just as the battleship starts pounding the Chaos ships with its formidable batteries.

The damned traitors do not retreat and fight to the last, and I have to keep rotating damaged ships from the front line.

The Chaos fleet launches assault landers on the planet, straight into the Scythe citadel, and Pharos air defense which is aided by Hydra tanks anti-air cover.

Missiles and multi-lasers, along with fighters blow up half of them before they land, and our forts and frigates firing from orbit catch half of the remainders on landing, resulting in huge craters filled with melted armor and charred flesh.

Then the Chaos sorcerer teleports just at the entrance of the xeno Pharos, and pushes through, losing most of his Traitor Terminators to Fellblade fire. Every other Chaos marine gets engaged by the Astartes company, and only the foul sorcerer escapes. 

By himself he struggles on, reaching the Inquisitor and her retinue.

"How cute. A psyker." my Rose quips and holds up a finger accusingly.

"Foolish woman, now...what is happening?" he yells in despair, as his powers vanish under a Blank aura.

"I always loved digital weapons." The Inquisitor comments in a cool voice, as her ring discharges and vaporizes the head of the traitor.

Justine nods in turn, and kicks the headless corpse, sending it back into the Warp, the red and burning soul still screaming in despair as it returns to Hell.

"The outcome justifies the deed." my mother murmurs in a low tone.