Wave of Death
Wave of Death
Warning: I am not incredibly knowledgeable of the Warhammer 40k fluff, so there are likely to be mistakes in this story's accuracy. You have been warned.
The Tau Empire sept of Ren'ly'than: an addition to the alien empire from the Third Sphere Expansion. A tranquil system of 3 worlds, this colony was expected to develop into peaceful system akin to the sept of Dal'yth.
Instead, the system would be washed in a bloodbath. For a hundred hellish days, the system's denizens would bear arms against a menace that sought to annihilate the galaxy. Whether any would survive to bear word of their struggle remained to be seen…
Chapter 1: Disturbance
Ren'ly'than System, Central Asteroid Belt; Tau Navy Cruiser Shark of the Mont'Ka
"Decelerating to required velocity in ten seconds… eight… six… four… two… one."
The feeling of motion around Kor'Ui'Tr ended abruptly. He gazed out of the hangar's atmospheric-containment field: the stars around him had slowed down to a crawl.
The young Air Caste pilot checked his instruments one last time. All in perfect order; he only had to wait for his superior's clearance to exit the Shark's landing bay.
Through his helmet-mounted comm piece, Kor'El'Kin's voice crackled, "Pilot 687, you are free to exit the hangar."
"Gladly." Hitting the thruster, Ui'Tr's craft shot from the bay and into empty space.
With nothing between him and vacuum save a transparent steel canopy, Ui'Tr paused to admire the cosmos. It was a passion shared by all of the Air Caste, and the reason they among the Tau had shouldered the burden of traveling through space for the Greater Good.
A bland beep from his console turned Ui'Tr's attention to the job at hand: his sensors had picked up a rogue energy pulse emitting from the Ren'ly'than asteroid belt. "So, this is the pulse that has Fio'O so worked up?"
"And with good reason, Kor'Ui," admonished El'Kin. "Fio'O is the head of the mining operations within the belt, is he not? He would obviously be worried if some unknown device was threatening his operations."
"Fair enough," replied Ui'Tr. "But it's probably just a malfunctioning ore extractor."
"We have taken that possibility into account, Kor'Ui, but we still must check," replied El'Kin. "Accelerate and enter the asteroid belt."
"Yes, sir," said Ui'Tr, flipping several switches. His ship was a decommissioned Tau Barracuda, stripped of most of its weapons and combat-oriented computer systems, but nonetheless a stellar spacecraft.
After several minutes of flying in the direction of the energy pulse, Ui'Tr noticed a sudden increase in the amount of debris around him. "Asteroid belt's outer layer is penetrated, sir. Orders?"
"Make your way to the pulse; destroy asteroids as necessary. When you reach the pulse's source, report back to us. Remember: there are 4 ore extractors within this area, so keep an eye out for them, should they be the reason for the pulse."
"Roger, sir. Kor'Ui out." Ui'Tr rolled his Barracuda into a downward loop, dodging a small chunk of rock. A much larger asteroid loomed ahead.
The Barracuda's computer scanned it, revealing to be a non-metallic asteroid. Good- Fio'O won't miss it. Squeezing the trigger, Ui'Tr launched a barrage of Smart-missiles, the craft's only weapon. These projectiles annihilated the asteroid, turning it into a cloud of dust and pebbles.
Ui'Tr dove his fighter into the cloud; when he finally flew out the other side, he looked around in interest. Four giant Earth Caste machines, each the size of several Krootox, floated lazily around large asteroids, where their giant claws dove deep into the bodies' crusts to penetrate their metal cores. They were giant drones, controlled via radio waves by Earth Caste Fio'La on Ren'ly'than II.
Wait…Butterflies forming in his gut, Ui'Tr flicked his comm back on. "Kor'El, all of the ore excavators are present and operational. Whatever's creating the pulse, it's not them."
"Very well, then; continue onward." To his credit, El'Kin gave the order calmly; but it was easy to tell that the level of tension had gone up. Whatever awaited Ui'Tr in the belt's heart, it wasn't something the Tau had put there…
A few more minutes, and Ui'Tr was there. The asteroid belt's heart was remarkably empty; only two large asteroids, each the size of a Greater Knarloc, orbited close to each other at the belt's center.
Ui'Tr breathed a sigh of relief- until, that is, he noticed one thing.
The smaller asteroid wasn't an asteroid at all.
It drifted slowly toward Ui'Tr's ship, a horrible vision. It resembled a predatory scorpion, with two fang-like prongs sticking out of its front, two "legs" protruding from its side, and a long tail emerging from the back.
"Kor'El, I have encountered an alien vessel," Ui'Tr spoke urgently. "Ownership and purpose unknown. It appears to be advancing on me."
"Retreat, then. Return to the ship, and we shall organize more ships to destroy it!" El'Kin replied.
Ui'Tr looped his ship around, and tried to make a break for open space- but too late.
The alien ship had gained on the Barracuda- Ui'Tr could see a neon-green hieroglyphic burned onto its side-
Ui'Tr's vision was filled with a green light- and then he felt no more.