Ignis in Vacui Chapter 14

The asteroid was a lumpy mass of bare rock, twirling eternally in the airless vacuum. It drifted serenely in the emptiness, continuing on its course has it had done for billions of years and would do so for billions more. Captain Horroway watched it spin as it slid past the prow, passing close to the hull as the Bonaventure slipped by. The dead rock disappeared out of the Oculus, leaving only the chill light of stars and Horroway sighed in relief. Besides her chair Numeta's voice arose, "See, I told you it was nothing to worry about." Horroway glanced at a read-out with a frown, seventeen kilometres clearance, far too close for her liking but she said nothing. Instead she passed her eyes over her bridge, seeing the Diasporex crew hard at work.

Horroway was glad to be back on board, the Imperial's ship had been such a morbid and depressing place. She had not stayed a moment longer than necessary, flying back to her own ship as soon as the agreement had been finalised. There was still difficult and dangerous work ahead but Horroway would much rather be conducting it from the comfort of her own bridge than standing under the guns of unfriendly allies. The Captain leaned back in her chair and commanded, "Tactical Hololith."

Over her head emerged a glowing rendition of the space surrounding the Bonaventure. She was flying near to the head of a wedge of ships, trailing just behind the Space Marine vessel 'Thunderchild'. That ship may be a brutal and ugly pugilist but that was exactly what they needed right now and her cargo of genic-enhanced warriors might prove critical. On the left flank was the Fortune's Fool, leading her own formations of escort frigates. Horroway didn't rate the Rogue Trader or his ship as a deadly fighter but she trusted they would hold the flank, for their own sake if nothing else.

To the right, keeping as far away as they could while maintaining formation, was the Diasporex fleet. The Arsenal ship, a pair of Gun-Brigs and the sloops, all proudly sailing along, trying to look like they were merely nearby to the others, certainly not working with them. Horroway sighed wearily, the other Captains had been most unhappy about the situation but it was they had to work with, the Ork threat took precedence over all other things.

That thought made Horroway scan their destination, looking for enemy contacts. The Hololith displayed a few vague circles, guesses as to the Ork's position and numbers but no hard contacts yet. The fleet was still outside conventional sensor range, but soon they would cross that barrier and the Orks would become aware of them.

Horroway bit her lip for a moment then called, "Report statues of the recon probes, Mr D'ras."

D'ras turned about to look at the Captain on her pedestal and answered, "Orreti report stealth-drones are entering sensor range now. Telemetry will be uploaded in minutes."

Horroway rubbed her chin thoughtfully; she knew all too well the ferocity and belligerence of the Ork race. She had no doubt the allied fleet would fight fiercely but if the Orks were too numerous then all of this would have been for nothing. They had no other choices though, the attack had to proceed regardless, Senator Acham had entrusted this mission to her and she could not fail.

Floating near her in a column of light Numeta asked, "Something troubling you?"

Horroway didn't want to discuss her concerns in front of the crew so demurred, "Just thinking about those Imperials, how could humanity have sunk into such barbarism?"

Numeta raised a glowing eyebrow and inquired, "Were they that bad?"

Horroway sighed, "I barely recognised them as human, they were filled with such hate and zealotry. Everything laudable about the human spirit had been excised, leaving only unfeeling brutality. Hatred defines them, there was no love in their hearts, no hope. They rail against the cruelty of the universe but can't see the misery they wallow in is of their own making."

Numeta tapped a glowing finger on her forearm as if she was thinking and said, "How did you convince them to join us?"

"I'm not sure," Horroway confessed, "They suddenly changed their minds and informed me they would be coming along. Given how unhappy they were about it I'd wager someone forced them into it. Politics, it seems, is a universal constant."

Numeta looked thoughtful and said, "I have never grasped the logic behind the Imperial's policy of denying the existence of Chaos. Why do they promulgate ignorance?"

Horroway sighed, "They see Chaos as a foreign invader, something they can ward off and drive out. They don't understand that is a reflection of sentient life, a psychic imbalance caused by hatred and fear. They try to fight it off but fail to see they only feed it with every callous death, that every atrocity they commit only makes it stronger. Perhaps the Diasporex should have tried harder to make them understand… but they would never have listened to us."

D'ras must have been listening in for he added, "The Ethereals too thought that knowledge was dangerous. They lied to us about the dangers lurking beneath the stars, telling us it was only Geu'la myths and superstitions. We learned too late that it was no myth, that the horrors were real and they hungered for our lives."

Horroway saw the pain and the terror lurking in the Tau's eyes and knew he was lost in the past. But then a console bleeped loudly and Numeta called, "Recon data inloading."

Horroway sprang from her seat and stepped off her pedestal, hurrying over to a set of consoles where sensor data was streaming in. She fought the urge to look over her crew's shoulders as they poured over the data, picking it apart for vital clues. Minutes crawled by as the information was dissected and she could not help but notice Numeta had frozen, her avatar unmoving as her Binaric self dedicated its processing time to the vast amount of information.

Horroway heard Krang and Robar approaching but they held their tongues until the task was finished and the displays lit up. There was a moment's pause and then a blizzard of icons erupted, each one surrounded by projected vectors, power estimates, mass classifications and gunnery tables. The Orks seemed to be dwelling in a small field of asteroids, not enough to pose a serious threat to astrogation but too many to ignore. They were scores of icons, all swarming around one vast craft and Krang was the first to speak, "That is not good."

Robar concurred, "That is a Frakking awful pile of crap, the Greenskins are everywhere."

Horroway agreed with them, there weren't quite as many Orks as she had feared but still far more than the fleet could reasonably defeat. She glanced at the readouts and saw the Hulk was surrounded by at least a half-dozen capital ships and scores of Ork Frigates. The allied fleet was outnumbered at least three to one. But worse of all was the Hulk itself, a vast conglomeration of vessels and ships, transmitting its name on all frequencies: 'Deffbringa'. Its bulk and power were staggering, it was a mighty monster of the cold void, able to break the allied fleet single-handed, even without its escorts.

Horroway saw her crew's trepidation and knew she had to act firmly and with confidence. She drew in a breath and ordered, "That may be but we still have a few tricks up our sleeves. Numeta run a structural analysis on that Hulk, find me a weak point. D'ras contact the Orreti, tell them to launch a spread of decoy-drones, set for remote activation. Robar prep the reactors and Krang bring the crew to amber-alert status. Move it people, the Greenskins will notice us soon!"

The bridge crew leapt into action as Horroway climbed back up to her chair. She settled back just as Numeta blinked back into life saying, "Captain the Hulk is too powerful to take on head to head, it could absorb everything we could throw at it with ease. It's active and fully powered up, in a shooting match they will certainly win… but it does have a weak spot."

"I like weak spots," Horroway replied with a cold smile, "Tell me more."

Numeta created a micro-image of the Hulk and said, "Its internal structure is a jumble, too much mass off-centre, too many engines pushing in conflicting directions. The only thing holding it together is this fused block of three ships, they are the keystone of the whole thing. If seismic bombs were to be detonated here, here and here, the hulk would lose integrity. The whole thing would shatter apart under its own inertia."

Horroway examined the icon and said, "That would require a boarding action, then fighting through a hulk full of Orks and setting the bombs manually."

"I know it's a long shot but we have no other statistically viable options," Numeta sighed, "Casualties will be high."

"Maybe, maybe not," Horroway countered, "Raise the Thunderchild; I need to talk to the Space Marines."

A moment passed and then a Hololithic image of Captain Toran appeared, armoured and armed as she remembered him. His image was monochrome but his eye still glowed fiercely and he looked as displeased as ever to greet his unwelcome allies. Horroway skipped over the pleasantries and announced, "We have long-range probe data for you, we request permission to send it over."

Toran nodded reluctantly and looked off to the side for a few moments then he said, "The Orks outnumber us three to one."

Despite herself Horroway was impressed, he had processed the tactical data faster than a team of her experts with cogitators had managed. However she replied cooly, "I have an idea on that, the real issue is the Ork's SpaceHulk, codename Deffbringa."

Toran paused and scrutinised something just out of the Hololith's field of view, then proclaimed, "Too big to destroy externally, a boarding action is our best chance. The Codex Astartes decrees that the plasma reactors are the crucial target."

Now Horroway was seriously impressed, the Space Marine's brain had deconstructed the threat and produced a viable strategy faster than a fully-fledged A.I. could achieve. For the first time Horroway grasped how the warriors of the Astartes were rebuilt for battle, not just their bodies but their minds too, turned into peerless tactical cogitators, but at what price she wondered?

She shrugged off the thought and said, "We agree with one proviso, the reactors will be heavily guarded but the hulk is riddled with stress fractures. A trio of seismic charges could break it up, if positioned correctly."

"Yes... I see the stress points," Toran mused thoughtfully, "They would be lightly guarded and we do have such munitions on-board. However getting into boarding range will be challenging."

"We shall cover your approach," Horroway stated confidently, "We know how to fight Orks."

Toran glared at her and said, "Remember, I am in command of this fleet, an army cannot have two masters."

Horroway held up a hand and explained, "I agree but the Diasporex ships will not heed your words unless they are relayed through me. Give me your strategies and I will ensure they are enacted."

"A loose chain of command," Toran growled, "Far from ideal but it will have to do. Make ready, we are crossing into Auspex range... Now."

Horroway nodded and said, "Then I bid you good hunting."

"For Terra and the Living Primarch," Toran stated proudly then his image dissolved.

Horroway rubbed her eyes for a second, Space Marines seemed to treat everything like it was a confrontation, but perhaps for them it was. Horroway looked up and called, "Scarlet-alert, all hands to battle-posts! Sound off all stations."

From around the bridge came various calls, "Void shields raised, guns, Meson-beamers and Ceti disrupter ready. Astrogation standing by, helm responding, reactors at one-hundred percent, sensors at your disposal."

Horroway saw all was ready and proclaimed, "Comrades, the Diasporex goes once more into battle. I know each of you has faced the Orks countless times and I know that once again you shall prove your courage under fire. Stand true as one crew and remember that our unity is our greatest strength!"

The crew let out a brief cheer but then D'ras cried, "Energy spikes, sensors report power surges and movement ahead. The Orks are coming about: they've seen us!"

Horroway felt a cold shiver run down her back but she lifted her head proudly and called, "Prepare for battle, for the Diasporex and for unity!"