Chapter Twenty One.

They came from the void on flames of death. The purple-and-gold of the III Legion's empress ship and courtiers, accompanied by the crimson-garbed Word Bearers priest. The lethal blade-tipped Luna Tenebris ploughed through the asteroid belt, smacking aside impediments. Smoky trails of ectoplasmic warp-residue clung to its recesses stubbornly.
The auspex officer aboard the Shadow of Deliverance cried out a warning, followed by relay-nodes updating the small Atlesian on the circumstances they had found themselves in. Gun-whales were opened, torpedoes primed and fire ships sent drifting into the belt.
Yet for all this, the Raven Guard strike cruiser was not seen. Reflex shielding, unique only to the Sons of Deliverance, hid them from the encroaching battlegroup. The smaller Atlesian ships were not so fortunate. If the traitors had known their intent, they would have blown the Atlesian's clean from the void.
The traitors numbered twelve. Ten escorts of varying class of the III, two strike cruisers, one again of the Third and then a lone cruiser of the Word Bearers. The Atlesians numbered six, the craft were at most a third of a kilometer in length, with oversized lance batteries and void shielding. They had been retrofitted, made ready to travel the void. Travel, not battle. Then there was the Raven Guard strike cruiser. Two of the Atlesian vessels were fire ships.
'Send the Light of Atlas to intercept the Emperor's Children strike cruiser. Claim that that is the ship of the senior officer. Once you have closed, detonate. Then charge the Hope into the main body of the enemy fleet,' commanded Kravar.
An affirmative went out from the Atlesian officers. The fire ships had a stripped down crew of eighteen personnel. The bare minimum necessary to crew it and detonate.
'Halt,' came a voice over an open communication-channel. 'I am Centarien, captain of the Emperor's Children Legion. Commander of the warship Aphrodite.'
Kravar nodded to a lexmechanic who ran the identity wafers through the data-banks. As the tech-priests went to work, the traitor continued. 'We believe that this word is harbouring enemy combatants. In the name of The Warmaster, hand them over to use and we shall depart immediately,' concluded the traitor, Centarien. Kravar could hear the smile on his face as he spoke those words.
The Light of Atlas closed on the traitor fleet, but its path was blocked by the bulk of a much larger Cobra-class destroyer. 'Captain Silvin,' Kravar said. 'Close to within a kilometer of that vessel. Just keep them talking then detonate. May your sacrifice be the last.'
Obeying, the Atlesian fire ship closed on the larger vessel sheepishly. 'Now captain, light the void with your defiance!'
The Light of Atlas detonated. Its hold had been filled with dust-filled missiles, plasma and haywire warheads taken from Aridian Secunus previously. The detonations electro-magnetic backwash paralised the closest traitor vessels. Two of them crashed together as their navigation controls failed to respond. They detonated in an explosion of red-velvet, joining the Light and its previous kill.
'My captain,' said the lexmechanic. 'It is confirmed. That vessel and its commander are who they claim to be. Last seen in the Isstvan System.'
Kravar nodded. 'Relay to Sharax on Remnant. The fight had begun.'

Phaeton Morlock of the Iron Hands, stood at the edge of Beacon Academies cliff. Besides him, Narkra, the lone Apothecary of the Salamanders and youngest of his cousin-Apothecaries, stood beside him. They had developed a sort of friendship. It was a cordial one, born of necessity. Or so Phaeton justified to himself. It had been necessary to sown the seed of unity early. So, Phaeton of the Iron Hands and Narkra of the Salamanders became friends.
Helmless, the larger warrior examined the star filled sky. 'The fight has begun,' he said absentmindedly. 'I can almost feel the blood of Fulgrim flowing through our enemies veins.' He turned to regard the Salamander. 'Iron Father Atrex has informed me that we are to return to the command centre immediately.'
'They are coming,' muttered the Apothecary darkly. 'I can not help but ask the question, are these children ready for the darkness they are to face?'
Phaeton shrugged, no easy feat in his imposing armour. 'Yes, no. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that by the end of this the traitors are dead and we are not.'

The primary defence council of Vale and Remnant met in a room already stepped in military history. The command centre was an old bastion built into the foundations of Beacon Academy. It had been used by the last King of Vale during the last war, and all those who had preceded him. When the Academy had first been constructed, an iron plaque had been the only indication that it had even existed.
It had been built for war, and when a command centre had been needed, the half-forgotten bastion had been selected by Ironwood.
The Atlesian General stepped into the room in which his command staff resided. Beneath gentle candles and lights, five of the most important people on Remnant awaited him.
A pair of Atlesian troopers closed the door behind him. Two giant warriors of the so-called Iron Tenth stood nearby. If the centre was breached, it would be these two warriors who would oversee the destruction of any information pertaining to planetary defense.
'Headmaster,' said Ironwood. 'Legionaries, Acting General Aurelos.'
The greetings between them extended no further than a kind smile from Ozpin. Sharax, Atrex and Tarsha were all resplendent in their power-armoured war-plate. Ozpin was present in his normal attire, a small brooch indicated his position as Voice of the Council. The closest role any Kingdom had to King. Aurelos was the leader of Vale's militia. He had been the most senior commander in the militia after the sudden death of his predecessor.
'The battle has begun,' grated Atrex.
'It has,' said Ironwood. One of the newest additions to the bastion, a holo-plate from Sharax's strategium, came to life, painting the room in a phosphorus light. 'Captain Kravar's message has told us all we need. The enemy force will break through. Kravar will likely be withdrawing to the other side of the moon as we speak. With luck, he can split the enemy fleet in two. Reducing the numbers they can bring against us,' he concluded.
Atrex shook his head. 'That will not happen,' he said, indicating to two dagger-tipped vessels. 'Save for a few ship commanders, all the enemy Astartes and traitor Tagmata and Army forces will be aboard these two ships. They will not divert from their target course. At best, a few enemy frigates will be used to hastle Kravar, preventing him from reinforcing us.'

The Iron Father zoomed in on Remnant. 'Atlas and Vale will take the brunt of the attack. Possibly all of it. With the ground-to-orbital defences, such as our void shields, ' the two Kingdoms cities were coloured in azure blue, indicating the shields. 'Any orbital bombardment they employ will be costly and largely ineffective. Forcing them to attack us directly.'
Ironwood nodded. 'My ships should be able to intercept a few of their landing craft. Ozpin, Aurelos, how go your students and militia?'
Ozpin spoke first. 'They have been organised into their teams and are being guided by professional Huntsman and Huntress'. A few dozen professionals have been organised to defend the city proper. The rest will take care of the Kingdom and flee civilians.'
'My men are ready. Bolstered by the legionaries and your soldiers, they will hold as best as we can expect.'
Sharax spoke up. 'My company has been deployed as best as possible. They will do their best to bleed the enemy when they breach the city, and the will.'
Tarsha spoke up. 'My brothers and those of Atrex's Clan have also been deployed. Save for a few reserve units along with our own men, General.'
Ironwood nodded. 'Then let us go about our business.'

Afterword. Hello, why was this late, already mentioned the reasoning in Dio's Academia. Next, ok so fighting is coming soon. Till then, bye.