Chapter 42: Battle For Earth
Reviewers:
Gta5ccjs: It'll come soon. I'm only doing three galaxies at a time.
Silvanas: You're right. So you're thinking of an alliance between the Imperium, the Eldar and the Necrons? Shadow Vader, hmm.
BGTom: The Rebels wouldn't have enough ships to make it work. I think it would take at least two Mon Cal cruisers to bring down a heavy Imperium ship. Also, A-wings couldn't do much to hurt an Imperium ship, so they'd likely ignore the fighters and concentrate on capital ships.
Liljimmyurine: Sorry.
The BEE: Thanks.
Marine Brother Shran: Sorry I've been rushing lately. I just didn't want it to take three days for me to finish a chapter. I'll try to make this one better.
Lennox: There'll be a ground battle. The Imperium would never use an orbital bombardment on Terra. Space Marines will be involved. I'm actually going to use Klingons. They're ships are just as fast and they'd stand a pretty good chance against Nietzscheans in hand to hand. Liljimmyurine does seem to have a very fine eye for grammar.
Grayangle: I tried to be more descriptive in this chapter. Tell me if I did a good job. They came back to the Milky Way to find a derelict high guard ship.
Oblivionknight7: Glad you like this part. I'm not sure. They seem human but I think they're a bit different because of their genetics.
Earth, the homeworld of humanity. It certainly didn't look like it now. Wreckage of vehicles, buildings and garbage littered the streets. The sky was always dark; the very air itself seemed to echo the pain and suffering the people of the planet had seen. The Terra of this galaxy had been ravaged by the Magog and then the Nietzscheans had come. They had conquered the weakened world in a matter of days and transformed it into a slave world. Most of the humans either worked in labor camps or were sold as slaves. Others hid in sewers and underground tunnels. They lived lives of hunger and fear.
The Nietzscheans lived in bases and buildings built around the rubble. The Drago Katsoff Pride ruled the planet. To them Earth was just another slave planet. That was about to change. In orbit the commander of the Nietzschean fleet was his ship's target range. He prided himself on being able to kill a man at two hundred paces. In a minor human uprising a few months ago he had killed the human leader from all the way back at his watch position. All his men respected and to a lesser extent, feared him.
A crewman entered the room. The Commander turned to face him. The Commander was a tall man, well muscled and had dark blue eyes and black hair that just reached his neck.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Our long range sensors have detected an unusual energy reading. Similar to a slipstream signature but far more powerful."
"I'll be on the bridge," he replied and swiftly pocketed the gauss pistol he'd been using.
The bridge of the Lightning Flame was shaped like an oval, with the captain's chair set in the middle. Lighting was dim. Officers crewed the stations and worked without pause. Commander Ran had always prided himself on having the most efficient crew in the Nietzschean fleet.
"Readings!" He demanded.
"Heavy interference Commander. We are attempting to penetrate it. We have detected ships, but they seem to be in some sort of special bubble and we can't get a clear reading," his first officer reported.
"Have the defense fleet form up around my ship. If these ships want a fight we'll give them one they won't soon forget." He said, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of a good battle.
The defense fleet consisted of twenty battleships and their fighters plus the fighters stationed on Earth itself. The ships formed into a formation that would let them concentrate their fire but would also allow them to split apart quickly if they needed too.
Suddenly space lit up as the Imperial fleet plus the Imperium fleet emerged from transwarp. The Commander looked astonished by the size of the massive Emperor class battleships. Then he saw the Andromeda.
"Have the fleet maintain formation. Open a channel," the Commander said, rubbing his chin with fist.
"Receiving a response." The face of Admiral Hampton appeared, and he did not look happy. Harper had told him what the Nietzscheans had done to Earth, and that had nearly caused him to explode.
"Nietzschean vessel. I am Admiral Hampton of the Imperium of Mankind. For crimes against Holy Terra I herby, in the name of the God Emperor of Mankind, condemn you to death" he said, shutting off the signal before he blew his stack. He had been born on Terra and had known it most of his life. The very thought of his planet in ruins made his heart ache and his soul burn with fire. "All ship open fire!" he commanded. The feeling of his ships' guns firing was like a vibration of vengeance.
The Nietzschean fleet weathered the storm of fire, but only just. It had appeared that space itself was transformed into pure light as the full power of the Imperium armada was brought to bear on the despoilers of Terra. When the firestorm abated space was filled with the broken hulks of Nietzschean ships, leaking fire from broken hulls or igniting as they fell into the atmosphere. Barely a third of Commander Ran's fleet had survived.
The Commander's ship was in bad shape. It had taken a direct hit from a Vortex torpedo and its entire starboard side was aflame or gone. Ran picked himself up off the floor of the command deck. He was bruised, had at least one broken ribs and two of his bone blades had snapped.
Status!" He shouted. The bridge was in pieces. A photon torpedo had hit just aft of the command deck. Many of the crew was dead.
"We've lost most of the starboard sections. Engines are at half power. Breaches on all decks," an officer who was bleeding from a head wound and whose left arm looked broken replied. He used his other arm to wipe away the blood that was collecting in his eyes. "We still have most of our weapons." Staggering back into his command seat, Commander Ran prepared for death. His ship was crippled and would not survive much longer. But a death in battle was never an empty death.
"Then instruct all remaining ships to close with the enemy fleet. Also, have communications transmit a record of what happened here. The rest of our pride will have vengeance for us," he said. He took a deep breath and watched the enemy vessels grow larger in the view screen.
Up close the enemy vessels were like monstrous leviathans. Their armor was gray bronze and black. Gothic spires and arches covered their hulls. Great weapon barrels protruded from their sides and even as he watched, those weapons lashed out and obliterated his ships as they fired back. The enemy vessels had some sort of energy shielding that flashed white when weapons fire hit. His ships had not been able to take out even one of the monstrous space battle fortresses. His ship was on a collision coarse with one of the enemy flagships when an energy burst hit the hull and all the consoles went dead. Then three figures appeared on the bridge. They were twice the height of a man and were clad in some sort of heavy armor. The surviving crew members rushed the intruders, who replied with blasts from some sort of solid shot weapons. The Nietzschean crew members were thrown back, their chests blown open or their heads gone, landing in pools of blood. One of the figures came towards Commander Ran.
He fired his gauss pistol, aiming for the giants face. The giant brought up an arm to block the fire and launched a punch that threw the Commander back into his chair. He felt at least three more ribs break. Then the darkness claimed him.
Sergeant Kelkin of the Ultramarines picked up the now unconscious alien and slung him over his shoulder. He had been instructed to capture some of the enemy for interrogation by Inquisition forces coming through the wormhole. He activated a signaling device in his wrist gauntlet and the men vanished from the ship seconds before it was obliterated by a salvo of missiles.
The enemy orbital presence had been destroyed, Admiral Hampton noted. The remains of their space cruisers were being taken aboard for analysis. A total of fifty prisoners had been taken. Several Marines had been injured, mostly from the aliens forearm blades.
"Admiral, the enemy space fleet has been destroyed."
"Very good. Bring the fleet into a high orbit and begin launching transports to the surface. Have them establish beachheads. Klingon assault forces are coming through the wormhole now. Once they arrive and link up with the Space Marine and Imperial Guard forces, the planet will be ours," the Admiral said, relaxing in his chair. The enemy had been totally destroyed. Heretics like the ones who had despoiled Terra deserved far worse, but he was satisfied with what he had done. He actually felt pity for the prisoners that had been taken. He knew what the Inquisition could do.
"Admiral, the Andromeda is hailing us," his ship's AI reported.
"Put it up," he replied. He smiled when he saw the astonished expression on Captain Hunt's face. "Well Captain, that certainly didn't take long," he said.
"Did you take any prisoners?"
"Yes, they will be moved to our forward base near the wormhole. We are preparing to deploy ground forces. When our assault forces arrive we will begin the main invasion and cleanse this world of the savages who have defied it."
Dylan was still a bit stunned. The level of firepower the Imperium fleet had put out was astounding. The Nietzschean fleet hadn't stood a chance. He watched as the troop transports dove towards the surface, aiming for points outside major cities.
"Well I hope your men try to keep civilian casualties to a minimum," Dylan said.
"We will try," Hampton answered. "So Captain, would you like to begin our technology exchange now?"
"I suppose," Dylan answered. He was thinking what the kind of firepower he seen could do to the Magog. As he watched the transports head to the surface, he wondered if these people could restore the Commonwealth to what it had once been. They seemed very aggressive, but at the same time they had been nothing but kind to him and his crew. He wondered what would happen after Earth was retaken. He could only hope it would prove to be good.
How was that? Did I include enough detail? If not, tell me how I could improve this chapter. In the next chapter you'll see ground combat. Space Marines, Imperial Guard and Klingon warriors will go Bat'leth to Bone Blade with the Nietzschean defense forces. Stay tuned for Warrior Ground, and don't forget to review!
P.S. If anyone knows the names of Harper's friends or family, please tell me. Thanks!
ENTILZA