Chapter 5: The Fury of Gods

THE WARP CONVULSED around the Imperial fleet traveling through it. The blast shutters were closed on all fourteen ships of the relief force sent to the beleaguered Muggous star system. Their mission was simple; clear the way for the Imperial convey that was a week behind them. They were twenty minutes away from the entry point on the fringes of the Muggous system, and Lord Admiral Ek Gok was going to prepare for contact right from the get-go. He didn't make Lord Admiral for being stupid.

His Retribution Class Battleship Guardian had served him for the past fifty years, and her crew was the best of the best. It was the flagship of the fleet because of its distinguished service. He scanned the bridge of the ship, noting with satisfaction, that the crew were all at their stations, and getting ready for the return to real-space. The servitors above him were all busy laying in coordinates and getting firing solutions online. The gun crews were probably getting whipped into place.

'Master of Communications.'

'Yes sir?'

'Signal the fleet. Tell them to prepare for real-space in T-minus ten minutes. I want this done by the books gentlemen.'

'Affirmative.'

'Sir,' Gok turned to the helmsman below him in the pit of controls. 'I got a signal from the Emperor's Light. Captain Fothz wishes to speak to you.'

'Put it up here.' The holographic image of Captain Ulk Fothz appeared, illuminated in a red glow in front of Gok's command chair on his pulpit.

'Lord Admiral Gok,' said the image. 'I am requesting that my ship follow you out of the warp instead of to your portside.'

'Why is that captain?'

'Because, I will be in your ship's backwash, and go undetected for the first several minutes of re-entry. So if there is trouble I can be of support and give us an advantage. Stealth as those Imperial Guard fellows say.'

His words rang of merit. It would give them a ship that would not be engaged, and therefore let it attack when it wanted to or had to. And it would be hidden from scanners for a time allowing it to find targets and lock on.

'Permission granted Captain Fothz.'

'Thank you Lord Admiral.' With those words, the image disappeared.

The fleet started to get into combat positions. The four Cobra Class Destroyers were the front line, followed by the Dauntless Class Light Cruiser Victory. The four Sword Class Frigates were the third line. The fourth line consisted of the Mars Class Battlecruiser Conqueror. The flight decks in the sides of her were probably teaming with aircraft personal. The fifth line was the Guardian, flanked on either side by the Faithful on the portside and the Vigilant on the starboard side. They both were ships that Gok had served with before. Gok's old friend, Captain Mauller Amus, commanded the Faithful. They had gone to the fleet academy together, and had served alongside each other for the best parts of their careers. Captain Zel Hugo commanded the Dictator Class Cruiser Vigilant. They had met running a convoy from the Sarus sector to the Valus sector. Since that time, they had remained close friends.

'Five minutes to re-entry.'

Lord Admiral Ek Gok rose from his seat on the platform. 'Open a channel to all ships.'

'Aye sir!'

'My comrades, friends, and brothers. We are about to exit the warp, and I want everybody to expect contacts. I know I've already signaled this to you, but I can't emphasize more than I am, that this could get messy very quickly. Too many times have I heard of fleets being ambushed as soon as they left the warp. They are out of formation and sloppy. This allows the enemy to pick targets, just like shooting fish in a bucket. Not this fleet though. Every ship will display discipline. I want you all to know that the Muggous sector is counting on us to break the hold that Chaos has on it. Reports indicate that a massive Chaos fleet is coming to greet us, so…I feel it is our duty get there before they do, but to prepare for the welcoming committee. The Emperor protects. That is all gentlemen.'

The warp opened in front of the fleet, like an infant's mouth, wanting food.

'WAIT FOR THEM to come out. They will be disorganized and ill prepared. Only move forward when I give the signal,' spat Fleet Commander Vibes Hect. He would not botch up this ambush because of some gung-ho captain. Think of the prize he reminded himself as the tear in space appeared. Immortality for him that is what Henor had promised. He chuckled to himself as he thought of eternal life in the service of the Ruinous Powers.

The first ships started to emerge. Oh how the stupid Imperial scum loved to put their biggest ships first. 'Move up,' he shouted to his fleet, 'engage them. Kill them.'

With that, the Chaos fleet of twelve ships surged forward. Torpedo bays were being loaded, gunnery crews were being whipped, and the commanders could taste the kill.

'Sir! They're Cobras!' One of his officers was yelling.

'Damn them to hell!' Vibes Hect would enjoy this easy fight to the fullest.

'Sir! A Dauntless and four Sword Class ships are coming out.'

'Is that the best they sent? This will be easier than we expected. Open fire with the torpedo wave.'

Torpedoes from the Chaos ships No Mercy, Blood Frenzy, Fallen Angel, Fallen Warrior, and Fallen Grace all sped off into space, chasing the Imperial front line. As they closed, four more Imperial ships came out of the hole. Then the portal closed.

'No! No! What is going on? Reload those torpedoes, now!' Hect was starting to sweat as the first torpedo wave started to reach the Cobras. He was left out in the open, blinded by his own stupidity.

THE COBRA LINE'S defense turrets started to open fire onto the incoming warheads, although several veered off course. Captain Deux Coaler of the Intrepid was standing on the bridge with his arms behind himself. 'Open fire on those blasted things.' The defense lasers started to blast at the torpedoes. Laser fire was tracing everything in their sights. He saw two of the torpedoes explode as fire stitched into them.

One got through the Excalibur's firing line and sped through the shields, impacting just below the bridge. Her captain, Shawn Leith cringed as the torpedo struck his ship. It lurched backwards, spilling out crew and debris. The bridge was plunged into darkness, and there was a twisting metal sound. Warning klaxons started to wail. 'Report,' Leith cried starting to rise from the deck. There was no real reply. Only moans answered from the dark. 'Report I said.' Emergency lighting came online. He saw what his bridge had been turned into. Blood ran down the length of the right hand walls. He looked up and saw his lieutenant speared through the chest by the Imperial Eagle's beak. The servitors were all short-circuited. His bridge crew lay sprawled out all over the control panels, most dead, burnt by the sparks of the controls. He saw his Gunnery Chief laying chest down, with his neck twisted round, in an awkward way. 'Holy Emperor of Terra.' He leapt down the flight of stairs to the firing controls. It read two torpedoes loaded and ready. He rushed to the navigating controls, pushing the dead ensign from the seat. He sat down and his mind raced. Fires raged on decks seven through two. He closed them off; making sure oxygen wouldn't be able to fuel them. His fingers flew over the panel. He switched reserve power to the rear thrusters, to right his dying ship. He wanted to get off one shot before he died. Faster, I have to move faster.

Two torpedoes struck the Cobra Destroyer to the left of the Excalibur almost simultaneously. One tore through the bridge of the Fearless, causing the death of her senior staff. Captain Jarfus Zenklar died on his two feet, facing the enemy. The other bore through the hull plating into the belly, before it fully detonated. The Fearless died in a bright flash of white-hot plasma.

The other two Cobras avoided or destroyed the remaining torpedoes. Together, the Excelsior and the Intrepid both launched their first wave of torpedoes, targeting the enemy's flagship, the Desolator Class Battleship No Mercy. Its defense turrets easily cut these down.

The Imperial fleet was now moving up at combat speed. The Chaos fleet was also closing the gap. The Imperial ships Guardian and Vigilant both had seen the destruction of the Fearless and the bleeding Excalibur. They both must have been thinking alike as they both launched off torpedoes at the Infidel Class Raiders in the center of the Chaos line. The three ships tried desperately to maneuver out of the way, and lucky for them, their small bulks made it out of the way. The not so lucky Hades Class Heavy Cruiser Night Stalker being slower and less nimble tried to turn to her port, but only opened up the flank and underbelly instead. The defense turrets didn't even open fire at the missiles streaking towards them. Out of the fifteen torpedoes fired, ten struck the Night Stalker. The other five either malfunctioned or were cut down by other ships. Nonetheless, the Heavy Cruiser took a pounding. The hits blew out chunks of ship. It continued its turn to port, but didn't stop, and kept turning. Only then did the Imperials realize it was dead in space. The blazing fires could be seen, even from the distance they were at.

THE FOUR SWORD Class Frigates along with the Dauntless Light Cruiser started to break ranks as they neared the Chaos fleet. They powered their way to the left flank of the enemy line. The Styx Heavy Cruiser and the three Iconoclast Destroyers barred their way. The Styx, Doom Bringer, launched both bays of bomber and fighter craft it had. They swarmed out of the sides, towards the Imperials moving up. The Dauntless, Victory, sped past its Sword escorts to meet the challenge. Its prow lances spat lasers as the swarm closed. There were many explosions, but still they came on. They made a passing run on the starboard side, but were beaten off as the weapons batteries came to life, destroying more of the swarm. The Swords then too joined in the extermination of the insects, blasting with their own weapon batteries.

Using their comrades as a shield, the three Iconoclasts, Khorne's Own, Lost Cause, and Swiftdeath moved around the Victory and opened fire through their bombers and fighters, destroying several to reach the flank of the Victory. The shields of the Victory held firm under the punishment, flickering a bluish light. The bombers and fighters, being torn apart from their own as well as the enemy gave up their fight against the Imperial ships and headed for home. This left the Imperial ships and the Chaos ships on equal terms. The Sword ships Imperialist and Angel of Terra both sped around the Lost Cause, both to a side, and opened fire. Under the immense firepower of both ships, the shields of the Lost Cause collapsed. With its shields wasted, the two Imperial ships picked it apart, blasting great chucks out of it. After a minute of continuous fire, the life-readings from the ship dropped to zero. The two victorious ships then veered off to their flanks, splitting up. After the battle was over, the Lost Cause drifted for centuries until it found its way to the warp, where it was never seen again.

The Doom Bringer wasn't done, not by a long shot. It fired its prow and dorsal lances at the stern of the Justice Sword Destroyer. It was like peeling a banana. With its body structure being ripped to pieces, the Justice fired it after burners and smashed into the stern of the Doom Bringer. The Justice was obliterated, but it tore a hole into the Doom Bringer's front plating. This would later cause the death of the massive Heavy Cruiser.

The Iconoclast Khorne's Own went broadside on the Victory and opened fire on its flank, causing the shields to flicker again. Just as if the Victory now noticed this little pestilence, it fired its Starboard guns into the Iconoclast, disabling its shields with the first salvo. The Sword Radiant followed up on this opportunity and fired all weapons into the defenseless Destroyer. The lasers tore into the Khorne's Own. The plasma drive was struck and overloaded. The resulting explosion robbed the Radiant of her shields.

Doom Bringer once again moved in for a kill. With the Victory breaking off, to attack the last Iconoclast, Doom Bringer was on top of the Radiant. Its prow battery took out the Radiant engine room. The crew in the area screamed for help, but the rest of the ship had problems of their own. Captain Suth Uriel ordered for the transmission to be cut off. He couldn't bear them anymore. The Radiant returned fire at the massive Chaos ship, knocking down the bow shields of the Doom Bringer. This didn't make any difference in the outcome of the death of the Sword Class Destroyer. With its thrusters damaged and the crew in disarray, it was easy pickings. The Radiant exploded in a massive fireball.

The Victory with the Imperialist sped off towards the retreating Swiftdeath. There was no way they could catch up to it, so both ship fired off a volley of laser fire. Some hit the retreating ship, causing the shields to fold. After those shots, Swiftdeath was out of range. With their prey gone, both ships turned to port just in time to see the Radiant die. With anger in their hearts and a prayer on their lips, both Imperial vessels powered forward. Doom Bringer stood its ground, only to be struck from behind by another assailant. The Angel of Terra fired another hail of lasers at the Chaos Heavy Cruiser. The Victory and Imperialist also started to add their fire to that of Angel of Terra. From the torrential mass of fire, the Doom Bringer shields buckled, flared, and faded forever.

This didn't stop the Chaos ship from fighting back though. The gun crews were whipped even harder. Curses were shouted and blood was spilt. The guns recoiled again. The shots struck the Victory just under its bow, once and for all, causing the shields to overload. Damage control teams rushed from one section to another as small fires erupted. The Doom Bringer guns recoiled once again. This took out the prow weapons of the Victory. Without the front guns, the Dauntless Light Cruiser veered to starboard. The two remaining Destroyers continued to pour on the fire. The Doom Bringer was clearly burning in several areas. One hail of fire struck the launch bays on the port side of the Chaos ship, causing a fireball to float through space. Secondary explosions sounded in the launch bay. The Victory added its own weapons to the others, but at a different area. Making sure that the Justice's sacrifice hadn't been in vain, the tear in the Chaos ship's bow was hammered by the fire of the Victory. A whole section of the bow was blasted into atoms. But as the Doom Bringer was finally starting to break apart, it fire one last desperate round of lasers at the Victory. These hit the target with a great force as the range had closed considerably. The Victory broke in half, spilling out debris and men. The cold vacuum of space eventually sucked all of the oxygen from inside the two halves, causing the crew to suffocate.

With its final task complete, Doom Bringer finally succumbed to its inevitable death. It too broke into parts, but there were many sections going in different directions. Victoriously, but at a heavy price, the Imperialist and Angel of Terra swung around the flank of the Chaos battle line.

THE CHAOS FLAGSHIP No Mercy and the Imperial flagship Guardian were trading blow for blow, having gone broadside on one another. Both ship's escorts were busy dueling each other, and let the two big ships fight it out. Whole sections of both ships were ablaze and debris was everywhere, though not all of the things around the ships were parts of them. Bodies, frozen in mid-screams were adrift with the pieces of hull. Both captains fought frantically, using each and every measure of wit they had. Gun crews continued to slave, spilling as much sweat, as there was blood on the decks. The Emperor's Light was out of action due to the torpedo hits it had suffered from the No Mercy. Lord Admiral Ek Gok saw in the rear-viewing bay the burning form of the Emperor's Light. It had sped up when No Mercy fired off another wave of torpedoes, and it had blocked them from the flagship. The ship was drifting after that, dead.

'Shields are down to fifty percent sir!' There was panic in the young man's voice. A panic that knew they were doomed.

'They will hold son.' Ek Gok was sitting in his command chair, with a bandage around his head and a sling for his right arm. There was blood seeping through the head bandage. He looked around, seeing comrades he had served with for years lying dead at his feet, and the brave Emperor's Light,ablaze. He cursed the foulness of Chaos. 'Where are my torpedoes?'

'Sir, the torpedo room has been hit, and crews are trying to stem the fires.' A junior officer below him stood to attention, not even blinking when another round of lasers hit the shields.

'How are our weapon batteries holding up?'

'Not too good sir, as some of the starboard side weapons are destroyed.'

'I see.'

'I've got a report sir! It seems that the torpedo room is gone sir. Well, not gone really just everyone in it. They are dead sir.'

'No! This is unacceptable. You hear me!'

'Yes sir, I do, its just we can't-'

Gok was already down on the deck, and scrambling for the elevator to the lower decks. 'Then, I will load and fire them myself,' he said as the doors closed in front of him.

Fleet Commander Vibes Hect cursed loudly. His collarbone was dislocated and there was a tear in his left thigh where a piece of shrapnel had caught him. 'Fire,' he shouted, and another wave of lasers were sent off into the enemy's flagship. 'Torpedoes, fire!'

'That's a negative sir, it seems there is a-,' the officer speaking fell to the deck, headless. Hect blew the smoking bolt pistol's barrel. 'I want results, not excuses. Get his body out of my sight.' Two guards came forward and drug the dead man's body over to the rest of the bridge's dead. The ship shook again under the impacts outside. A control panel shorted out, causing the man at the seat to fly through the air. He hit the wall with a thud and slumped down. Another took his place. 'It seems you all are incapable of loading those things. I'll do it myself then. Swing to port.' The ship started to lurch. Another bright flash marked a hit, followed by flashing klaxons. Hect was striding to the elevator, where two guards flanked it. They then opened it, and all three got inside.

Ek Gok cursed again as he rolled over the corpse on the lever control. The whole room was filled with dead men. At the other end, a bulkhead had come down on the hole in the hull. No wonder the fires were put out so quickly Gok thought as he worked one of the cranes to load the torpedoes into the firing tubes. The ship rocked violently. Klaxons wailed as another section of the hull was breached. Three tubes loaded. He switched on the vox to contact the bridge. 'Swing to starboard, now!' He clung to the seat, as the strain on the ship was almost too much for him. One shot, that was all he needed to blow out the blasted torpedo bay of the enemy ship. He flicked on the pic-viewer to see what was happening outside. Laser fire streaked back and forth between both fleets. The Chaos flagship was also turning. I guess they are thinking the same thing I am, he thought as he fingered the launch button.

'Work faster you dogs.' Vibes Hect was standing behind what was left of the slaves, shooting those that fell from exhaustion. Already, seven casings littered the floor. Three were loaded up, when he decided that would suffice. 'Fire!' The ship shuddered as the tubes were launched. His dark laughter echoed throughout the bay. This wasn't to last long as the torpedoes from the Guardian were precise and struck the torpedo bay of No Mercy. Fleet Commander Vibes Hect was disintegrated along with four hundred other Chaos servants. The whole under belly of the ship was torn away, exposing many decks to the vacuum of space. More than two thousand heretics were sucked out, without knowing what was happening.

'Oh shi-,' started Ek Gok as the three enemy torpedoes sped straight for him. He made for the elevator as quick as he could. The torpedoes all bore through the bow of the ship, causing the front of the ship to splinter and brake. Secondary explosions caused some more of the ship to fall apart. The Chaos ship was still turning to her portside, appearing not to have been slowed by the hits it had suffered.

No Mercy finished the turn, and now with the starboard side ready, opened fire on the bleeding Guardian. With the bow a tattered mess, the Guardian suffered worse. One of the torpedo storage areas was struck, and created a massive gap where just seconds before, several hundred men were.

The bridge was starting to collapse, and there was no sign of Lord Admiral Ek Gok. Junior Officer Hoch Rolf took over as acting commander. 'Helmsman, status report.'

'The ship is going to start to brake apart if we don't disengage from the fight.'

'That will not do. We either win or die here.'

'Aye sir.'

'Can you steer us to starboard any?'

'Yes sir, but not very far.'

'Do it. And patch me through to the Destroyer Excalibur.'

CAPTAIN SHAWN LEITH pressed the activation rune for the firing mechanism to the torpedoes. Power failed onboard the Excalibur as they sped off into the darkness. Drenched in complete and total darkness, Leith was going to miss his one claim to fame. With the Guardian out of its firing line, the Excalibur had a clear line of sight to the No Mercy. Both of the torpedoes struck home as they blew out chucks of hull, just like when asteroids strike the surface of a planet. No Mercy did a full belly roll, and from the inside, exploded. All Imperials who saw the death of the Chaos flagship rejoiced. The Chaos fleet really didn't seem to care that their leader was dead.

THE MARS CLASS Battlecruiser Conqueror along with the Dominator Class Cruiser Faithful and theDictator Class Cruiser Vigilant, were fighting off the Chaos Grand Cruiser Blood Frenzy, the Cruiser Hell Raiser, and the Raider Two-Faced on the right flank.

Now acting commander of the Chaos fleet, Captain Blood of the Blood Frenzy, grimaced revealing his white sharp teeth that cut into his gums every time he did smile. Blood pooled out from his lips and he licked them to savor the position he was at. Finally a chance to prove that he should have been at the head the whole time. He would become a destroyer of worlds, a conqueror of death, and bringer of despair. All would fear him. Nothing like that weakling, Vibes Hect, who was now dead.

He came back to reality with a shudder as his ship fired another round from its batteries at the broken form of the Vigilant. It had been worthy prey, living up to its name. It had been "vigilant," trying to take on the three Chaos ships before it. They had pounded the hell of it, and from Blood's point of view it was going to explode or brake apart anytime now. But now, its support was on the way, finally moving into position.

'Power up the engines, we are going for the kill.' Again, Captain Blood let a smile crease his mouth.

Both the Blood Frenzy and Hell Raiser pushed forward through the broken pieces of the Vigilant, firing at what remained of her. The Idolator Raider, Two-Faced moved round the broken ship to flank the Imperials from the right as the Infidel Raiders, Fallen Angel, Fallen Warrior, and Fallen Grace moved round the left.

The Imperial ship Faithful didn't have a Nova Cannon for show, and fired it at the incoming Infidels. The blast blinded everything in the area. When the explosions had ended, some five minutes later, only the Fallen Warrior had come out, but was torn along its port. The Fallen Angel and Fallen Grace had been vaporized from existence. The Imperial ship had wasted no time in turning to show its broadside weapons. Fallen Warrior didn't even know what happened when the lasers tore straight through the bow, to the stern, bisecting it down the middle. The two parts drifted and exploded. With this accomplished, Faithful powered through the mess it had created.

Blood Frenzy fired its remaining salvo of torpedoes at the Conqueror, only for them to be destroyed by the ship's turret defenses. It continued to go for the Imperial ship. At the same time, the Carnage Class Cruiser Hell Raiser had opened fire with all available fire. This met the Imperial ship with the force of a god. The Conqueror's shields flared blue, and flickered, but still held. The Nova Cannon on the Conqueror spat out a projectile that contained the equivalent to a dozen plasma reactors. It detonated prematurely, blocking the Hell Raiser from view. The Chaos ship moved through the fires like a monster from the depths of the Eye of Terror. They just parted, as to allow passage for the Chaos Cruiser.

The Conqueror shook again as the Blood Frenzy fired its weapons upon her. That was all the shields could handle, and with a crisp crack, they failed. Just as this happened, a Chaos Raider appeared out of no-where. It fired a volley of lasers at the defenseless ship, causing little damage.

Captain Lith Ruff ordered all flight bays to launch bombers and fighters at once, and within the minute, hundreds of spacecraft were moving towards the Hell Raiser, in hopes of damaging it somehow. As the swarm was closing, four huge torpedoes passed them, to their portside. These hit the Chaos Cruiser head on. The wreckage of the decimated bow was milling around as the Hell Raiser shrugged off the hits. It kept coming, despite the four torpedoes.

The four torpedoes had come from the two remaining active Cobra Destroyers, Intrepid and the Excelsior. They both charged forward, pushing their ships to their limits. Weapon batteries from the Hell Raiser started to spit at the accelerating destroyers. Moving at such great speeds and being small targets, they were hard to hit, but the Intrepid was clipped enough for it to reduce speed.

Two-Faced came out of nowhere to pummel the Intrepid, smashing her bridge and setting fire to decks two through eight. Debris belched from the dying ship. Swinging around the kill, Two-Faced moved to get behind the Excelsior, only to find it gone, and in its place, a whole squadron of bombers, from the Conqueror. They swooped in like vultures onto the reeling Chaos ship. Their bombs and missiles struck the top of the ship, making it glow a telltale orange. The Chaos ship tried desperately to evade, but the nimble bombers came in for another run, this time striking the engines and bridge. The gunners of the ship tried to target and fire, but the bombers were already gone, only to return from the bottom of the ship. More explosives were sent into the Chaos Raider. With a great sound of tearing metal, the ship broke into two sections. The deck levels were distinctly noticeable, and as the bombardiers put it, 'I believe it looks a whole lot better that way.'

The remaining spacecraft continued onto the Hell Raiser. The Cruiser fought hard against the tiny targets, and with as much firepower as it poured out, took a good number down. The Excelsior was right behind the swarm, using their signatures to blot out its own. Though the destroyer was bigger, hundreds of craft can hid a destroyer quite easily at such great distances. As the bombers and fighters closed in, they part just in time for the Excelsior to fire another salvo of torpedoes. These were right on the money, hitting the Hell Raiser head on again. More pieces of the ship broke off and flew into the darkness of space. Just as fast as they parted, the swarm closed again.

Robbed of most of its bow weapons, the Chaos Cruiser turned to starboard and fired a massive volley of lasers and tracers. More Imperials bombers and fighters were struck and exploded. Still, they came, with the faith of the Emperor and with payloads to deliver.

The Conqueror still was moving up to support the load of ships it had spewed out, only to be cut off by the Blood Frenzy. As the Chaos ship slid in between them, it fired the massive gun mounts on the starboard side. They tore through space, and quickly did the same to the Imperial Battlecruiser.

Captain Ruff flinched at the impacts. His ship was dying and he knew it. This was how his father had died, against a ship called the Blood Frenzy. That name had stuck for his whole life, and now, here he was, fighting the foe that took his father from him, only to be killed by it. No! His fate will not become mine, at least not without me taking it down with me.

'Helmsman. All ahead full. Let us ram the son of a bitch.'

'Aye sir,' was all the man at the controls could mutter.

'All personal,' he stated into his vox-link, 'you have served the Emperor well. As a matter of fact, you served me well too. We most likely go to our doom.' The ship rattled again, causing several people to fall to the deck. 'But, let us give a good account of our deaths. Sing with me, one last time the old battle hymn.' As one, several thousand voices started to sing, 'Cross the stars and fight for glory…'

They brought the ship up to its max speed; despite all the fires and damage it had suffered. The Blood Frenzy tried to power out of the charging Imperial ship's way, but wasn't fast enough. The Conqueror speared headlong into the starboard side of the Blood Frenzy, splintering into tiny fragments as they met, also piercing the hull of the enemy ship. Both ships became intertwined, looking as though some child had taken two toys and smashed them together.

Without really meaning to, the last thing the Blood Frenzy did was fire its weapons into an already locked enemy. Most of the batteries were clogged up and detonated within the ship, doing more damage than the initial impact had. Like two lovers locked together, both ships exploded as one, sending fragments, shards, and debris in all directions.

The Chaos ship Hell Raiser was ablaze with dozens of fires when the bombers and recently destroyed Excelsior were done with her. With no base to return to, fuel running low, and ammunition spent, the fighters and bombers of the Conqueror plowed into the bridge, portside, starboard side, and underbelly of the Hell Raiser. These actions were more than enough to cause its death. Though it didn't explode, it just burned itself out.

The Faithful didn't realize the ship was dead and pounded it heavily with the weapons at its disposal. The sheer scale of firepower atomized the already dead Chaos Cruiser.

WITH THE VICTORY at the warp entry to the Muggous system, the Imperials had cleared the way for their convoy of relief to the worlds there. Seven infantry regiments, two of which were fully mechanized were aboard several transports. Two complete armor divisions, and a detachment of artillery guns were aboard others. Several transports carried the air support of the regiments.

The space above Yessaria was never a prettier sight than that of shuttles taking the regiment up for deployment on the world of Savous. The war there had taken a turn for the worse and troops were in need. With the Yessarians, three more regiments were going to in with them, including an armored division and the artillery detachment. The three regiments were the "Night Hawks" of the nocturnal world of Fangor, the warriors from a world called Copla, and the veterans of several campaigns, the "Avengers" from the noble world of Gorga. The armored division was a newly raised one from the forge world of Gallx nicknamed "Hell on Tracks" due to the warmth of the planet.

Though many historians believe the war for Savous wasn't as important as that for Forrix, the events, which took place on Savous, were to be remembered throughout its history there after.