Ancra Mortis Chapter 6

Across the inky blackness of space two fleets hurtled at each other, each bearing the mightiest of weapons, each filled with grim determination. One side was made up of ramshackle vessels filled with roaring savage monsters; the other was formed from the proud lines of Imperial ships and was filled with brave men, determined to exact vengeance for the slain.

On the bridge of the Battle-Barge Light of Terra, Captain Toran was shouting, "Hold your course, take us straight at them! Drain power from the rearward Void shields, divert it all to the forward deflectors, we need them at maximum strength. Persion signal the troop transports, they must remain in our wake, we will take the Ork's strike so they don't have to."

Various serfs hastened to obey as in the Hololith the oncoming wave of Ork escorts filled the display, Gunz looming large over every prow. From the gunnery pews Jediah called, "Orks will cross into weapons range in one minute, request permission to greet them with the bombardment canons."

Toran replied resolutely, "Negative, don't waste your shots, we will need to hit them with our full broadsides as we pass through their formation."

Jediah nodded and bent to direct the gunnery serfs but on the command dais Memnos muttered quietly, "That means yielding the first salvo to the Orks."

Toran did not turn from the Hololith as he said, "That can't be helped, the Emperor in his divine wisdom saw fit to place the majority of our weapons on the sides of our ships, not the front."

Memnos argued, "We could approach at an oblique angle, give them a broadside to remember."

Toran shook his head and said, "We don't have the time, our orders are to get the army to the ground as quickly as possible, the only way out is forward."

Memnos settled back as the Hololith lit up and from the sensorium Persion cried, "Orks are firing!"

From the engineering section Bylan called, "+Preparing to Brace!+"

"Belay that order!" Toran shouted, "We need the power for our return salvo, we will trust in our shields and our armour to stand true. Fear not the teeth of the foe, this proud vessel is a warship of the Adeptus Astartes, a Battle-Barge no less. She was built for war and can take whatever the Greenskins can throw at us!"

Toran's words proved prophetic for just as he finished speaking the oncoming Orks opened fire, their prows lighting up with a dazzling barrage of destruction. The Orks fired Zzap guns, rokkets, linear accelerators, las blasters and even crude chemically propelled shells into the vacuum, all headed towards the Imperial fleet. The barrage was more or less evenly divided between the Light of Terra and the Averof, two waves of destruction headed inexorably towards the largest ships in the fleet.

The first impacts struck the shields of both vessels, lighting up the voids as they shunted the destructive energy aside, but then the full might of the salvo hit home and the ships were engulfed in a deadly fireworks display. A lightning storm of destruction swathed both ships, encircling their void shields and making them turn opaque. On and on the volley came, making space light up with devastating power. Feedback from the onslaught fed back into the ships, disrupting power lines and making artificial gravity lurch as the generators struggled to keep pace with the conflicting energy washing over the ship. On the bridge everyone was holding onto consoles as the great vessel bucked and shuddered under the barrage, the forward Occulam was closed but flashing alarms and blazing consoles made the space look like a fire pit regardless.

From the Enginarium Bylan was shouting, "+Heavy impacts across the forward deflectors, shields are buckling!+"

Clinging onto the rail of the command dais Toran cried, "Maintain course, hold her steady!"

The whole ship suddenly lurched as something massive impacted the shields and Bylan cried, "+Those were Atonomic detonations, shields are collapsing!+"

Toran practically roared, "Hold your course!"

Suddenly a massive electrostatic burst swept over the ship and serfs cried out in fear as consoles blazed warnings as Bylan shouted, "+Shields are gone!+"

The Light of Terra rocked as waves of rokkets and lasblasts slammed into the dorsal hull, tearing into thick armour and carving deep furrows into her superstructure. Compartments were blown open to space while auspex arrays and comms towers were ripped free by the deadly force, but the Battlebarge weathered the storm and kept on going.

Bylan was calling, "+Damage to dorsal spine, multiple impact points, we are bleeding air+"

Toran answered, "Hold your nerve, this ship's spirit is strong, we shall endure this and not be bowed!"

A surge of feedback blew a power line under the floor and several men fell screaming as they were electrocuted. Apothecary Memnos leapt over the command rail and ran to their aid, medical tools already being extended from his gauntlet.

Meanwhile, from the juddering ordnance pulpit Novak called, "Does this remind anyone else of the Emperor's Storm on our homeworld?"

From the shaking sensorium Persion shouted back, "No, no it really doesn't!"

Toran ignored their bravado and fixed his eyes on the Hololith, watch the Ork icons crawl closer, moving into the arcs of the Battlebarge's broadsides. The bridge was filled with thunderous booms and fearful cries but Chaplain Wrethan was a rock and marched sternly about, keeping the serf's nerves steady with psalms praising the Divine Emperor. Toran saw that Jediah was staring at him, willing him to give the order to fire but the Captain held his nerve for a few more moments then finally he cried, "Port and starboard weapon batteries, fix your targets and fire on my mark…. MARK!"

With a flash of devastating power both flanks of the great ship erupted, macro canons, plasma annihilators, turbo lasers and missile batteries unleashing their power in both directions. The Battlebarge creaked and groaned from the stress of simultaneous broadsides but the carnage it unleashed was overwhelming. Toran stared into the Hololith and saw the Orks inundated with fire at point-blank range, the potency of the barrage swamping their crude shields and ripping into hulls with abandon. They had wounded the Battlebarge but she utterly mauled them in return and the first salvo alone gutted a pair of Ork escorts, leaving them drifting dead in the void.

The honour of first blood went to the Light of Terra but close behind her the Averof was determined not to be outdone, her own prow scored and ravaged but her guns were just as deadly. With a blaze of light the cruiser unleashed her own weapon batteries and lances, filling the void with destructive potential, sweeping the Orks with wave after wave of carnage. Escorts quivered under the blows as their hulls were ripped open, one of them falling inert and powerless as its reactors failed and several others were left helpless as they desperately tried to evade.

Toran saw the Ork's momentary vulnerability and ordered, "All bombardment canons to port, target those unshielded frigates!" The crew hurried to obey and the massive turrets swung about, bringing city-killing weapons to bear. There was a brief pause then great plumes of flame along the ship's spine announced that the heavy guns were discharging. Two Ork frigates were caught by the great magma bombs and were penetrated deeply; they hung still for a single second then blew apart as the shells detonated within.

Jediah cried, "Glorious, look at that power!" but Toran was watching the Hololith, seeing true battle be joined. Everywhere swirling Ork frigates swept into the Imperial fleet, blasting away with their gunz to batter the noble ships of mankind with wild abandon. The Imperial fleet responded with their full fury, gun batteries and lances firing in all directions, their own escorts turning hard to bring their might into the fray.

Toran watched via the Hololith and saw the Lemnos was struggling to recover her bombers and relaunch them, but even as she reloaded her prow lances were firing, stabbing out into the dark. The wounded Spetsai was also doing her name proud, even in a crippled state she refused to yield and blasted away with whatever weapons she had left. Toran saw Luctator squadron swinging hard about, chasing a pair of Orks right into the teeth of Triton squadron's guns, twin lance blasts dissecting the ramshackle vessels with surgical precision. Even the troop transports were firing, adding their puny might to the fray, for whatever it was worth.

Toran's mind processed the battle and he saw that the Imperials were wrecking a terrible toll upon the Greenskins but the Orks still had the weight of numbers and were moving into the rear of the fleet, outside the targeting arcs of the greatest warships. Toran knew that if they were allowed free reign then they would rip the Imperial fleet apart and he ordered, "Signal Luctator squadron and Triton squadron to break formation and pursue the Ork escorts, their commanders have full discretion to engage as they will."

The Imperial frigates broke away and chased the Orks, nipping at their heels. They had speed and wider arcs of fire, but the Greenskin's sheer numbers made it hard to keep them corralled. Toran watched as the outnumbered Imperials fought to keep the fleet's rear clear but then a quartet of Ork escorts broke through and stormed back into the fleet with gunz blazing.

Persion called, "Captain the Orks, they are targeting the Lemnos!"

Toran could see that himself, but it was Furion who called, "Brother-Captain, if we wheel right we can provide covering fire with our broadsides."

Toran shook his head forlornly, "No we turn too slowly to intervene and if we even try then the troop transports will be exposed to the Ork Capital ships. Getting those men on the ground is our first priority…"

Everybody fell silent knowing that they could not intervene as the Orks fell upon the Lemnos, unleashing a furious barrage right into its flank. The light carrier's shields held for the first few moments but then they collapsed with an electrostatic burst and the volley smashed right into her hull. With the hanger doors open to receive incoming bombers the Ork's blasts surged right into her interior, detonating fuel and munitions stored ready for the flight crews. A series of massive explosions wracked the cruiser and gutted her insides, setting fires burning on every deck.

Toran watched grimly as the Orks ripped the Lemnos asunder and he ordered, "Hail that ship."

A squeal of static came over the vox before a lone panicked voice broke out saying, "hear me… I repeat this is Captain Geagorian… my crew are dying…can't raise the hangers…fires on every deck… can't stop it…can anyone hear me?"

Toran wasted not a moment to cry, "Captain your vessel is lost, give the order to abandon ship, get your men to the saviour pods. For the Emperor's sake get them to the saviour pods!"

"Too late," cried the doomed captain, "It's too late!"

The Hololith flared with light as the Lemnos tore itself apart, a newborn sun appearing in her heart to render the ship and all its crew down to fine dust. Persion report in a harrowed monotone, "Her reactors, they went critical… she's gone."

Toran snarled in anger but suppressed his rage to focus on the practical as he had been trained, then he spat, "Status of the Ork escorts?"

Persion replied, "Breaking off and running out for another pass."

Toran stared at the icons on the Hololith and said, "Order Luctator squadron and Triton Squadron to keep pursuing them, do whatever it takes to keep them at bay."

Memnos returned to the dais and said, "What will we be doing?"

Toran replied firmly, "Three Ork capital ships are still in our path, the Light of Terra, the Averof and the Spetsai must engage them long enough for the troop transports to break past. The easy part of the battle is over, now comes the hard part."

Memnos swallowed and said, "Courage and Honour."

Toran whispered to himself, "I'm not sure that that will be enough this time."