Disclaimer: Yeah...this Code Geass thing? Not mine. Nor is this Warhammer 40k thing.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Homecoming

Combat Information Center
Space Station Ikaruga

Before the reappearance of the infamous 'Lost Expedition' had time to sink in, the tactical map updated again. Several more triangles turned blue, then reverted to grey, then blue again. The symbols flickered in color for several more seconds before finally settling on blue.

"Receiving new IFF data. Decoding now," a technician finally broke the silence.

Black Knights Cruiser Baldr
012.M51

"Jump complete," announced one of the navigation crew, "Skimmer drive recharging."

Captain Xene Bocker didn't even move from her position at the bridge's front, staring intently at the display as if she could see through the sanity-stripping geometries of the Warp storm. Only a simple nod told the bridge crew she had heard.

"How many did we lose?" she asked finally.

"The Midgard failed to make the jump ma'am. No trace of it on scanners."

"Dammit…there were nearly two thousand people aboard…what about the others?"

"Varying degrees of damage, but all remaining ships report that they are still jump-capable," a communications officer reported.

"What's our current location?" Xene turned towards the navigators' station.

"The Warp storm's playing merry havoc with our instruments, ma'am," the officer in charge reported, "We're actually deeper inside Tau territory than before the jump. If the scans are correct, we emerged in the T'au system."

Were it not unbecoming of her rank, Xene would have erupted into a swear-laden tirade that would have made even the most seasoned Raider blush. She probably would have anyway, had a sensor technician not interrupted her.

"Ma'am, we're receiving interesting readings from the seventh planet's innermost moon. It's definitely a Black Knights locator beacon, but the computer is having trouble identifying the broadcasting ship."

"Whatever it is, it's been here for a while," another technician remarked, "The computer has exhausted all currently-used encryption keys and is delving into the historical records."

Under her helmet, Xene raised an intrigued eyebrow. Silence descended upon the bridge, the suspense so thick that one couldn't cut through it with a hadron saber.

"Computer has found a match," the technician gave a low whistle, "it's the Asaween. Chivalry-class frigate."

"Chivalry-class?" Xene's eyebrows rose even higher as she dredged up half-forgotten history lessons, "The last one was built-"

"Almost fifteen thousand years ago, ma'am," her executive officer finished after several seconds' silence.

"We've been bounced!" a sensor technician announced as the bridge lights dimmed, "Tau ships are attempting to scan us!"

"All hands, prepare for silent running! Broadcast a localized jamming field!"

"We've got incoming! Five ships dropping out of the Warp right on top of us!"

"Dammit! All hands to battle stations! All alert squadrons are to launch immediately!"

Combat Information Center
Space Station Ikaruga

"What's the status on those IFF codes?" Lelouch flagged down a technician walking past him.

"It's slow going, sir," the technician stopped and turned to face him, "The encryption keys are old, and we've yet to find a match. Some of the techs are scanning their emissions and mass profiles. If we can determine the class, we could potentially identify the ships by cross-referencing fleet rosters."

"Good," Lelouch nodded, "Carry on."

"We've got a match!" a technician suddenly announced, causing several of his neighbors to jump up in surprise, "From the emissions spectra, it's a Myrmidon-class cruiser with four Chivalry-class frigates in support!"

"Is it just me," Lelouch spoke out of the side of his mouth to CC, "Or is that technician mentally kicking himself?"

"He's mentally kicking himself," CC answered without taking her eyes off the tactical map.

"Both designs have very distinctive emission signatures," Suzaku whispered as he sensed Lelouch's curiosity, "They're actually a standard case study for how not to design a stealth ship."

"IFFs decoded! It's the Achilles with the Furusiyya, Hippeis, Eques, and Cavalier in support!"

Black Knights Cruiser Achilles
789.M35

"Sir, the Asaween's hit! Port side engines destroyed! She's dead in the water!" one of the communications officers frantically relayed.

"Keep up evasive maneuvers!" Captain Mabon Wegner ordered unnecessarily as an enormous bolt of Warp-lightning flashed before the Achilles, "Do we have any ships close enough to tether it?"

"Negative, sir! The crews have their hands full keeping their ships from colliding! Deploying boarding cables at a time like this is suicide!"

"Message from the Asaween: Captain Wilkerson confirmed KIA, and his executive officer is assuming command! At least a third of the crew was killed by the lightning strike, and daemons are materializing by the dozens!"

Mabon could only watch helplessly on the visual display as the stricken frigate, alight and venting atmosphere, tumbled towards one of the star system's numerous moons. Another flash of Warp-lightning temporarily blinded the external cameras, and when the display finally cleared up again, only a bright red streak across the planetoid's atmosphere remained.

"Sir, the Asaween has disappeared from sensor sweeps."

"Damn…helm, get us out of here! I needed the skimmer drive online five minutes ago!"

"Sir, standard operating procedures call for the-," the executive officer began half-heartedly.

"For the destruction of any technology in danger of falling into outside hands, I know!" Mabon snapped, "However, if we don't jump now, four more ships will be joining the Asaween!"

"Skimmer drive repaired and charged, sir!" the navigator practically screamed, "Plotting a course!"

"Dammit, just jump! I don't care if we end up in the middle of a star!"

A massive Warp current slammed into the Achilles and its remaining escorts as they began to jump away. Many lost consciousness from the sheer psychic shock, and the rest passed out from the crushing gravitational forces.

Black Knights Cruiser Baldr
012.M51

"Cobra Squadron launched and requesting permission to engage!"

"Incoming IFF data! They're ours! They're ours!" a technician frantically relayed.

"Tell Cobra Squadron to cancel engagement and stand by!" Xene barked, "Open a channel!"

"They're not responding to hails, ma'am," a communications officer reported after several minutes and a dozen attempts.

"I'm not reading any lifesigns aboard," declared a sensor technician, "However, scanners confirm a Myrmidon-class cruiser with four Chivalry-class frigates in support. Cross-referencing with fleet rosters tentatively identifies them as the Achilles, Furusiyya, Hippeis, Eques, and Cavalier."

"The First Expedition?" Xene failed to keep the surprise out of her voice, "I want boarding teams prepped immediately! Tell our resident mage to meet them on the hangar deck. This sort of thing should be right up his alley."

Combat Information Center
Space Station Ikaruga

From the corner of his eye, Lelouch could see historical records and ship schematics scroll past a nearby bank of monitors at high speed. From what he could skim, tragedy defined the Black Knights' history with the Tau. Since M35, five expeditions had been dispatched to the Damocles Gulf, and not one returned. The first fleet was tasked with exploring the region, and all subsequent task groups were sent to recover or destroy their predecessors' remains.

The bulk of the Emperor's attentions remained glued to the tactical map. The last of the grey triangles blinked out of existence, replaced by Tau orange. Skimming what information he could from surrounding monitors and the minds of surrounding technicians, he closed his eyes and quickly assembled a picture of the tactical situation. He opened them again seconds later, and not a moment too soon. The mass of red triangles had stopped retreating.

"Sir, the Chaos fleet has rallied!" a nearby technician reported, "They're doubling back for another attack!"

"Wheel the 19th and 20th Fleets around! Volley fire FLEIJAs from extreme range, then close in with hadron beams! Have them focus on breaking through the enemy center!"

Mere minutes later, a small but noticeable portion of the Chaos fleet's forward units vanished from the tactical map. More triangles blinked out of existence as the Black Knights charged the enemy lines. The blob of red cracked then parted as the 19th and 20th Fleets drove a wedge between their ranks.

"Tactical jump the 17th and 18th Fleets onto the enemy's left flank! With some luck, we can roll up their entire line from there!"

Black Knights Dreadnought Pendragon
Vicinity of Mars

Whether by side effect of the numerous Warp phenomena raging in the vicinity or deliberate Chaos sorcery, the Black Knights were unable to make precise tactical jumps into the midst of the Chaos fleet. The 17th and 18th Fleets emerged significantly short of their intended destination but well within range of the enemy's guns. As lances and torpedoes pelted them, the scattered ships hurriedly fell back into formation and charged.

"Forward hadron fields down to seventy-five percent density! Ordnance is already starting to leak through!"

"Bring some of the emitters from Array Two online to compensate!" Lamont reflexively ordered.

Even its advanced inertial dampeners could not keep the Pendragon from rocking as a lance struck the dreadnought head-on. A bright blue glow filled the forward visual display as the newly-reinforced hadron fields struggled to dissipate the massive attack.

"Forward Array Two emitters burned out! Field density down to sixty-three percent!"

"This is Fleet Admiral Seghers to all 17th Fleet units: the enemy fleet is now one hundred and fifty kilometers off our bow! Let 'em have it!"

In a very short amount of time, the Chaos sensor technicians became very adept at recognizing an incoming FLEIJA volley's sensor signature. At the very least, Lamont assumed as much when the enemy's front ranks began breaking away. Anticipating such a scenario, Fleet Admiral Seghers had ordered firing solutions targeted deep into the enemy fleet. While collisions claimed many of the panicked forward units, FLEIJA warheads detonated amongst the unprepared rear echelon units. Before they had time to recover and regroup, a solid wave of crimson death slammed into them, disintegrating dozens of warships and crippling hundreds more.

"The enemy is disoriented and confused! Don't let up!"

The spearhead of the 17th Fleet, its diamond-hard tip formed by the surviving dreadnoughts, thrust deep into the Chaos flank. Fleet Admiral Seghers' flagship, the London, lead from the front, engaging several ships at a time and winning decisively each time. Many Chaos formations broke and ran outright upon sight of a dreadnought phalanx bearing down on them. When the remaining ships of the 17th Fleet emerged from behind the spear-tip and spread out, the battle quickly became a one-sided slaughter. Upon the 18th Fleet joining the melee, the slaughter became an all-out rout.

Black Knights Attack Craft Callsign: Cobra Leader
Vicinity of Mars

The formation of Doomfires, already locked on their attack run, stood no chance when the pilots of Cobra Squadron swooped down on them. Hadron bolts perforated the Doomfires, punching through their thick armor with frightening ease and reducing the entire squadron to debris. Some distance away, Cobra Leader spotted attack craft from the Achilles dogfighting with their Chaos counterparts. Despite their age, the Rapier-class attack craft inflicted a frightening toll on their opponents.

"Chaos ships coming from behind! They're going straight for the Tau!"

"Cobra Squadron, form up! Their fleet'll get ripped apart in a dogfight!"

Cobra Leader gunned the accelerator as the rest of his squadron fell in behind him. Two more Excalibur squadrons and a Rapier squadron joined them. Unaccustomed to fighting Imperial-designed warships, the Tau's famous discipline wavered and their normally-focused volleys came out wild. Many shots outright missed or bounced off the enemy's thickly-armored prows. In the short time it took the Black Knights to close the distance, the Tau fleet was ready to break and run.

Cobra Leader winced as he witnessed a Lunar-class cruiser plowed straight into a Tau battleship and cleaved it in two. Several cruisers swooped in for an attack run, their powerful armaments punching through weakened void shields with ease. Unfortunately, while the Kor'vatta warships were more than capable of dishing out punishment, their thin armor meant they were ill-suited to taking it. A single close-range volley outright destroyed one of the cruisers and sent another spinning away.

"Their void shields are down! Cobra Squadron, engage!"

The attack craft of Cobra Squadron inverted and bore down on the now-vulnerable cruiser. A squadron of Swiftdeaths rose up to meet them but was intercepted by a squadron of Tau bombers and their fighter escorts. Flak burst all around the closing Excaliburs, the shrapnel peppering their hadron fields and several fragments even glancing off their armor. The defensive fire ended up shooting down far more Chaos craft than anything else.

Cobra Leader pulled his attack craft into a crushing climb, his belly actually scraping the cruiser's hull. The flak stopped, the gun barrels unable to depress far enough. The Excaliburs wove between the Lunar-class cruiser's numerous hull protrusions, dodging shoulder-fired missiles and the few Chaos fighters insane enough to follow them. Many were unable to level out of their dive fast enough and smashed into the cruiser's hull, and the others proved unable to keep pace with the Black Knights pilots and crashed into protrusions.

"Cobra squadron, weapons free!"

Huge chunks of hull disappeared under a hail of hadron bolts, and the cruiser's bridge tower was gutted by a FLEIJA warhead. Several missiles passed through the rents opened up by the Tau attack and detonated inside, inflicting grievous injuries. Several Cobra Squadron pilots turned around at the end of their attack run, sending their remaining FLEIJAs into the Lunar-class cruiser's engines. Crippled, the Chaos cruiser tumbled into the waiting gun barrels of the Tau fleet.

The Cobra Squadron pilots, with vengeful Chaos fighters on their tail, screamed through the Tau formation. Many of the enemy, unable to keep pace with the nimble Excaliburs, collided with the wreckage of destroyed warships. The few survivors were downed by a hail of railgun slugs and ion blaster bolts as Battlesuits clambered onto their motherships' hulls in a desperate attempt to provide close-in defense. As the Black Knights craft passed overhead, several of the powered armors tapped their heads with their missile pods in a crude imitation of a salute.

Combat Information Center
Space Station Ikaruga

"19th and 20th Fleets are getting swarmed!"

The Black Knights' close-range shock attack caught the enemy off-guard, disorienting them long enough to allow Imperial and Eldar units to close in. Spearheaded by their mighty Yggdrasil-class dreadnoughts, the 19th and 20th Fleets plunged deep into the enemy center, destroying the vast slab-sided warships by the dozen. Like some unimaginably-vast creature, the Chaos lines flowed shut around the breach and attacked the Black Knights from all sides.

According to the tactical map, the trapped fleets had pooled their remaining ships and fallen into an outward-facing ring. Vast swaths of the surrounding enemy force were annihilated by volleys of FLEIJA warheads and hadron beams from the dreadnoughts. Trundholm-class cruisers darted forward, engaging the survivors in brutal close-range fire exchanges while Avalon-class destroyers and Camelot-class frigates tied up enemy reinforcements with high-speed hit-and-run attacks.

"The enemy core is rallying! 17th and 18th Fleets' advance stopped!"

Picking out the blue triangles became near-impossible as the Chaos fleet descended upon the besieged Black Knights units. Several tendrils reached towards the Tau, ripping apart their fragile warships in close-range combat.

"What's the status on the 15th Fleet?"

"Engaged by enemy daemonships! They cannot disengage!"

Lelouch stared at the tactical map for several seconds longer, watching several more blue triangles disappear under the flood of red. Though he hated to admit it, he could only acknowledge defeat. Abaddon the Despoiler had completely outmaneuvered him.

"We've lost contact with the London!"

"Sound," Lelouch's voice faltered for a moment, "Sound the retreat. Any more of this, and we'll just be needlessly throwing our mens' lives away. Have the survivors fall back to second defense zone."

Black Knights Dreadnought Beijing
Vicinity of Mars

"Sir, all hadron batteries charged and ready."

Captain Ivo Affini nodded, and then turned back towards the countdown hovering over the tactical map. Survivors from the battle around Altansar had already begun arriving in ones and twos, with the Chaos fleet hot on their tail. The crew held their breaths with the news of every jump signature, only to release it again when IFF data confirmed friendly warships.

"Signal the fleet," Fleet Admiral Cassian Travers suddenly announced, causing several of the Beijing's bridge crew, Ivo among them, to jump in surprise, "Tell them to prep delimited FLEIJA warheads."

A number of jump signatures, close enough to the Beijing that visual scans picked up several pinpricks of light, sent the dreadnought and its escorts into high alert. Several tense seconds passed before IFF data identified them as the heavily-damaged London and its escorts. The flurry of activity immediately restarted, communications technicians scrambling to disseminate the updated orders, as the flagship of the 17th Fleet limped towards the relative safety of friendly lines.

"Incoming!"

"We've got friendlies as well! Watch your fire!"

Several Black Knights and Tau warships dropped out of the Warp and sped towards the allied fleet. Lances and torpedoes destroyed several as a vast swath of space ripped open, exposing the maddening colors and impossible geometries of the Warp. Thousands of Chaos warships screamed through, clustered around the massive bulk of Craftworld Altansar.

"Tell the fleet to hold their fire! Give our friendlies some time to reach us!"

It spoke bounds for the defenders' discipline that not a single ship opened fire even as a cloud of Chaos warships bore down on them. One by one, the remaining allied survivors slipped past Black Knights lines and into the thicket of shipyards surrounding Mars. By the time the last of them reached safety, the Beijing's bridge crew could make out hull details on some of the larger enemy warships.

"Now! Open fire!"

Chaos forces, perhaps hoping to use Mars' vast manufactoria to fuel their war effort, held their fire as they rushed the world's defenses. The Black Knights, fighting with their backs to the red planet, had no such restriction. The enemy's forward units disappeared under a wave of crimson and violet, halting the charge in its tracks. Many of the survivors outright broke and ran and were slaughtered by friend and foe alike. The more cool-headed of the Chaos captains ordered their ships to fall back and shield Altansar from another volley.

The Black Knights fleets hurriedly reloaded their FLEIJA tubes and recharged their hadron beam cannons, but dared not leave their positions around Mars. The Chaos warships held position around Craftworld Altansar, staying just outside the defenders' effective range. The battle for Mars had, at the moment, become a standoff.

Hangar Bay, Space Station Ikaruga
One Hour Later

Flanked by her bodyguards, Nunnally Lamperouge stood several meters away from the Tau shuttle, hands folded primly in front of her. The makeshift honor guard lining the path consisted of a dozen combat information center personnel who had spent the past hour hurriedly reviewing the manual of arms. The lacked the nanosecond precision of units more accustomed to such duties, but their performance appeared to sufficiently impress the Tau delegation.

Surrounded by a quartet of Fire Warriors, the Ethereal slowly descended the ramp. Frail and bent over with age, his staff made a loud clang with each step. As she waited, Nunnally hurriedly reviewed the half-digested report on the Tau from the Baldr's captain. She would have preferred more time to prepare, especially when it came to first contact with such a hierarchal species, but hypotheticals did her little good. Her facial expression betrayed none of her concerns, and she stood statue-still as her counterpart laboriously crossed the last few meters and stopped at arms' reach.

"Governor Lamperouge," the Ethereal bowed as deeply as he could while clutching his staff, "I am Aun'O T'au Ko'vash Tau'va. It is an honor to meet you at last."

"The honor is mine, Aun'O," Nunnally returned the bow.

"Please, call me O'Ko'vash," the Ethereal insisted.

"Then I shall insist you call me Nunnally," the governor of the Black Knights replied as they turned to leave the hangar bay.

An uncomfortable silence descended upon the group as they navigated the Ikaruga's labyrinthine corridors. The Knightmares warily eyed the Fire Warriors and especially their vicious-looking ion rifles. Unbeknownst to the Black Knights, their Tau counterparts viewed them with even greater caution, wondering what kind of military could equip so many of their soldiers with Battlesuits.

"Nunnally, my people owe yours a great debt, one that we could never fully repay," O'Ko'vash abruptly announced, shattering the tension.

The chestnut-haired Psyker turned towards the Ethereal, clearly intrigued.

"As our ancestors spread across T'au, the first sept, they also looked to bring the Tau'va to the distant stars. They knew of the medium your people call the 'Warp,' but without psychic abilities, they were unable to travel through it. The Tau'va would have ended then had they not discovered a crashed starship upon the seventh planet's innermost moon. Our technology made us strong, but it was your technology—your skimmer drive—that allowed us to flourish."

Nunnally mutely nodded, knowing full well that Intelligence would have a field day.

"Many thousands of Tau'cyr later, our empire stood at the brink of collapse. For much of our history, we remained ignorant of the Warp's perils until the one you call 'Abaddon the Despoiler' began his march. His armies burned a dozen worlds, and a dozen more were swallowed by the growing madness. Despite the harsh lessons learned, we were unprepared when the storms closed around T'au itself. Our very technology turned against us, and we would have perished had your people not intervened."

The double doors silently slid shut behind the group as they entered the conference room. A pair of Fire Warriors and Knightmares broke off from the main group to flank their respective leaders as the others lined the perimeter. Aided by one of his bodyguards, the Ethereal gingerly lowered his frail form into the seat while narrating the final days of T'au. He spoke of daemonic legions devouring entire settlements, of entire continents scorched clean of life by Warp fire, of trapped Battlesuit pilots begging for death as their machines turned on their own forces. Nunnally barely suppressed the rising nausea.

"It was with your aid that we could stem the tide of horrors. Your ships shielded our own as they carried the last of our people away from T'au. Just as your people stood by us in our hour of need, so shall we in yours. The Ethereal Caste has declared a debt of honor, an empire for an empire. For the Greater Good, we add our strength to yours until your home is secure from the Warp's madness or the last Tau has fallen."

As O'Ko'vash concluded his tale, Nunnally's communicator quietly beeped. She took the call as surreptitiously as she could. If the Ethereal noticed, he was too polite to point it out.

"Latest reports from Mars," the voice on the other end relayed, "The Chaos fleet began their attack following the arrival of reinforcements via Altansar's Primary Webway Nexus. They've already broken through friendly lines and begun landings. General Kururugi has left for the planet surface."

Nunnally could only hope that Lelouch had the situation under control.

Black Knights 15th Militia Staging Area
Tharsis Region, Surface of Mars

Aided by the massive excavators of the Adeptus Mechanicus, hundreds of kilometers of trenches were dug in record time. Servitors erected thousands of rockcrete gun emplacements and millions of plasteel tank traps. Hydra anti-aircraft batteries scanned the skies as thousands of tanks and artillery pieces silently waited within their barbettes. Countless automatic weapons lined the fortifications, their overlapping lanes of fire ensuring any enemy would pay a dear price for every meter gained.

The two hundred thousand militiamen of the 15th Militia Group made up only a small part of the forces manning the line, though they bought a disproportionately-large amount of firepower for their numbers. Approximately four million of the nearly one hundred million Imperial Guardsmen assigned to defend the Tharsis plateau occupied the trenches alongside the Black Knights. An additional five hundred thousand Skitarii and two hundred Astartes warriors had arrived the previous night, no doubt after some arm-twisting by the Black Knights leadership.

The nearly five million souls below all turned their eyes skywards as hundreds of thousands of bright streaks raced through the atmosphere. Fighters and attack craft rocketed upwards to intercept them, and the roaring of Hydra batteries filled the air.

The invasion of Mars had begun.

A/N: Well...hope this was worth the wait. Also hope I didn't maul Tau naming conventions too badly... And the Mars arc officially begins! Epic battles, Spinzaku action, and hopefully some surprises in the mix! Tune in next time!