Fame Cimex Chapter 30

From out of the burning light charged the Imperial fleet, racing to war with fury in their hearts and grim determination on every man's face. There was not one amongst them but who had not seen good friends sacrificed to the vile Xenos and they had sworn these sacrifices would not be in vain. Ancient and proud vessels, some of which had served for millennia, would face the enemy this day and once more brave the perils of war in the name of Mankind and the God-Emperor.

Facing them was a vast horde of Bio-ships, turning to bring their organic weapons to bear. Mouths gnashed in anticipation while claws twitched in eagerness to rend and tear, to once more taste the flesh of the foe. At the heart of the swarm sat the great Hive Ship, its rending claws as long as an escort frigate and filled with dormant horrors just waiting to be unleashed. The lesser beasts surrounded it like a shoal of pilot fish around a shark, sheltering it with their bulk. Yet the Tyranid's attack upon the planet had spread out their numbers too thinly, for the first time the Hive Ship had only a few dozen escorts. The Imperials would never have a better chance than right now and they were determined to seize it.

On the Light of Terra's bridge Captain Toran was stood upon the command dais, he was surveying the crew and making sure all was in readiness for the battle to come. With him were Chaplain Wrethan and Apothecary Memnos, while his Command squad were spread out around the stations, directing the serfs in their duties. Toran was satisfied that the ship was prepared and looked at his companions saying, "Father Wrethan, is Third Company prepared for what is to come?"

Wrethan replied, "They are Oathed to the Moment and eager for battle. I have spread them out to key positions around the ship in case of boarding actions."

Memnos was looking up at the Hololith and said, "Do you think this will come down to boarding actions?"

Wrethan replied, "Remember that Honourable Ajax insisted on being on board, I can think of no surer sign of that battle will find us than the presence of a Contemptor Dreadnought."

Toran nodded and said, "I am glad of his presence, but let us not forget our objective. That Hive Ship must die, nothing else matters and no sacrifice is too great to achieve that goal. Everything rests on killing that ship."

Memnos looked unconvinced as he said, "Kill the Hive ship, and break the Hive Mind's hold. Simple in theory but I suspect the execution will be far more challenging."

Suddenly there was a hail from the Sensorium and Brother Persion called, "Captain, we have a signal from Chapter Master Gorgall."

Toran replied, "Put him on ship-wide."

The vox horns crackled for a long moment and then a tinny voice came through on every deck declaring, "Sons of the Imperium, my Brothers, my cousins and my friends. We have come here today from far and wide, but we are united as one in purpose and in the Emperor's service. Today we shall be tested, today we shall be confronted by the cruelty and capriciousness of the universe itself. Yet know this: today we shall emerge victorious once again. This is the day you shall hold dearest to your hearts; this is the tale that you shall boast of for the rest of your lives. The tale of how the Imperium triumphed over the Tyranids at Angles' Redoubt! Now to battle men of the Imperium and know this, the Emperor expects that every man shall do his duty."

The bridge crew cheered at the speech and Toran knew that this would be repeated on every deck of the ship. He let them have the moment then called over to the helm, "Furion, take us at them!"

"Aye, aye Captain," Furion replied.

The great ship thrummed as the drives pushed it forward, closing the distance with inexorable momentum. The gap between the two forces shrank and then Persion called, "Sir, enemy approaching weapons range. Agamemnon and Kilkis preparing to fire their Nova Canons." Toran stared into the Hololith and counted down the seconds and then there was the brightest flare of light as the potent linear accelerators flung massive explosives into the heart of the Tyranid swarm. The display whited out for a moment and then returned, with a flurry of red icons where previously had been a concentration of Bio-ships. Toran called, "How much damage did we do?"

Persion lent over a servitor to read the display and called, "Minor drift from Kilkis but the Agamemnon was dead on, she hit a Razorfiend cruiser and crippled it."

Toran thumped the rail of the dais in celebration and called, "Signal Rear-Admiral Dousmanis and pass him our compliments on a fine shot! Now where are our torpedoes?"

From the Ordnance pulpit Novak called, "Torpedoes armed Captain, just waiting for your word."

Toran nodded but said, "Hold on, we must fire with the rest of the fleet. Wait for the signal from Chapter Master Gorgall." The crew waited with baited breath and then the then there was a chime from the communication arrays and Toran yelled "Fire!"

The Light of Terra shook hard as six torpedoes erupted from her prow on contrails of plasma wash, the great cylinders spinning slowly as they hunted for targets. They were joined by similar salvos from the Thunderlord and the Averof, along with those escort armed with torpedoes, to create a deadly wave of death. Toran watched the deadly fusillade dive towards the Tyranids, each warhead promising a swift death to its victim. Yet the Tyranids were not slow to respond, disgorging waves of fleshy horrors and clouds of spores to intercept the missiles. Toran called, "Signal Thunderhawks to intercept those strike craft, they must clear a path for the Torpedoes!"

Immediately darting arrowheads of gunships raced ahead, joined by Imperial Fury interceptors. They dove upon the Tyranid creatures with weapons blazing and in their first pass blasted apart hundreds of the small horrors. The Xenos turned to engage, creating a swirling mass of contorting contrails, men and Xenos desperately trying to kill each other in an insane ballet of destruction. Toran watched them in the Hololith and heard Memnos mutter, "They are badly outnumbered."

Wrethan answered, "They don't need to kill them all, just keep them busy long enough for the Torpedoes to slip by."

Suddenly Toran raised his arm and pointed saying, "Look, they've done it!"

Every eye turned to the Hololith and they saw that the Torpedoes had indeed slipped by the swirling dogfight, diving into the heart of the swarm and locking onto their targets. The Tyranids tried to twist and turn out their path but it was too late and the Torpedoes fell upon them like a shower of deadly arrowheads. Bright flares of plasma flashed over and over, each blast signalling the death of a Bio-ship in burning infernos of destruction. The attack burned cruisers and incinerated escorts far and wide, even those torpedoes that missed their first target swiftly finding new ones in the packed masses of the foe.

Once more the bridge crew cheered and Persion called, "Six escorts and a pair of Razorfiends confirmed killed!"

Wrethan cried, "The Divine Emperor favours us!"

Toran however was only half listening, looking at the Hololith and seeing a new pattern emerge. He said, "Look at that, we've blown a hole wide open in their ranks. The path to the Hive Ship is exposed."

It seemed Chapter Master Gorgall had reached the same conclusion for the vox crackled and his voice called, "All ships head for that gap, hit them with everything you've got and stop for nothing. We must destroy that Hive Ship at all costs."

Toran called, "You heard the order, take us in. Brace yourselves men, this is it!" With those words the Light of Terra surged forwards, charging into the heart of the foe with its weapon batteries gaping wide. The Tyranids responded in kind, barrelling forward like an avalanche of flesh, with weapons already spitting at the defiant Imperials. The Light of Terra's shields blazed as they took the brunt of the oncoming fire, feedback making her gravity generators convulse with overloads. The bridge shook and rocked under the impacts and every man held on as the ships rang like a great bell. From the Engineerium station Brother Bylan called, "+Shields are taking heavy fire, generators are straining to the limit+"

Toran barked, "They can take it, we have only have to endure this until the foe is in our firing arcs."

From the gunnery pews Brother Jediah called, "Permission to return fire?"

Toran replied, "Not yet, wait for them to come into range."

The ship shook and rang, the mighty shields turning opaque around it as shards of chitin and living ammunition impacted all around. Then in a flash of electromagnetic energy they blew out and the impacts began to ring upon the Light of Terra's thick armour. The bridge became a claustrophobic nightmare of noise and vibration, serfs being rattled and shook by the impacts. A stone gargoyle fell from on high, shattering upon the unforgiving deck and marring an ancient mosaic of the Chapter's icon. Bylan called, "+Impacts across all upper quarters, damage is mounting!+"

"Hold on!" Toran cried as he watched the Hololithic icons slowly crawl together. Then finally the Tyranids were in range of the Battlebarge's broadsides and he shouted, "All gun batteries, FIRE!"

From both sides of the Light of Terra's flanks surged enormous waves of ruin, shells, las, plasma and rockets all blasting away at point blank range. The Battlebarge seemed to be wreathed in a burning conflagration as men reloaded and fired over and over, seeking to inflict every last grain of damage that they could. The Tyranid swarms were annihilated under the weight of fire, torn apart to bleed out into the void. Escorts were obliterated in a torrent of shells and cruisers rolled over with gaping holes blasted into their hides. The Light of Terra had blasted clear a pocket of the horde, but she was alone, the rest of the fleet was still surrounded on all sides. On the bridge there was no more jubilation, every man bent to his task with total focus. The carnage they had wrecked had been remarkable, but they had yet to meet the Hive ship and the battle was far from over. Toran looked into the Hololith, trying to make out the rest of the fleet's progress and saw that they were beset on all sides. Each Imperial ship was surrounded by teeming horrors, pressing in from all vectors with weapons blazing.

The Thunderlord in particular was inundated by monstrous Bio-ships, that spat gobbets of Pyro-acid. Her hull burned and charred under the barrage, but she was undaunted and carried on firing, returning the punishment in kind. Yet despite all that it was the sight of the Kilkis that made Toran gasp. The Dominator cruiser had been ensnared by a pair of clawed fiends and they were tearing and gouging at her hull with wild abandon. Every blow ripping out compartments to spill screaming men into the void of space and the ship was rolling over, tumbling uncontrollably as it spiralled into death.

Memnos saw the sight and said, "Can't we do anything?"

Toran gritted his teeth, it was not that he could not do anything, it was that he would not. To turn and help the stricken ship would be to abandon his opportunity to strike at the Hive Ship and forsake any chance at victory. The Captain hardened his heart and left the doomed ship to its fate as he growled, "We can avenge them. Report, how far is to the Hive ship?"

Furion replied, "It's almost in range now."

Toran asked, "Has anyone else managed to break through?"

Persion answered, "Nobody else has made it through yet, we are on our own."

Toran growled, "So be it, we shall take on the Hive Ship ourselves. Brace yourselves men, it all comes down to us now."