Fame Cimex Chapter 39

Over Angles' Redoubt orbital lanes teemed with debris, the burnt husks of defence platforms, fighters and system ships all reduced to charred wreckage. They mixed freely with the gutted remnants of Tyranid Bio-ships, the fleshy entrails forming long strings of bloody ice in the frozen void. The devastation was immense, the defences had been torn to shreds and only a handful of stations remained intact. One of those was the Inquisitorial starfort, back in its own vector and acting as if nothing had ever happened.

Cruising through the wreckage was the proud Imperial fleet. The capital ships prowling over the world as shining declaration of triumph, while the Escorts and Strike Cruisers were absent, still chasing the scattered survivors of the Splinter fleet. Now they moved with stately grace, each one's hull flashing with the lights of arc welders and repair teams making essential repairs to the deep scars in their hulls. A full refit would be required in time but for now they had to be content with what repairs could be made on station.

At the head of the flotilla was the Battlebarge Thunderlord, lording over orbit like a sovereign holding court. Occasionally her bombardment canons would train upon the world below and unleash a volley, sending Magma Bombs hurtling to the ground to impact in the wastes between Hive Cities. The Tyranid fleet may have been broken but they had still landed millions of killers upon the surface and the war to cleanse this world would take months to conclude.

Watching all this from the Battlebarge's observation dome were a trio of transhuman figures, one was Captain Toran, the other Shade-Seer Imix in his occultly decorated armour. The last member of the party was the Dreadnought Ajax, who was leaning back to stare at the world beyond the dome with his one good optic lens. Ajax said, "THE HIVE MIND MAY HAVE BEEN BROKEN BUT THE FIGHT IS NOT FINISHED YET, I MUST SOON DEPART FOR THE SURFACE TO SEE THIS WAR IS BROUGHT TO A SWIFT END."

Toran concurred, "Third Company will be joining you as soon as we finish ensuring orbital space is clear, I look forward to fighting next to you again."

Ajax turned to face him and growled, "SEE THAT YOU DO, I GROW WEARY ONCE MORE AND MUST SOON RETURN TO MY SLUMBER. BEFORE I DO SO, I NEED TO ENSURE THAT THE CHAPTER IS IN GOOD HANDS, THIS DISPUTE AMONGST THE MASTERS CANNOT CONTINUE."

Toran agreed, "This victory goes a long way to cementing Chapter Master Gorgall's position, we will soon have this Chapter back on the straight and narrow."

Ajax didn't seem convinced, "I WILL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT, TELL THE MASTERS THAT I SHALL BE KEEPING AN EYE ON THEM."

With those words the Dreadnought turned and marched out, making the deck plates ring beneath his feet. The pair watched him go and then Imix remarked, "I think he likes you."

Toran was surprised by that and said, "What makes you think that?"

Imix tilted his head, "Because you're still alive, I am not sure I could say the same if you put him in a room with those snakes Lessall, Jossat or Samect."

Toran was uncomfortable discussing his Chapter's shameful internal strife with an outsider and tried to shake off the situation by saying, "I am sure it won't come to that, nobody wants this to come to bloodshed."

Imix stared at him for a long moment then said, "Do not underestimate your kin, I felt the shapes of their minds, they are more ruthless than you realise. Lessall in particular, his mind is like a razor and his ambitions will see him walk dark paths."

Now Toran really was uncomfortable and he changed the subject, "Your Brothers served well and brought much honour to your name. They should be proud of their deeds here; they will long be remembered in our histories."

Imix accepted the compliment, "Your men too served well, your Kinsmen did you proud."

Toran drew in a breath and said, "There were a few initial squabbles but Third Company came together well. They have been united by conflict, blood and by mourning."

Imix replied, "A shared grief will bring strangers together better even than a common foe, you have led them well and they will do you proud in the future."

Toran thought upon it then he said, "So tell me, what is next for the Smoke Jaguars?"

Imix sighed, "Vengeance calls. We will assist in running down the remnants of the Splinter fleet, we must harry them lest they regroup and return to threaten more worlds. Then once the Warp clears we will return to shadowed bowers of Copan, many are our hunts and we cannot dally."

Toran thought about this and said, "Yes indeed, hard as it is to believe we merely defeated a Splinter fleet here. Hive Fleet Leviathan continues to press ever deeper into Imperial space and there have been disturbing reports of Orks massing near Armageddon, not to mention disturbances at Cadia. It is more vital than ever that the Imperium can depend upon a stable Warp Route through this region."

Imix replied, "Worry not, I feel the Warp settling even now, soon messages and starships will fly freely along this current once more."

Toran was heartened, "That is good to hear, the resources and armies moving between Segmentums Solar and Tempestus could make all the difference on the galactic scale."

Imix tutted, "Strange is it not, the High Lords in their towers will never notice this battle, yet the events here could well shape the galaxy itself. Your Chapter may well have saved the Imperium and nobody on Terra will even know."

Toran was about to speak again but there was a discrete cough from the perimeter of the dome and serf stepped out into the light. Walking behind him was a man in Naval attire, it was Captain Mandas, looking stiff and formal in his dress uniform. He bore his customary broad cutlass at his hip, but that was a mere affectation, there was no way he could possibly threaten an armoured Space Marine.

Toran however greeted him warmly, holding out a hand and saying, "Georgios my friend, it is good to see you again. Thank you for coming, we have all fought against the same foes, inside the Imperium and without. I thought it fit we meet before we go our separate ways."

Mandas strode forward and grasped his hand, "And you Toran, thank you for inviting me. I was glad to hear that you survived the destruction of your ship."

Toran turned slightly, "May I present Chief-Librarian Imix of the Smoke Jaguars."

Mandas blinked at the exotic appearance of the Librarian but swiftly recovered and said, "I am honoured to meet you."

Imix bowed, "Light of the Dawn be upon you."

Mandas glanced about and said, "Just the three of us, I thought you called all your allies. Where's that Tech-Priest friend of yours?"

Toran replied, "I invited Castabore but she seemed confused why I bothered, said something about it being an inefficient use of her time."

Imix snorted, "Tech-Priests, they replace more than their flesh, they hollow out their souls too."

Toran looked at Mandas and asked, "So tell me what have you been doing since the battle ended?"

Mandas replied, "I've been kept busy with repairs to my ship, while the escorts hunt the remnants of the Tyranid fleet. The Navy estimates that fully two thirds of the Bio-ships have been destroyed, the rest are scattering into interstellar space as we speak."

Toran declared, "A fine victory."

Mandas sagged as he breathed, "But a costly one, the Navy understands what it means to lose a good ship… and good men."

Toran's smile faded, "My Chapter know what sacrifices victory demands, none of us would think it was a pointless waste. Good brothers may have laid down their lives yet it was for the most noble of causes, would that we all could know such glory. I have sworn an oath that their names will be preserved for as long as my Chapter endures."

Imix declared, "Then they shall become immortal, for as long as one's name is remembered then one is not truly dead."

Toran was off put by the odd statement and drew in a breath to buy a second to think, then he said, "So what is the Navy planning to do next?"

Mandas shrugged, "We will recover our losses and rebuild for the next war, there is no end to the demands for our guns. Mark my words, the Averof will be in the heart of battle again soon."

Toran was glad to hear the fire in his voice and said, "Honestly Georgios, when are they going to make an Admiral out of you?"

Mandas snorted in derision, "Clearly you do not know the Admiralty very well, nobody makes staff rank without having either the right family connections or vast personal wealth. There's no way those blue-bloods will let a jumped up lad from the docks sit at the big table and sup the good Amasec."

Toran frowned, "But surely…"

Mandas waved him off saying, "Wouldn't want it anyway, I like the bridge of my ship just fine. The day they take me off the bridge of my Averof is the day I am dead. Besides if I became an Admiral then I would have to marry some snooty high-born lady and learn proper etiquette for the formal occasions she would drag me to. I would much rather be steering my Old Lady into the thick of it than spending my days learning which fork one uses for the fish dish and which one goes with the shrimp course."

Imix said utterly deadpan, "It is the three tined one for the fish and the two tined one for the shrimp."

The conversation paused as they both stared at Imix, unsure if the eight-foot, genhanced and armoured warrior had just made a joke. Slowly Toran drew in a breath and said, "So the Navy is claiming victory?"

Mandas was still staring at Imix but then he shook it off, "We are running down as many of the bugs as we can but a few are bound to escape. Still Rear-Admiral Dousmanis the Younger is playing this victory for all its worth. He's already angling for the Lord Admiral's rank pins, and with his family connections he'll probably get it."

Toran thought about it and said, "But he had rivals, Zerban and Giovanni among others, they will oppose him."

Imix said, "Fear not on their account, Giovanni is locked in a padded room, screaming endlessly about fanged monsters. As for Zerban he slinks under a rock, you won't be hearing from him for a while."

Toran wasn't so sure, he suspected the Inquisitor would return to plague them in the future. However that was a problem for another day, he faced his allies and said, "I want to thank you for standing with the Storm Heralds in this darkest of times, we could not have prevailed here without your aid."

Imix said, "If this has taught us anything it must be that nothing can stand against Humanity so long as we remain united and together we here have proved formidable."

"Aye," said Mandas, "There is nobody I would rather have at my side in a tough scrap; I look forward to our next encounter."

"As do I," said Toran warmly, "I am proud to call you my comrades and I want you to know that I will always come if you should call. So long as we remain true to our friends then the enemies of Mankind should be wary of challenging us again."

The adventure continues in Crux Lapis