Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2: The Nihlus War: Part Nine
Meanwhile, back down on the ground, the battle on the surface of the Forge World continued to rage on, with the Imperial Fists, led by Izuku and now assisted by their Raven Guard allies, pushing through the ranks of the Iron Warriors. It was a brutal and unforgiving conflict where every inch of ground had to be earned with blood, sweat, and determination.
"No matter the darkness they bring, we shall stand strong and bring the light!" Izuku Midoriya yelled, "For in this valley of death, we fear no enemy!"
Izuku was unstoppable, unleashing the power of One for All to annihilate an Iron Warriors Hellbrute. It fell under the devastating might of his quirk, torn asunder by the force of the attack. Meanwhile, Squad Deliverance of the Raven Guard moved stealthily through the enemy lines, eliminating key Iron Warriors squad leaders with a combination of precision and their Personas, all the while leaving black plasteel calling cards emblazoned with the nineteenth legion's motto, "Victoria au Mortis", the Motto of the Phantom thieves, "Take Your Heart", the symbol of the Phantom thieves, and the Raven Guard's signature symbol, a white raven.
"I spotted Squad Deliverance, Izuku," Ochako informed Izuku, "They're making a real difference out there."
"We need all the help we can get, Ochako." Izuku Midoriya spoke in a determined voice, "We must push forward."
"Right. Shoto, we need your power now!" Ochako Uraraka yelled into her Voxcaster, "Show them our might!"
Shoto, a former Devastator Marine who had been interred inside an Imperial Fists Leviathan Siege Dreadnought due to his mortal wounds, deployed right amid the Iron Warriors' lines as his drop pod crashed into the middle of the Iron Warriors' ranks, sending several of the Heretical space marines flying before the doors of the Drop Pod flew open and he stepped out. His presence was a force to be reckoned with, and with a deadly combination of his quirk and the siege dreadnought's weapons, he started laying waste to havoc squads and sent raptors scattering.
"I am your judge." Shoto Todoroki spoke in a resolute and mechanical voice as he incinerated the Iron Warriors cultists with his fire quirk and froze an Iron Warriors Dreadnought in place with his ice quirk, yelling, "I am an Imperial Fist! I am fear incarnate!"
The Iron Warriors Chaos Champion, seeing the havoc that Shoto was wreaking upon their forces, ordered his troops to converge on the Dreadnought. They swarmed around him, attempting to bring down the formidable machine.
"Attack that Dreadnought!" the Iron Warriors Chaos Champion commanded his Chaos Cultists and Chaos Astartes, "Bring it down!"
In response to the encroaching Chaos forces, the Imperial Fists then started to call upon their armored vehicles and tanks, deploying them to the front lines with urgency, with many of the U.A. High School Students using their Voxcasters to radio for their armor to come in. Rhinos, Predators, Vindicators, Land Raiders, Dreadnoughts, and all sorts of Bespoke Space Marine Vehicles were being deployed from the Hammer of Dorn.
"Brothers and sisters, get ready to advance!" Izuku sent a message through his voxcaster, "Deploy the vehicles! We need as much firepower on the front as possible!"
Meanwhile, other members of the Imperial Fists had started turning the Spaceport into a forward operating base, with Techmarines setting up tarantula turrets and generators at chokepoints while Imperial Fists reserve squads started fortifying the area, turning it into a stronghold. The Imperial Fists' expertise in defensive operations came to the forefront as they worked tirelessly to secure the Spaceport.
"Tarantula turrets now online at Sector Bravo-9." an Imperial Fists Techmarine spoke as he started setting up another Tarantula Turret, "Our Defenses are holding strong, over."
"Squad Stonewall, keep fortifying your position," An Imperial Fists lieutenant informed one of the Devastator squads under his command, "We must not falter."
Meanwhile, back in the void, Warsmith Veraxus Pistonfist was enraged. His Grand Battalion and his fleet, due to the attack of the Imperial Fleet, were crippled by the Loyalists. His legion's hated rivals, the Imperial Fists, had deployed and were on the cusp of taking the Forge World from Chaos. This defeat, to him, was a loss of honor for his legion, who had time and time again, fought against the loathed sons and daughters of Rogal Dorn. After looking through every option, he decided to go with the most logical order:
Withdrawal.
"All Iron Warriors ships," Veraxus ordered over the Vox on the bridge of the Forgehammer to the rest of the Iron Warriors fleet, "Prepare for warp jump! The Forge World and Shipyard are lost! I repeat, all ships, the Forge World and the Shipyard are lost! Prepare for warp jump!"
As Ash watched the Iron Warriors' warships getting destroyed by the overwhelming firepower of the Ultramarines and Black Templars or following the example of the Forgehammer, retreating into the warp, other updates were happening in the void. The Hammer of Perturabo then met a fiery and explosive end, its destruction triggered by the detonation of a Macrocannon magazine hit by a precise shot from the Legionarus.
The warship's cataclysmic explosion sent shockwaves through the rest of the Alpha Legion Fleet, leading them to initiate a swift retreat from the system, following the example of the Iron Warriors. Marshal Gernhardt then ordered the Sword of Dorn and the rest of the Crusade Fleet to give chase to the fleeing traitor vessels.
"Give chase, sons and daughters of Sigismund!" Marshal Gernhardt yelled to the rest of the fleet, "Strike them down in the name of the God-Emperor! Do not let them escape!"
At the same time, the Avenger of Phall's and the Wrath of Sigismund's boarding action on the Crucible was a success. The Imperial boarding parties had managed to turn the ship's guns against the Iron Warriors' fleet, destroying many of their warships. The boarders planted demolition charges on the Crucible's reactors before extracting from the cursed Warship on Thunderhawks launched by the Avenger of Phall, causing the Iron Warriors' warship to explode in a massive fireball.
"Demolition charges set!" the commander of the boarding parties informed the pilots, "Get us out of here!"
Back on the bridge of the Aquila's Honor, Ash witnessed the success of the void battles. He then tasked Serena, his second-in-command in the Suzerain Invictarus and one of his former traveling companions in the Kalos Region, with sending a vital Astropathic message to Lord Admiral Spire to inform him of their triumph and the establishment of Imperial supremacy in the void of the planetary system.
"Inform Lord Admiral Spire of our success, Serena," Ash ordered his second-in-command, "The void is now under the control of the Imperium."
As the Astropath Choir transmitted the message to the Lord Admiral, Ash retreated to his private quarters and began examining a Dataslate that was charging. The Dataslate contained even more information about various Idol Groups that had been touring in the area cut off by the Great Rift. Intrigued, Ash decided to contact some of the groups and see who would respond first to the message and start performing.
"Let's see who responds." Ash spoke to himself, "The ship crews need a much-needed morale boost after this battle."
He then used a Vox servitor to send a message to several of the touring Idol Groups, inquiring about their availability and interest. As he awaited their responses, Ash examined the different classes and types of Voidships chosen by each group to serve as both their form of transportation and as a mobile stage for their performances. The ships ranged from Imperial Navy vessels for a majority of the Idol Groups, Mechanicus vessels for some, and even Astartes Warships for space marines who decided to form their idol groups before they joined or after they joined.
"A fascinating array of vessels..." Ash spoke again to himself as he started checking the cogitator of the Servitor, "And a fascinating array of talents. Notify me when you can catch them on Auspex. Also, notify the Wrath of Sigismund. Let BABYMETAL know that they're the opening act."
"Compliance," the Vox Servitor droned out in a monotone voice as it activated the Auspex. Ash then returned to the bridge of the Aquila's Honor, which was now getting ready to deploy the Suzerain Invictarus onto the Forge World to start clearing out any traces of resistance.
Back in the Belisar system, the message from Serena had reached Lord Admiral Spire's ears. He also received the report that a sufficient portion of the Shipyard had been cleared, providing safe docking for Imperial Warships requiring repairs. In response, Spire contacted the Battlefleet Gothic Taskforce, the amassed fleet of Idol Groups, and the Vae Victus and Captain Gideon Reinhardt, informing them that the Shipyard had been secured and that they were preparing to enter the warp to Deimios Binary.
"Captain Reinhardt, the Shipyard is secured," Spire informed the Battlefleet Solar Captain, "We prepare to set course for Deimios Binary."
While preparations for entering the warp were underway, a new communication reached Spire's ears, this time from the Vox Officer of the Righteous Protector. The officer reported the arrival of a Space Marine fleet painted in dark red, cream, and black livery. The fleet consisted of four battle barges, the Litany of Fury, the Scientia Est Potentia, the Observer, and the Omnis Arcanum, with the Omnis Arcanum notably larger than the others. On the side of each newly arrived Space Marine ship, a black raven emblem with a central blood drop was prominently displayed.
"Lord Admiral, we are being hailed by the lead ship of the Blood Ravens," the Righteous Protector's Vox Officer informed the Admiral, "It's the Omnis Arcanum."
As the holographic display activated on the Holo-Table, the figure of the Blood Ravens' Chapter Master, Gabriel Angelos, materialized. The sight of the ships and the emblem left no doubt in Lord Admiral Spire's mind—the Blood Ravens had arrived. Beside him was Jonah Orion, the Chapter's Chief Librarian, and Reclusiarch Apollo Diomedes, who fought against Kyras during the Third Aurelian Crusade as the Captain of the Blood Ravens' 1st Company and Honor Guard.
"Lord Admiral Spire, I am Gabriel Angelos, Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens, reporting in," Gabriel Angelos introduced himself, "The Blood Ravens have come in response to your rallying transmission."
Gabriel Angelos, the current chapter master of the Blood Ravens, wore a relic suit of Tartaros-Pattern Terminator Armor that was colored dark red with cream-colored pauldron, finished with golden trim. The Symbol of the Blood Ravens was painted onto the armor's codpiece, with a golden raven's skull under the chest plate and raven wings adorning it. While his left shoulder plate was adorned with the Crux Terminatus, the right shoulder plate was adorned with the symbol of the Blood Ravens, except that the symbol was in gold, with the blood drop being made in ruby. His light-skinned face, scarred from his battle on Cyrene against Azariah Kyras, the previous Chapter Master turned traitor, was missing one eye, which had been replaced by a cybernetic. In his right hand, he held the Daemon Hammer God-Splitter, gifted to him by an Inquisitor.
Adding onto that, the sight of several strike cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyer escorts that were accompanying the four battle barges indicated that the Blood Ravens had responded by bringing their entire chapter to join the fray. They had been drawn to the conflict by Spire's rallying transmission.
"Admiral Spire, we have come to this war-torn sector for a reason," Gabriel spoke, "Several relics of our chapter's history have emerged, and the Blood Ravens must secure them."
Spire acknowledged Gabriel's words, recognizing the deep significance the relics held for the enigmatic chapter. The astute Kage noted that the Blood Ravens had brought their entire chapter to answer the sector's call to arms.
Lord Admiral Spire, it appears the Blood Ravens have joined our cause," Commodore Kage told the Lord Admiral, "Their chapter has been drawn here by your rallying cry."
Spire then relayed the information back to the Aquila's Honor, notifying Ash and his allies that the Blood Ravens had arrived and were fully committed to the war effort. As the fleet of Idol Groups, the Vae Victus, the Torch of Hope, the Righteous Protector, the Canticle of Fire, the Imperious Draconis, and the Blood Ravens fleet entered the warp, the collective might of the Imperium was assembling, ready to face the overwhelming challenges of the Great Rift.
"Aquila's Honor, be advised." Lord Admiral Spire spoke through an Astropathic message, "The Blood Ravens have joined the fray. Prepare for their arrival."
And that right there wraps up chapter nine of the story! Leave a review and a follow if you want to see more of this story. Thank you!
And now, some Trivia:
-Izuku's first line of dialogue is a reference to one of the voice lines from Camba-Diaz in Horus Heresy: Legions.
-Shoto's first line of dialogue is a reference to one of the voice lines from Rogal Dorn in Horus Heresy: Legions.