Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2: The Nihlus War - Part One
"Such Turbulence," Lord Admiral Spire was in shock as the Righteous Protector emerged from the warp tear, "Not since the eye of terror have I felt anything like it... Wait... This is not the Cadian System!"
He then turned to Domitian, a Navigator of House Belisarius, one of most prominent of the Noble Houses of the Navis Novitiate, "Navigator! Report!"
Domitian's third eye, a characteristic of the Navigators like him, and which was aglow with the power of the Warp, focused on his instruments, and he let out a deep sigh.
"No, my lord. The immaterium writhes, Lord Admiral," Domitian spoke in a regretful voice, "It has flung us far off-course."
Lord Admiral Spire clenched his jaw, absorbing the disheartening news given to him. He had hoped to rally what remained of the Imperial forces at Cadia, but fate had other plans.
"I can see that, Domitian," Spire spoke, "Where are we?"
"Star sights indicate that we've entered realspace in the Cadian Sector," Kage spoke as he looked at the star sights of the ship.
"Confirmed." Domitian agreed with Kage.
"Not too far, but close enough," Spire spoke, "But still, we have been fortunate."
Turning to Commodore Kage, Spire made a decisive command.
"Commodore Kage, have our ship's Astropath choir send out a hymnal to any Imperial vessels in the vicinity. All surviving vessels in the sector must rally at our position. We must regroup and gather our strength. Cadia needs our aid."
Kage swiftly relayed the order to the Astropathic Choir, their voices resonating with the warp as they sent out their telepathic message to any Imperial Warship within the sector. However, before the transmission could fully disperse into the void, a sudden disturbance erupted on the ship's sensor array. Klaxons blared, and warning lights flashed as Imperial Navy Armsmen ran to their posts.
"Lord Admiral!" Shouted one of the Auspex Officers, "We have incoming contacts! We have warship signatures inbound! Chaos vessels! Flotilla of World Eaters destroyers, coming in from the port side!"
Spire's eyes narrowed as he gripped the armrest of his command throne. The Butcherhorde Warband, a force of bloodthirsty Chaos Space Marines that had broken off from the World Eaters Traitor Legion, were notorious for their brutality and allegiance to Khorne, the Blood God. Leading this flotilla was none other than Khârn the Betrayer, the infamous champion of Khorne himself, aboard his strike cruiser and personal flagship, the Skulltaker.
"The Betrayer!" Spire exclaimed, "How did he know we were here?"
"The warp, my lord," Domitian explained, "The Butcherhorde were probably attracted to us because we emerged from the warp tear."
The tension on the bridge was palpable as the World Eaters' ships materialized into real space, their brutal aesthetics and marred hulls a testament to their fervor for battle. A direct Vox transmission request came in from the lead ship, which was marked by the tell-tale insignia of the World Eaters: a giant red maw with a life-bearing world clenched between its jaws.
"Sir!" one of the Voxcaster officers shouted, "We are being hailed by the lead ship, the Skulltaker!"
"Put the transmission through, Voxcaster crew," Lord Admiral Spire spoke in a resolute voice, "I want to hear what Khârn has to say."
The ominous face of Khârn the Betrayer then filled the viewscreen, his blood and brass-colored helm adorned with the iconography of the World Eaters, the Skull Rune of Khorne, and many gruesome trophies that were taken from countless foes and victims. His voice, a dark, guttural, predatory roar, echoed throughout the bridge of the Imperial Warship.
"Imperials!" Khârn the Betrayer spoke in a menacing voice that sounded like a bloodthirsty growl, "You dare encroach on the hunting grounds of the World Eaters. Right now, Khorne now hungers for the blood and skulls of the lapdogs of the False Emperor, and yours, Lord Admiral Spire, is next in line for the taking."
Spire's gaze remained unwavering as he stared down the infamous champion of Khorne.
"Khârn," Lord Admiral Spire spoke defiantly, "I am Lord Admiral Spire. I will be your death. Your allegiance to the Blood God won't stop us from defending the Imperium. We will not bow before your bloodlust."
Khârn's laughter, mirthless and filled with madness and bloodlust, echoed through the transmission.
"Defiance! I expected nothing less." Khârn spoke in a gleeful, but murderous tone, "We shall see whose skulls will adorn the Blood God's throne."
With that ominous proclamation, the transmission terminated after his challenge, leaving Lord Admiral Spire and his crew on the Righteous Protector to prepare for the impending confrontation. The Nihlus War had begun, and this first clash with the World Eaters was only the beginning of the trials they would face.
"Ready Main Batteries!" Spire barked out over the ship's intercom. "Fire when they're in range!"
Down in the gunnery decks of the centuries-old Warship, the gunnery crews loaded Macrocannon shells, while the lance crews warmed up the Warship's Lance Batteries.
"Armsmen!" Spire barked again, "Prepare to repel boarding assaults!"
Throughout the decks of the cruiser, Armsmen grabbed their Lasguns, armor, and equipment, and started to prepare for the case that the World Eaters would use boarding torpedoes to get onboard their ships.
As the first of the World Eaters destroyers came into firing range, Spire gave the ship's helmsman one final order.
"Prepare to execute high-energy turns on my mark." Spire spoke strictly, "We don't want to be sitting ducks."
"Aye, Sir." The helmsman nodded.
As the first of the World Eaters destroyers came into weapons range, that was when it all went off. Macrocannon shells slammed into the first destroyer, with one of them hitting the plasma reactor of the accursed ship, damaging it and causing an explosive chain reaction that blew up the ship, destroying it and its crew of cultists, slaves, and heretic Astartes.
The second of the destroyers fared just as well as the first, but this time, it was destroyed by a lance strike, bisecting the cursed warship and causing its hull to spill its crew out into the void. While the augmented heretic astartes of the World Eaters could survive longer in the vacuum of the void before succumbing to suffocation, the cultists and the slaves of the ship were instantly killed by void exposure, their lungs exploding from the pressure.
"Our void shields are holding, Lord Admiral!" one of the bridge officers reported, "They are coming in from all directions, my lord!"
"Confirmed." one of the Auspex operators reported, "We have signatures surrounding us."
As the Righteous Protector sent both Macrocannon shells and Lance Beams at the World Eaters, the World Eaters fought back with their trademark brand of ferocity and berserk nature, as befitting of their status as the Traitor Legion of Khorne, the Blood God. Some of the Destroyers, instead of surrounding the Righteous Protector and using their superior numbers to bombard it from afar, decided to get close to the Imperial Navy Cruiser to ram it.
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Spire bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Armsmen, get ready to repeal a potential boarding action!"
As the Armsmen scrambled in preparation to face the potential boarders, Spire drew his Laspistol in case some of them would manage to get past the armsmen and into the bridge of the Righteous Protector. All the crew members of the Righteous Protector knew that it was going to be a long and chaotic time in the void, but a small spark had been lit in the darkness that shrouded the sector itself. All they had to do now was find some tinder to light the fire to burn down the might and darkness of Chaos.
And that right there, is the first chapter of Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2: The Nihlus War, COMPLETE! Leave a review and a follow if you want to see more of this story. Thank you!