Tangmo was in a good mood as he strolled into the Militarum barrack, situated just beside the Immortal Spirit's massive hangar, happily whistling Sabaton's Ghost Division, practically skipping on his toes. The reason for his buoyant disposition was because they were fighting orks again after so long, and not some splinter warband either, oh no, this time it was a nice reunion with the battlegroup bestest buddy Kim Jor Urrk and his WAAAAGGHHH. After the whole crossover thing with Galadriel, Tangmo really appreciate the return to normalcy.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen," Tangmo pushed open the barrack's double door like he was Aragon entering Helm's Depth, almost hitting a couple of loitering guardsmen in the process. "How are we feeling this morning? Good I hope, because we're about to enter one hell of a fight."

"Indeed lord commissar," colonel Krillen strapped on his flank armor with quick tugs, grunting a pleased tune when the chest armor was fixed correctly to his torso. This section of the barrack, dominated by lockers and benches and weapon depots, was occupied by the Cadian, Mordian and Death Korps. "Hopefully these lots will put up a better fight than the last of group of wretches we just killed."

"Hell yeah they will, for all of his dumbassery Kim Jor Urrk is quite a sport," Tangmo said and the guardsmen within earshot gave enthusiastic laughs, more than eager to enter the fray. "And if the reading is to be believe, things are gonna be very conventional too."

"The preliminary planetary scan has been completed, lord commissar?" Evangeline asked, the Mordian colonel was standing before a tall mirror and putting final touches to her severe bun. Turning her head this way and that, Evangeline grinned when she deemed the reflection to be immaculate and put on her cap. "What kind of biome will we be heading to?"

"That's the thing, the planet is empty," Tangmo explained as the main characters gathered closer to hear him. "It's nothing but several continents surrounded by a big blue ocean, no human habitant, no signs of sentient life, no urban development. We'll be fighting across the plains and the hills."

"The terrain might've favor the orks if our artilleries weren't so overwhelming. Our firepower will neuter any numerical advantage they can bring," Krillen commented. "Where is the STC located, can we make planetfall before the greenskins?"

"It's somewhere on the main continent," Tangmo went over to Evangeline's mirror and started fussing with his own awesome commissar coat. "The signal is bouncing all over the place, took Solveig a while to pinpoint the little bastard down, even then the true location is spread over a hundred kilometer radius."

"Strange," Evangeline clasped her hands behind her back, head tilted slightly to the side. "I don't recall that ever happening. Usually the signal is precise in their location."

"It could've been damage during reentry," captain Orhul shrugged. "The STC is strong but not indestructible, maybe it spent years drifting through space before finally crashing into this world."

"Quite possible all things considered, we've seen stranger…"

Loud harrowing sirens interrupted Tangmo, the piercing volume and urgent octave left no question as to the meaning. The painfully jarring acoustic was soon joined by flashing red alert lights, painting the interior of the barrack in rhythmic pulsing crimson. Tangmo recalled such warning erupting across the Immortal Spirit only a few times in her long illustrious career, and it was when the fleet was facing an imminent attack from opposing naval forces.

"The orks decided to make the first move then," Krillen picked up his Zetton lasgun without haste, the same lethargy repeated by the other guardsmen. "Solveig will take care of them quick enough."

"Tangmo, get your fucking arse to the bridge immediately!" Laura's voice blared across his earbud, the British inquisitor was so loud that Tangmo's head snapped back in surprise. "This is not a drill, get to the bridge now!"

Okay, so, he and Laura had been through a lot together, the good as well as the bad, and in the years since they have known each other Tangmo had never once heard the British inquisitor this spooked. He knew then that something was wrong, terribly wrong, this realization sending spider webs of ice snaking across his skin.

"Krillen, Evangeline, Hildebrandt, gathered every regiment and have them assembled at the hangar immediately. Battle station, this is not a drill, be ready to fight at my command," Tangmo seamlessly adopted his serious persona, the main characters nodding their assent without question. "I'll send further instruction soon, until then be ready."

"Yes sir!" All three colonels made their hearty affirmation and swiftly went about ordering their troops to task. Sparing a few seconds to make sure things were running smoothly, Tangmo spun around and sprinted for the exit. He emerged on to a parking lot, the place now filled with guardsmen and civilians heading for their designated areas, despite the raised voices and occasional brushing of shoulders the chaos was of the controlled sort. Slipping through a throng of people, Tangmo got into his hover car, stepped on the pedal and headed straight for the barrack's exit. Tangmo was about to up the speed when he saw a figure in an awesome general coat making a dash across the street.

"Yo Henry!" Tangmo hit the break, brought his car to stop beside Henry, and opened the passenger door. "Get in bro!"

"Thanks man!" Henry leapt inside and strapped himself in. "Let's go!"

"Roger, roger!" Tangmo put the pedal to the metal and the hover car sped down the road at an admittedly dangerous speed. Hey, they were in a hurry. "Used the public transport today?"

"I did, yeah, thought it would be a good idea to take things at a slower pace, you know? Fat chance of that happening now," Henry gave a half-hearted chuckle but solemnity settled in a moment later. "I wonder what's happening."

"Me too," Tangmo nodded as he made a smooth turn and then fixed the trajectory forward, the street empty courtesy of the emergency siren. He tapped a slow tune on the steering wheel, then glanced at Henry. "You feel it?"

"I do," Henry eased himself into the seat, his gaze distant as the surrounding passed by in a blur. "This time it's different, and not in a good way. It's like looking at a storm coming over the horizon and knowing for sure that this one will fuck shit up."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Tangmo grunted, because he felt the same. Ever since the side quest with Galadriel, and the subsequent confession to Celestine and Isha, every member of the Eight has been afflicted by a powerful but thankfully short-lived bout of trepidation, a metaphysical punch in the gut that had left them gasping and anxious. Tangmo thought he was the only individual who'd suffered it, but in the intervening months his friends had all been hit by the same heart wrenching panic attack, for the lack of better term, at one point or another. They all knew this was a portent, a warning of the direst import, and it appears that the moment of reckoning has come. Neither Tangmo nor Henry spoke for the rest of journey, and when they arrived at the domed sector where the Immortal Spirit bridge was situated it felt like the car ride had lasted hours when in actuality only ten minutes had passed.

"The lights are flickering," it was only after Henry pointed this out that Tangmo saw the usually dependable electrical illumination of the Immortal Spirit spasming, casting hectic shadows across the ship in a vivid pantomime dance, the twisting rhythm daemonic. "Can't even remember the last time it went haywire like this."

"If I recall correctly, it was when an enemy Warp portal opened up near the ship," Tangmo sniffed and coughed harshly to dispel the rotting sweet scent now permeating the air, a sickly aberration coiling through every crevice of the ship. "Please tell me you smell that."

"The Chaos taint? Yeah, I do," Henry took off toward an open elevator, Tangmo matching pace with him. "Come on, I think shit's about to get real."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Tangmo and Henry slid into the elevator and punched the button on the side, the two partitions closed soundlessly and the cubical launched upward to the bridge. When they reached the top and the doors opened Tangmo and Henry practically ran out of the elevator, dashing passed the thick congestion of naval officers heading to their station or relaying important messages to superiors, there were a few close calls but no one got knocked over.

"What's happening?!" Henry and Tangmo burst into the tiered circular hall that was the Immortal Spirit's bridge, the place was filled with reverberating hum of intense activity as navy personnel see to their duties. Despite the minimal movement there was an undeniable undercurrent of vigor in the strict posture and quick darting of hands and fingers. And at the epicenter of the bridge was the 12k holographic star map, Solveig leaning against the projection platform while the rest of Eight gathered around him. Tangmo and Henry glanced up at the map, and grimace. "That's a lot of red splashes."

"Good, you're finally here," Laura spoke up and waved at the galactic map, the British inquisitor made no attempt to hide how concerned she was with the current development. "As you can see, Warp portals are opening up all over the place. To the left, to the right, above and under, it's like the Chaos Gods just decided to tear this particular area a new arsehole."

"More of this Chaos bullshit, for fuck sake," Tangmo groaned, even in this sanctum which was the heart and soul of the Immortal Spirit the empyrean sickness can be felt, subtle but very much noticeable. Coughing to get the vile taste off his tongue, Tangmo turned askance to Solveig. "You're feeling this right? I thought the wards and anti-Chaos sanctification were supposed to be ultra-strong in this part of the ship?"

"It is, lord commissar," Solveig answered, the man a perfect picture of a naval commander, calm and resolute, even showing a hint of disdain at the Chaos infiltration as if it was merely a minor inconvenience. "However, I do believe the large amount of Warp energy being unleashed into real space is putting a massive strain on our defenses."

"What about the orks?" Erik asked and point at a cluster of green icons on the other side of the planet, like the Immortal Spirit fleet they were also getting confronted by Warp portals. "Are we sure that these aren't Kim Jor Urrk's reinforcement?"

"No, it's definitely Chaos," Lita spun her finger above her head. "You feel it, don't you? The creeping fever permeating through flesh and steel? Not only that, but given the large number of portals this isn't some random warband, no, we're facing an armada. A very well coordinated armada."

"Lord Solveig!" One of the naval officers manning a console spoke up, the man was not quite able to hide the panic in his high-pitched voice. "Ships emerging from the Warp!"

"From which portal?" Solveig scanned the three-dimensional map, the lord admiral already picking out the most likely incursion point. He then brought up a group of information windows and graphs, what he saw caused him to frown sharply. "I wanted every battery ready half an hour ago, we're ten minutes behind schedule, please inform the crew to speed things up lest they want to be placed on censure."

"Sir, they're emerging from all of the portals," the officer from before admirably kept his timbre steady. "We should be getting visual confirmation within a few minutes."

"Admiral Solveig, would it be possible to use the Immortal Spirit's external cameras?" Damien asked. "I would very much like to see who is coming against us."

"A capital idea, Brother Captain," Solveig nodded then waved at a nearby console manned by five ensigns. "Activate the external cameras, all eyes on the nearest portals."

Not a second after the command was received multiple live feeds outside of the Immortal Spirit, the rectangular displays arranged into five layer grids, hovered into existence around the holographic projector. Abhorrent pink and purple bled across the ebon canvas of the galaxy, oily and pulsing like a disease made manifest, twisting the very fabric of reality as stars and nebulas stretched and bend in painful contortion. And from the abominable miasma, ponderous and unstoppable, came hellish war machines that rivaled the Immortal Spirit in size.

"Holy fucking shit, that's a lot of ships," Laura gulped loudly, adjusted the collar of her awesome inquisitor coat, and turned to Solveig. "How many enemy vessels are we dealing with, lord admiral?"

"One moment, lady inquisitor," Solveig clasped his hands behind his back and waited as lines of data sped across the star map, once the numbers stopped moving he gave an audible grunt. "Against our fleet of forty ships, the Chaos armada comprised of four hundred warships, one third of which are battleships and cruisers."

"Quite a hefty complement for just our humble fleet," Laura flashed a grin at Yuki. "Look likes we're about to be Yi Sun-sin at Myeongnyang."

"I would very much prefer to be Togo at Tsushima, but I guess you're right," Yuki rolled her eyes then pointed at one of the screens. "Which direction is that?"

"Directly in front of us, lady exarch," Solveig said.

"Enlarge and bring it up on the main screen please," at Yuki's request the holographic map shrink down to make room for the aforementioned live feed, what the screen displayed was a gargantuan shape drawing ominously closer to the Immortal Spirit. "Now that's a big ass battleship, might even be as big as the Immortal Spirit."

"A very correct assessment, lady exarch," ever since making acquaintance with the man, Tangmo had known Solveig to be both indomitable and unshakable, unmoved by any danger or challenge that come his way. To see the admiral for the first time showing a very human fear, regardless of how well hidden it was, made Tangmo's vein frosted over. "Because that is another Gloriana battleship."

"And I know the name of this Gloriana," Lita gulped loudly and took a single step toward the nearing battleship, her eyes unblinking. It took a few heartbeats for the detail of the Gloriana to become visible, and when it did Tangmo's heart dropped into his stomach like the meteor that killed the dinosaur. He had seen this particular battleship from official illustrations and fanarts, but the top notched renditions didn't do justice to the genuine article. Blackened hull that absorbed all lights, wicked sharp blade like protrusion covering every corner and angles, all effigies of past glories when it had soared across the galaxy at the behest of the God Emperor desecrated until all that remained were hellish symbols of the Eight Point Stars and the ever-watchful blood red eyes. A relic from an era where mankind had reached its highest pinnacle, now a living symbol of its downfall. "That's the Vengeful Spirit, Abaddon the Despoiler's flagship."

"Lord Solveig," a communication officer piped up, her voice barely rising above a fearful squeak. "We're being hail…the Vengeful Spirit is hailing us."

"Your order?" Solveig deferred to the Eight, his stoic manner unchanging despite the quickly deteriorating situation.

"We never back down from a fight lord admiral, and I don't fancy changing that now," Tangmo nodded sharply at Solveig. "Let's hear what that dumbass Abaddon have to say, the sooner we get this done the faster we can start kicking his ass."

"As you command, lord commissar," Solveig raised his hand at the screen, mimed typing across the air, prompting the map and the displays to be replaced by a crystal clear hologram of a singular person. Said singular person was clad in a fuck huge Terminator power armor of pulsing ebon, miasmic red Warp energy radiating from every crevice and pores of the metal raiment, the surface of the once venerated war gear now decorated with glowing daemonic glyphs.

"Greeting Immortal Spirit, it is a great honor to finally make your acquaintance," the ashen grey face, comically small given the size of the power armor, spoke up with eloquence, the deep baritone rich and refine. "I am Abaddon, Warmaster of the Black Legion, leader of the Black Crusade, and I have finally found the famed battlegroup of the Imperium."

"I wish I could say the feeling is mutual," Tangmo made a noncommittal salute, and god fucking damn even in holographic form Abaddon was intimidating. "Rest assured though, you will not enjoy this meeting."

"Ah, the famed commissar Tangmo, your reputation for honesty is truly well founded," Abaddon made a small bow, and Tangmo can't decide if he was flattered or horrified that the Warmaster of Chaos knew him by name. "And bravery also, mortal tremble and sob in desolate tear at the sight of me, for they know I am the harbinger of their end. Yet you stand resolute, how intriguing."

"Yeah, I'm not like most people," Tangmo was not quite successful at feigning nonchalance to hide his anxiety. "If you have something to say, make it quick, time is money and I hate wasting it."

"Straight to the point, good. Now…"

"Let me interrupt you right there, you fucking no arm failure," Damien took off his awesome Astartes helm and stomped up to Abaddon's digital manifestation, the lord of the Black Legion turned to the Canadian Ultramarine with pure confusion. Honestly, the meme has been done to death but in this moment it was very appropriate. "If you're going to start spewing a load of horseshit like join me or die, then you can fuck right off because we ain't buy whatever the fuck you're shilling. So, if you have nothing constructive to say then please kindly fuck off."

As was expected from the final boss of the 40k universe, Abaddon reacted to Damien straightforward but admittedly rude declaration with serene neutrality. Then he grinned, sharpened canines peaking passed his lips, and holy shit Tangmo would very much prefer a fiery tantrum over this calm predatory display.

"You were right my champion," Abaddon turned and waved at someone who was standing off screen. "They are indeed very brash and woefully lacking in manner."

"It grieves me that you must be subjected to their callous and uncouth nature," oh fuck Tangmo remembered that voice, a voice he had hoped never to hear again. But as the old saying goes, hope is a first step on the road to disappointment. He was in the process of sighing dejectedly when the individual who had spoken joined Abaddon, blue hair and blue armor immaculate. "But make no mistake my lord Warmaster, they are deadly in a fight." She locked eyes with Tangmo then, venom dripping from a smile that conveyed both hatred and pleasure. "Lord commissar Tangmo, it is always good to see you again."

"Fuck Syrathel, you're still alive?" Tangmo snorted, very much enjoying how her aristocratic façade was already cracking. "After all the losses we handed to you, I honestly thought the Chaos Gods would've finally cast you and your friends aside."

"Always the charmer," Syrathel shook her head, flaunting disappointment at Tangmo's behavior. "But while you wasted your energy playing treasure hunter for the Corpse Emperor, I was growing stronger through victory and conquest."

"And we shall see how well those experiences translate into your ability to fight us, the one foe you have yet to vanquished," Tangmo shot back, surprising both Syrathel and his friends with the mature response. He thought about being snarky and rude, his usual modus operandi, but decided against it given the absolute severity the battlegroup now faced. Besides, Abaddon was here, he needed to act cool and menacing and shit. "One should never be lenient even after acquiring such a high-profile ally."

"Lenient? Oh Tangmo, you must think me a simpleton incapable of learning, woe be to you," Syrathel winked at Tangmo then turned to Abaddon, her playfulness evaporating in the blink of an eye and was replaced by the stoic visage of a woman of war. "My lord Warmaster, may I be excuse to see to the final preparation of my cohort?"

"Permission granted lady champion, you are dismissed," Abaddon nodded, prompting a low bow from Syrathel as she made her exit, once again leaving the Warmaster alone to dominate the hologram. He then bowed at the Eight. "Glory to the dead, may you fight well."

Before anyone could even formulate a comeback Abaddon's projection dissolved into a misty glitter of pixel, leaving nothing but emptiness where he had stood just a second ago. Solveig was in the process of bringing up the star map again when the red icons, indicating the Chaos fleet, started flashing with great urgency. Within a few heartbeats newly formed scarlet dots winked into existence and, with eerie synchronicity, shot toward the Immortal Spirit fleet.

"Void shields up!" Solveig bellowed his command. "Prepare for impact!"

"They're not firing munition at us sir!" A naval officer spoke up. "It's pods! Breaching pods! They're trying to board us!"

"I want all defensive batteries armed with clusters and anti-vessel munition," Solveig gave his command. "Fire for maximum effect, I want ninety percent of the first wave destroyed after our first volley. The Void shield will take care of the rest."

"Sir, the battleships and cruisers are turning their broadsides toward us, while the smaller corvettes are accompanying the breaching pods," another naval officer made his input. "They're about to unleash a full barrage on us!"

"Put the Void Shield to maximum output…!"

It was kinda true that naval warfare in 40k was severely underrepresented, with very few books devoted to the subject and the couple of video games being only reskinned version of the Homeworld series. The Immortal Spirit fleet itself had seen very few true space battles, most being short engagement that was decisively won after a few minutes, none turning into a full scale slugfest like at Gibraltar or Midway. When the first volley struck the Immortal Spirit the resulting kinetic shockwave threw the Eight flat on their asses, the vaulted ceiling and carven pillars of the great bridge visibly vibrating from the impact. Tangmo decided then that he was better off not knowing how 40k naval warfare unfolds.

"Holy shit bro, I didn't expect it to be this bad!" Nikki groggily got up on drunken legs, walked over to the still dazed Tangmo lying on the ground, and extended a hand down to him. "You alright?"

"Yes, thank you," Tangmo leapt back to his feet with Nikki's help, dusted off his awesome commissar coat, then spun to face Solveig. The man didn't move an inch. "Damage report lord admiral."

"The hull of the ship remains intact lord commissar," Solveig said calmly, but his eyes narrowed on the many warning signs appearing around the Immortal Spirit's icon on the star map. "Unfortunately, the Chaos fleet overwhelming firepower had effectively overloaded the Void Shield's generators."

"Our Void Shield is gone?" Tangmo needed to be sure.

"Yes lord commissar," Solveig nodded his confirmation then tapped his earbud, listening intently to the stream of communication flowing in from around the fleet. "Initial report indicated that the other ships have also suffered similar damage, Abaddon had successfully disabled the Void Shields of our fleet with a powerful precision strike."

"Can we make a break for it?" Erik's question was met with Solveig's extremely hard glance, unsurprising considering Imperium soldiers, especially those of the battlegroup, would never even dream of retreat. "I mean, I'm just making a suggestion."

"Even if we had wanted to withdraw, High Ranger, such option is not possible to us," Solveig explained and drew a quick circle around the Chaos fleet that had enveloped them. "There are too many enemy vessels obstructing all avenue of escape and we can't use the FTL drive for the same reason, we'll destroy everything along with ourselves."

"So it's clear that Abaddon's most pressing objective is to incapacitate our fleet, and quite possibly attempt to take it from us," Laura stroke her chin thoughtfully, eyes trained on the star map. "Quite unsurprising, the amount of data and tech we possess would greatly bolster the Ruinous Power's war effort."

"We shall stop that from coming to pass, by any means necessary," Solveig announced with cold finality.

"Indeed lord admiral," Laura nodded then stared at the red dots speeding toward the Immortal Spirit's fleet. "That's a lot boarding vessels, are we shooting any of them down?"

"Our batteries are wreaking havoc across their formation, hundreds must've already been destroyed," despite the uplifting news Solveig's face remained grim. "But twice that number had survived, and with the Void Shield disabled they will be able to reach the Immortal Spirit with ease."

"How long until they reach the ship?" Tangmo put forward his question.

"The most conservative estimation would be twenty minutes lord commissar," Solveig grunted when more red dots emerged from the Chaos fleet, their speed exceeding the boarding party which were steadily blinking out of existence, although not in the quantity that would avert the inevitable. "They're deploying fighters and bombers, damn them." Solveig tapped his earbud then. "Commander Ae-Shin, to you read me?"

"Are we going out or what?!" Ae-Shin demanded sharply, the Immortal Spirit's ace pilot did not at all enjoy the current inaction. "They're pounding us nonstop, we have to do something!"

"Your wish is granted then commander," a small grin crept up Solveig's lips. "I want every squadron to engage the incoming enemy vessels, but refrains from attacking the larger battleships and cruisers ringing the perimeter, they are not our most pressing priority. Don't fret Ae-Shin, it's a target rich environment out there, you'll have your work cut out for you."

"Copy that," Ae-Shin responded snappily and terminated transmission, sparing no wasteful words when there's killing to be done.

"If I can make a suggestion, lord admiral?" Henry stepped forward and only continued after Solveig nodded his permission. "I believe the fleet will be more effective in repelling boarders by contracting our defensive formation. A tight ring with every gun pointed outward in all direction will prove to be extremely effective in withstanding more attack while at the same time enhancing our defenses by putting every ship within spitting distant of each other, thereby making sure that aides can be rendered quickly."

Solveig didn't respond immediately, instead the lord admiral fixed his gaze on the star map and the many moving pieces. After half a minute he nodded and said, "a sound tactic lord general, I shall order the fleet to adopt your strategy. Thank you."

"Can you calculate the most likely location where the breach will happen?" Tangmo spoke up.

"We are making the calculation right now, lord commissar," Solveig said. "But it will take a few minutes to get a precise location."

"If you were to make a guess, where would the Chaos forces make their landing?" Tangmo pressed on, the Eight quickly caught on to the Thai commissar's meaning and promptly readied themselves to exit the bridge.

"I don't put much stock in the twisted mind of the individuals who serves the Ruinous Power, but I'll be a fool to disregard their prowess in combat and sheer determination to see us all destroyed," Solveig zoomed in on the Immortal Spirit icon until it resolved into a detailed model of the Gloriana ship, then started tapping the middle parts, just above the gun ports. "If I was to attack the ship, it would be at these locations."

"Thank you Solveig, now I know where I need to be," Tangmo adjusted his awesome commissar coat and extended his hand to Solveig, a moment of sentimentality flashed briefly across the lord admiral eyes as he took up the Thai commissar's offered camaraderie with heart. "Best of luck lord admiral, God Emperor speed you and yours."

"May you be victorious lord commissar," Solveig broke the handshake then salute Tangmo and the Eight, the crew around the bridge mirroring him. "Good luck sir."

"Keep me posted lord admiral," Tangmo adjusted his awesome commissar cap, joined his friends, and together the Eight thundered out of the Immortal Spirit's bridge. "Looks like shit just really hit the fan my dudes, this is probably what the bad vibes were trying to warn us about."

"I was afraid of that, but hey, no point complaining about it now," Yuki shrugged as the Eight emerged on to the large parking lot outside the bridge. "Okay, now that we have an inkling of what to do, where do we go?"

"We should go to Sector 5," Laura placed a hand on Yuki's shoulder, the pair sharing a warm but brief smile. "It's a residential area with many open spaces where casualty can be maximized. Also, the Sororitas headquarter is nearby, the Chaos fucks are in for a nasty surprise."

"I'll go to Sector 6," Lita spoke up, Erik and Nikki stepping up to join the Mexican Warseer. "That's where Isha's temple is situated, and I'm not gonna let any Chaos bastards get close to her."

"I'm taking the Astartes to Sector 1 and 2," Damien put on his awesome Astartes helm. "The industrial complex is the life blood of the Immortal Spirit, the boarding party will definitely attack the power stations and try to disable them."

"That leaves us with Sector 3 and 4," Tangmo and Henry traded sharp manly nods. "The biggest urban area in the entire ship, gonna be one hell of a fight. Welp, let's not keep our own little Stalingrad waiting then."

"A hell lot better than a Berlin, I'll tell you that much," Henry grinned then pointed at Tangmo's hover car. "Shall we?"

"Ladies first!" Tangmo went to open the passenger seat door, a douchey grinned plastered upon his face. Henry reciprocated the gentlemanly display with a powerful middle finger as he stepped inside Tangmo's car. "Watch the coat!"

"Got it," as Tangmo swung the door close and slid over the hood to enter the driver seat, Henry took out his data-pad and quickly typed across the glowing screen. "How long until we get to the urban sectors?"

"With how I'm gonna drive, ten minutes at most," Tangmo demonstrated this point by swerving out of the parking lot and stepping on the gas, almost hitting the other two cars belonging to Lita, Erik, Nikki, Laura and Yuki. Damien all the while flew over them with his Land Speeder. "Bringing up the heavy guns?"

"Oh yeah, everything that can be mustered," Henry scrolled down his contact list and pressed on the one that said Ladaee, his face scrunched with worry. "The streets can accommodate Chimeras, maybe a few King Russes, but we can't bring any of the big guns or heavy artillery pieces to bear. The fighting will be more up close and personal."

"Leave the up close and personal to me, my main man," Tangmo tapped the data-pad built into the dashboard, quickly found Krillen, and pressed on the name to make the call. It rang twice before the Cadian colonel picked up. "Krillen, we're in some serious shit now my friend."

"Yes I know, we're about to get boarded," Krillen responded sharply, the rumble of vigorous military activity can be heard clearly in the background. "Where do you need us?"

"I'm sending you the coordinate right now," Tangmo's finger was a blur as he emailed Krillen all the necessary information, his eyes never leaving the road, the empty street passing in a phantom blur. "Hang on, how did you know the Chaos forces are gonna board us?"

"Meko hacked into the navy communication lobby and broadcast everything," there was an obvious smile in Krillen's tone, and if Tangmo listened carefully he can hear snickering nearby. "Fret not lord commissar, we're on our way…and it appears commander Ladaee is leading an armored column out of the hangar. Sector 3 and 4?"

"Yeah, Sector 3 and 4," Tangmo turned to Henry and exchanged fits bump with him. "Pass the words to the other colonels too, I want the Imperial Guards to give those Chaos motherfuckers a welcome they'll never forget."

"Your will be done lord commissar," Krillen gave his hearty answer. "We'll see you soon."

"Yo hold up, I want a quarter of our forces to remain at the hangar, along with the full complement of the Whiteshields," Tangmo said quickly before Krillen can terminate transmission. "I wouldn't put it pass the Chaos fucks to try and attack the hangar directly."

"Yes sir," Krillen made his stern reply then switched off his data-pad. Time seems to crawl torturously slow as Tangmo sped down the empty highway connecting each Sectors within the Immortal Spirit. It was a blessing that the citizen of the battlegroup was well rehearsed when responding to emergency, the frequent drills had obviously been ingrained deep into the bones, because given how badly Tangmo was driving pedestrian accident was bound to happen.

"So this was it, huh?" Henry broke the silence, his words heavy. "The bad feeling we've been feeling since spilling the bean to Celestine and Isha? It was building up to this, wasn't it?"

"Yeah…god fucking damn I'd hope that wasn't the case," Tangmo swung the car right at a descending exit, taking them into a forest of towering steel and glass of Sector 3 and 4. All the lights from the building were turned off while the illumination mimicking daylight remained the same, rendering the atmosphere strangely quiet in a post-apocalyptic kinda way. "Welp, as they say, hope for the best prepare for the worse."

"It's the best we can do right now," Henry exhaled heavily then turned to look at the side mirror, what he saw brought a smile to his lips. "Careful, Ladaee and the reinforcement are here."

"And Solveig just forwarded the latest coordinate to us," Tangmo took off his awesome commissar cap and held it out of the window, waving it vigorously in the air. "They're heading for the high end residential area call the Viewing Bay, basically a strip of mansions and condos built adjacent to a seven kilometer long wall of glass. You know the place? Only visited it once myself."

"I made monthly pilgrimage there with Ladaee, the steak they served is out of this world, pun totally intended," Henry and Tangmo shared a chuckle. "If they attack there it'll be like Normandy, the villas and homes are separated from the wall by a thousand yard worth of open ground. No wonder they chose this place to land, it must've looked very vulnerable."

"ETA until they reach us is about fifteen minute," Tangmo grunted. "Won't have enough time to set up a proper defensive perimeter."

"Old fashion way it is then, we'll be duking it out Gettysburg style before the advent of modern artilleries and air power," Henry put an old timey Union accent similar to Ulysses Grant as Tangmo swerved the car to a stop in front of a multi-storey residential complex that looked suspiciously like the Parthenon, both the Thai commissar and the American general were smiling when they exited the vehicle. "But yeah, this isn't gonna be easy."

"No it will not," Tangmo turned around and was pleased to see the roads and highways filled to the brim with Myrmidon Humvees and Chimeras, many of these were also hurling flank cannons and small field howitzers like those used during the Second World War. A dozen APCs rolled to stop behind Tangmo and Henry, and from the open ramps came the Imperial Guards from every regiment, no hesitation or fear to be seen, only steely determination. "Where should we place the big guns? I don't think there's enough time to set them up at the front."

"Behind the strip, that's where we're deploying them," Henry and Tangmo tipped their respective awesome caps at the Militarum colonels, the commanding officers standing at attention as the rest of the guards swiftly formed up into pristine ranks and files to await further order. "The howitzers and cannons will fill up the roads, while the gun emplacements can be placed on the roofs of nearby buildings."

"How long is that gonna take?" Tangmo asked Henry.

"Shouldn't be long," Henry was about to say more when multiple cacophonic tremors erupted from the direction of the glass wall, the artificial sun stuttered and dimmed as blaring sirens resounded across the Sector. "Fuck, they're here."

"Into the buildings! Follow me!" Tangmo dashed into the residential complex, the men and women of the Militarum close at his heels. It was after taking ten steps inside that Tangmo realized he might have made a strategic blunder. Since this was a high-end condo, the wall of the fuck huge lobby was made of transparent glass, and not the bulletproof kind either. "Well fuck me – yo, grab everything that isn't bolted down and make a barricade! Quickly!"

"It won't be enough to withstand a direct assault," Leilatha appeared beside him, her countenance grim but fearless in the face of what was to come, the sight of the lady commissar lifted Tangmo's spirit significantly. "Those in the lobby will have to bear the blunt of the attack. Not to worry, I've already ordered a good portion of our troops to occupy the higher floors, they'll provide us with ample covering fire."

"Thanks Leila, what would I do without you," Tangmo smiled warmly at Leilatha, the lady commissar reciprocating with a handsome tipping of her awesome commissar cap. Unslinging the Zetton lasgun from his shoulder, Tangmo and Leilatha headed for the dinning balcony on the other side of the condo, the main characters and their respective companies had already pilled the tables and chairs and cabinets into a respectable palisade. "What about the other building along the strip?"

"Should be getting filled up as we speak," dust was starting to rain on their heads as the quaking advance of the Chaos boarding party plowed deeper into the thick ceramite barrier currently occupying the spot where the panoramic wall used to be, the rumble growing so powerful that splintering cracks spider webbed down the length of the building. Leilatha paid these details no mind, instead spinning around and nodded a greeting, "Lord general, commander Ladaee, nice of you to join us."

"Not gonna miss this for anything," Henry flashed Tangmo a boyish grin, behind him Ladaee rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Don't worry, all the big guns are getting setup, they'll be done soon."

"Good to know," Tangmo was about to ask Henry more tactical questions when the torturous groan of yielding metal resounded across the Sector, giving the apocalyptic tremor a very appropriate soundtrack. Then the screeching began, like someone taking a rusty knife and drawing it slowly across a plate of iron, the piercing noise made Tangmo grit his teeth as nauseating shiver rushed across his body. Pushing down his disgust, Tangmo gathered his shit and looked up in time to see the barrier melting, the grey slab of ceramite liquefying into lethargic stream of burning red and gold. Tangmo seriously got a bit freaked out when he saw that the incision was almost as big as the barrier itself, as opposed to small holes ala the Astartes fan film. "Okay, that's real fucking big."

"Form up! Form the fuck up and prepare to repel!" Henry shouted at the guardsmen, his command echoed down the line by Tangmo and the officers, prompting the men and women of the Militarum to slid behind any cover they can find, barrels trained forward with safeties off and bayonets fixed. Not a second after the last guardsmen slipped into place that rattling explosions erupted from the barrier, the pounding staccato ripping the thick ceramite apart with gut-wrenching ease, bus size pieces flew high into the air or bounced across the ground, thankfully none of the debris reached the hunkered Imperial Guards. It took a measly minute, and in that fateful sixty seconds the titanic wall that had shielded the Immortal Spirit from the cold void of space was torn asunder, in its place were jagged holes big enough for several Boeing 777 to fly through. The dust had barely settled when a dozen big arachnoid shape, the janky movement metallic in nature, emerged from the breach. "Oh my fucking God Emperor – Defilers! A fuck load of Defilers incoming! Get the plasmas and anti-armor rockets over here now!"

"Aim for the fucking legs, cut those motherfuckers down!" Tangmo was taking aim at the big robot spiders when he saw movement skittering between the Daemon Engines, the shapes more or less humanoid. "Smaller enemies are coming at us, they're running between the Defilers! Cut them down before they get close, fire at will!"

In the encompassing shit storm that had enveloped them, the scintillating cavalcade of a hundred lasguns opening fire managed to calm Tangmo down, war perfected through years of tribulation and discipline and experience. But as a smile was teasing his lips, Tangmo felt a blackness gripping his heart when he saw that the charging Chaos warriors, hulking abominations covered in blasphemous pulsing runes with limbs replaced with range or melee weapons, were weathering the fusillade with astonishing tenacity. The horde howled and roared, uncaring of the storm of las being poured upon them, and to Tangmo's shock he can count the number of kill they were scoring on two hands, which was not a lot by the battlegroup's standard.

"Fucking Khornate bastards!" Captain Orhul hissed through gritted teeth as he held the trigger of the MG4 rapid-las down, his singular target was an eight foot tall mountain of muscles who was making a beeline for the Cadian's position. It was only after his torso was ripped in two like a peeled orange and his head vaporized into smoking stump did the mofo died. "That took too fucking long."

"Some kind of glowing cursed metal is sticking out of his back," captain Krix observed, the woman having since stowed her LMG rapid-las and was instead wielding a grenade launcher. The round she loaded into all eight chambers were of the high explosive variety. "Must be what's making them unnaturally tough." Krix tapped her earbud once then braced the grenade launcher to her shoulder. "Lay down a volley of grenades on them! That should slow the fuckers down! Fire at will!"

"And can someone please take down the Defilers?" From nearby colonel Evangeline was pacing up and down the rank of the Mordian, her posture prim and proper as if she was inspecting a parade ground, absolutely unbothered by the bullets and las flying dangerously close to her head. She stopped suddenly, a frown drew her pretty face downward, then raised her plasma pistol at the nearing Daemon Engines. "Brace yourselves, they're about to unleash their guns! For the Emperor!"

Hearty war cry went up along the guardsmen's battle line, but it was not loud enough to mute the horrid bellows of the Defilers infernal guns. Tangmo had totally forgotten that the Chaos war machines possessed range weapons, because in the first Dawn of War game those arachnoid bastards usually plowed into other units to engage them in close quarter combat. As if to personally demonstrate how wrong the Thai commissar was, the Daemon Engines hurled a cacophonic barrage at the battlegroup's position, and not some shitty wild barrage either but an accurate suppressing bombardment that tore the high end buildings apart in a kaleidoscopic firestorm of unholy armament. Tangmo couldn't stop a slew of extremely rude Thai curses when a cascading shower of concretes and bricks and glass clattered to the ground before them, accompanied by gory body parts and a few whole guardsmen that landed with messy splatters. Not an encouraging sight in the least.

"Lay it on them ladies and gentlemen! Give them hell and more! For the Emperor!" Tangmo held the trigger down on a Chaos abomination until there was a large hole in the middle of his chest before shifting to another target, the barrel of his lasgun glowing white hot. So far, they've managed to destroy two of the Defilers. "Jesus Christ, cut the Defilers down before they kill all of us! Forget the legs, aim for the main sarcophagus!"

A particularly nightmarish looking Defiler composed of fused human skin and metal, the taut flesh still screaming, with icky talon studded tentacles instead of the usual gigantic claws, fucker obviously belongs to Slaanesh, was bounding straight for where Tangmo was standing when multiple rockets crashed into the hulking iron beast. It howled in agony and outrage as the overwhelming firepower, miraculously, forced the arachnoid daemon robot to its knee, every pounding projectile tearing more and more pieces of armor and flesh apart until the Defiler eventually exploded in a fountain of blood.

"Get down!" Tangmo shouted and ducked in time when a large blob of viscera landed on the barricade in front of him, just as he expected the Defiler's blood was corrosive. Judging by the harrowing shriek around him, a good number of people didn't get into cover quick enough. "Medic! Get the wounded to the rear! You guys okay?!" To Tangmo's relief the main characters were unscathed, albeit covered in soot and various small wounds. "Okay, so anybody want to tell me what in the hell just happened?"

"…The Immortal Spirit's defense system," Leilatha looked at Tangmo like he was an idiot. "The entire ship possessed a large quantity of automated weapon platforms that will be activate in the event of a breach. They're installed across the ship."

"Right, that actually make sense," Tangmo and Henry traded looks, like the Thai commissar the American general didn't know about the Immortal Spirit's inner defenses. In hindsight, it was a no brainer that a fucking Gloriana would be decked inside out with guns. "That detail completely slipped my mind."

"I can tell," Leilatha adjusted her awesome commissar cap and glanced at the nearing Chaos horde, she grunted a pleased tune but her visage remained hard. "The attack is slowing, but more are pressing forward."

"They have to run out of troops soon," Krillen made a quick sweep of the lessening Chaos host, the rockets had successfully incapacitated most of the Defilers. "If we continue to hold our position then we should be able to stop the attack completely. The boarding vessels might be big but the spaces are finite, by my calculation the Chaos scum must be down to their last man."

What Krillen said was completely reasonable and logical, his very correct prognosis of the situation would've likely come true if it wasn't for a ten foot figure walking slowly, dramatically, through the oily fume of a destroyed Defiler. A big ass ankh on the chest, the helm crested with the crown of a Pharaoh and blue all over, yep, a fucking Thousand Son Traitor Astartes. And judging by the fiercely glowing staff in his hand the dude was a sorcerer, also said staff was raised high with clearly terrible intent.

"Shoot him! Shoot the motherfucker before…!" Tangmo was reaching for his bolt pistol when the Thousand Son sorcerer slammed his heretical polearm to the ground, sending a lightning wreathed shockwave rolling across the Sector like a vengeful blasphemous tsunami. The piercing cacophony of a million glasses shattering simultaneous erupted around Tangmo as he and Henry and the main characters were thrown flat to the ground by the powerful sorcery, the artificial sun of the Immortal Spirit blinking in and out of existence. Groaning, Tangmo helped Leilatha up and was glad to find that the ship's interior lighting had stabilized, what he wasn't so glad of was the kaleidoscopic rainbow dancing across every surface he can see. He got to his feet, peered over the greatly reduced barricade, and utter one word, "fuck."

A miniaturize Warp portal, at precisely this hour, at this time of day, inside the Immortal Spirit, localized entirely within Sector 3 and 4. Tangmo wished he didn't have to see the ugly motherfuckers and the uglier motherfuckers emerging from the laceration in space and time. From what he can discerned all the iconic Chaos units were striding out of the gigantic portal that now dominated the strip. From traitor guardsmen, to skavens, to minor and major daemons, and finally Traitor Astartes, the party had just arrived.

"Uh, guys…"

"Warp portals!"

Tangmo was relaying the bad news to the rest of the Eight when they responded with panicky confirmation, looks like this wasn't the only portal that had opened up across the Immortal Spirit.

"Herr commissar, come in," it took Tangmo a moment to remember major Moltke's voice. "Myself and major Wilhelmina had completed the placement of the heavy artilleries, we are ready."

"Everybody fall the fuck back to the main defensive line! The guns are all set up, let's go!" Tangmo yelled into his earbud and the guardsmen swiftly evacuated the area, several like him and Henry remained at the palisade as the wounded were carried away to safety. A terrible roar rumbled across the battlefield and Tangmo couldn't stop himself from tsking when he saw a fuck huge Bloodthirster waving his double headed battle axe at the condo they were in, spurring the lesser Khornate daemon to surge forward. "Welp, time to go people, they're coming right at us!"

"Seriously, what the fuck do we do now?" Henry asked as Tangmo and the rest of the main characters ran back to the heavily fortified roadways behind the condo, every barrel loaded and ready for the fight to come.

"The only thing we can do," Tangmo slammed the Kraken anti-armor magazine into his trusty bolt pistol. "We fight."

TWO MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS!

1) This will be the final arc of the Multiverse Project. Yes, after seven years, this fan fiction is coming to an end. The reason is that I believe it has reached the point of saturation and it might have already jump the shark. Thank you everyone for enjoying this wild ride with me!

2) My original epic fantasy book entitled 'Under the Black Banner' is coming out on the 21st of February and will be available on Amazon. This is nothing like the Multiverse Project because it is more serious in tone, dealing with war, politics and other crazy fantasy shits. The book is set in a fantasy world inspired by Thailand and East Asia. If you have the time and money please check it out, the book is really cool, and the ebook is pretty cheap btw! Remember, 'Under the Black Banner' by T. Supkit, coming out on the 21st of February, go check it out!