Chapter 12

Captain Toran felt the Thunderchild lurch beneath him, a sudden roll to port that swayed him to the side and sent Serfs stumbling. He held on as the bridge crew responded, firing thrusters to right the ship and bring it level once more. As the ship settled Toran looked up into the grainy Hololith, seeing their position relative to the floating rock formations nearby. They were currently being pushed by the winds towards a large rock, one formed like a stalactite,

This had been the pattern for days now, the Thunderchild running from cover to cover, dashing between sheltering rock formations. For three days the crew had rotated through their stations, anxiously awaiting the slightest hint of their pursuers. None dared to believe that they had given the Dark Eldar the slip and the exuberance of their first victory had swiftly dwindled back to a fearful, worried manner. Now serfs went about their tasks with a quick, furtive manner and frequently patted the consoles as if trying to garner some of the ship's luck for themselves. The Space Marines however stood resolutely at their posts, refusing to show any hint of concern. They had been on high alert for three days straight, but that was hardly an issue for them. Among their implants was the Catalepsean Node, which allowed them to rest portions of their brains while remaining alert and active. Thus it was possible for them to operate continuously in combat-conditions, an essential feature in starship warfare where battles could last days or weeks. Currently Toran was guiding the Thunderchild around the floating rock formations, maintaining a careful balance between hiding in their mass shadows and staying far enough away to avoid a collision.

Toran called, "Helm, give me ninety-second burn from the port thrusters, move us laterally to avoid that rock."

From the Helm Furion called, "Captain, a three-second burst from the main drives could do the same job far quicker."

Toran shook his head and said, "Too risky, the energy flare would give away our location. Keep on thrusters only, they're far harder to detect in this fog of an atmosphere."

Furion enacted the order and Toran turned to the Sensorium calling, "Any sign of the enemy?"

Persion replied, "Hard to see anything in this soup. We are picking several imaging effects, but they keep appearing and disappearing. I think it's merely sensor ghosts but I can't be sure."

Toran remarked, "Dark Eldar do not give up the chase so easily, they will still be out there."

Persion mused, "So why can't we see them anymore?"

Toran groaned, "They must have wised up and turned off their holographic camouflage."

"Great," muttered Persion, "Give me dumb Orks any day."

Toran shook his head and watched as the Thunderchild slipped past the looming rock, the size and bulk of it seemingly impossible. It shouldn't be able to hang there, but it did so regardless, mocking any human sense of proportion with its craggy cliff faces. Toran was carefully watching for any sign of the enemy, alert for the potential of a trap but then he was distracted by a thrumming noise from behind him. He glanced back and saw Magos Castabore floating next to the command dais, clutching a data slate in one metal hand.

Toran was surprised to see her and asked, "Magos, is there something the matter?"

Castabore replied briskly, "I am detecting something quite anomalous. It is coming from the rock we are in close proximity to. The Auspex is detecting traces of refined metals and indications of previous mining upon its surface."

Toran frowned and said, "Are you saying that there is someone living there?"

Castabore replied, "No, there are no indications of active power sources or gaseous exchanges, if there was someone there then they are long gone."

Toran said, "Well that is interesting, but hardly relevant to our current situation."

Castabore snapped, "I don't think you grasp the implications, the technology required to reach this depth is rare and exotic. There are no records of any mining expeditions attempted into Astu, implying that the originators were pre-Imperial or older, possibly even originating in the Dark Age of Technology."

Toran said, "You think there could be Archeo-technology over there?"

"Yes," Castabore replied, "The pressure at this depth is not insurmountable, if those Xeno glass-hulls can survive here then your Thunderhawks and power armour could withstand it too. I request you launch an expedition immediately."

Toran glared and said, "Absolutely not, we are at war, we do not have time to poke around in old ruins."

Castabore protested angrily, "The quest for knowledge…"

"Can wait," Toran snapped back, "First we have to survive and then we can worry about the mysteries of the Omnissiah. Besides its been there for millennia, it can wait a little longer."

Castabore sank back muttering to herself and Toran looked back at the Hololith, seeing that the Thunderchild was coming around the rock to reveal what lay beyond. His eyes scoured the fitzing display and he realized that it was not good news. Before them lay a featureless wasteland, an empty space bereft of the floating rocks that they had been hopping using for cover. It was open, exposed and offered no shelter whatsoever.

Toran bit his lip in frustration, then said, "Persion, any sign how far this extends?"

Persion looked over a Servitor's shoulder, "There are suggestions of mass-shadows in the distance, it could be more floating rocks, but it's a long way to go."

Furion called up, "Captain, we could reverse course and look for another route that offers more cover."

"No," Toran said shaking his head, "The Dark Eldar are experienced hunters, they will be expecting us to double-back. Neither can we sit here forever; the anti-gravs will fail eventually. We have to press on and find a way to escape, forward is the only option."

Furion nodded and said, "So fast or slow?"

Toran thought about it and knew it was a difficult choice; the quickest way across the expanse was to use the main drives. They could cross the gap rapidly and slip back into cover, but that would send out a flare that their hunters could not possibly miss if they were anywhere nearby. The alternative was to go deeper, crawling along on thrusters and wind currents, trying to go unnoticed and praying to avoid detection. But it would take days to cross such a distance, putting the hull under tremendous pressure and every second would increase the chances of being detected anyway.

Toran made a decision and declared, "It's time to be bold, power up the drives and give me best possible speed."

Furion replied, "Aye sir, but we'd go a hell of a lot faster with eight working reactors."

"Can't be helped," Toran stated, "Persion keep a sharp eye on those sensor ghosts, I want to know it one of them so much as twitches. Weapons to alert, we may need them."

With a rattling vibration the Thunderchild sprang into life, building up speed as the drives pushed her forward. The deck shook and lurched as the ship ploughed on, emerging from the shelter into open space. With her prow parting the clouds the Thunderchild raced into the expanse, leaving swirling billows of gas in her wake. Toran gripped the rail and held on, staring into the Hololith and the jumping icons displayed there. Auspex clarity was poor and it was fitzing constantly, but it was all they had. He stared at the icons knowing that any one of them could be an enemy ship and if they were then there was no way that they could miss the emissions of the main drives. He wondered how long it would take to cross the expanse, how it was far to the next cover and the dubious safety it offered.

From below the dais Magos Castabore called, "I am detecting build-ups of chemicals and free oxygen off the starboard bow. I would advise steering clear, the mix could potentially prove… explosive."

Toran accepted her advice and said, "Helm steer to port, give it a wide berth and keep us…."

Suddenly Persion yelled, "Contact, contact! Enemy ship detected and its right above us!"

"Evasive Action!" roared Toran but it was too late.

The Thunderchild rocked as a Phantom Lance speared downwards, plunging deeply into the armoured hull. Plating was torn asunder and compartments ruptured to spill bodies and debris out into the atmosphere. Even those out of the area were not spared as the atmosphere poured in, poisoning men with noxious gases and crushing their lungs as blast doors sealed off the breached sections. Toran was clinging to the rail and felt the Thunderchild rocking badly. He looked up at the Hololith and saw the Dark Eldar craft flash past, all curves and spikes with wide wings spread out to either side.

He drew in a breath and yelled, "Damage report, how badly were we hit? Did we lose any anti-gravs?"

Bylan called back "Damage to dorsal sections only, anti-gravs were undamaged. We have several ruptured compartments, still estimating casualties"

Toran shouted, "Where's the enemy?!"

Persion replied, "It's difficult to track them but it looks like their moving to starboard, their coming about for another run."

Toran growled, "The hell they are, starboard batteries, track that target and fire!"

The Thunderchild roared in fury as its starboard flank lit up, throwing waves of macro cannons shells and missiles into the distance. It was a furious barrage but still barely half the might the ship would have boasted at full power. The rounds hurtled outwards into the distance, flying free as they fell away into the depths.

Toran called, "Did we hit anything?"

Persion replied, "No signs of impact: we missed. Auspex is hazy but they're definitely closing."

Toran snarled, "Torpedoes?"

Novak cried, "We can't get an angle."

Toran hit the rail and barked, "Push the drives harder, increase our speed."

But Furion called back, "Power levels are fluctuating, we're already at maximum."

Toran gnashed his teeth in frustration, they couldn't run and they couldn't hit anything in this murk. Everything seemed stacked against them, the Dark Eldar didn't need to do much, the damned planet was killing them all by itself. Then Toran had an idea, a way to fight back and he called, "Track Bombardment canons to starboard, elevate forty-five degrees and set warheads for thirty seconds delay."

Jediah sounded puzzled as he said, "There's no target there."

"Trust me," Toran said, then held for a moment as the canons pivoted before shouting, "Fire!"

The Thunderchild rocked again as her spinal canons spat enormous shells off into the distance, flying away in long arcs. The salvo of city-killing Magma-Bombs went wide, completely missing the Dark Eldar craft which seemed almost contemptuous as it glided past on its wide wings. The craft bore down upon its victim with savage glee, Phantom Lance glimmering with deadly power as it prepared to fire. Yet had its crew known what Toran intended then they would not have been so confident. The Magma-Bombs soared onwards, travelling freely until they encountered the oxygen pocket and detonated. The heat and power of the blast reacted instantly with the oxygen-chemical mix, exploding like a fuel-air bomb the size of a city block. An enormous fireball bloomed into being, spreading like a flower opening and sending a tremendous shockwave out before it. The Thunderchild was thrown violently to one side by the force of the blast, making men fall to the deck with cries of terror and shock. Toran could do nothing but hold on as the wave passed over the Thunderchild, making it heave but thankfully doing no further damage. Then it rolled back upright, battered but unbowed.

The crew picked themselves up and limped back to their posts, taking up the reins left idle as Toran called, "Where are the Dark Eldar?"

Persion replied, "They were thrown halfway across the sky, they're beating a swift retreat to safer altitudes."

"Then get us back on course before they return," ordered Toran and as the crew responded he muttered to himself, "It's like fighting with one arm tied behind our backs, Hevostan has to get reactor eight working or we will never make it out of here."