Tyrant

Gao Yi, feeling refreshed, returned to the Bridge.

Inquisitor Ian walked up to him.

"I heard a Psyker awakened on your ship. Perhaps... I could help him? I awakened suddenly too—I understand the dangers that can arise."

"A pity, Inquisitor Ian. I already had him thrown out. I can't have that kind of hidden danger on my ship!"

"You could have helped him."

"Since when does an Inquisitor sympathize with illegal Psykers?"

"With strict training and guidance, they can still become servants of the God-Emperor. I'm proof of that!"

"Too late for regrets now. Maybe next time I'll come to you! Inquisitor Ian, focus on the present. We'll reach Omicron soon, and macro-cannons and Lances don't have eyes."

As the distance to Omicron shrank.

Gao Yi's three ships slowed their pace.

They knew nothing of Omicron's situation—not even the enemy's strength. What they could confirm was that the enemy couldn't have taken out the Planetary Defense Fleet without losses, and given their Dynasty's scale, they couldn't have too many ships either.

"Try to contact Omicron 2 through the Astropath!"

The Choir of the Stars began their chant. The Master of the Astropath channeled his psychic power, attempting to reach the Astropath on Omicron. But every attempt sank into silence. If the Astropath on Omicron had survived, there would have been a reply.

"Captain! No response from Omicron!"

"Keep moving forward!"

Gao Yi stared at the Augur Array. Soon, a contact appeared.

The identification code displayed belonged to ships of the Mongert Dynasty.

As they closed in, they found vast debris fields of warships floating in the void, along with countless crew corpses drifting among them.

"Those are our grain transports! They were ambushed! The wreckage is clustered—none escaped; they were all focused down and sunk!"

"Traitors again?"

"I don't know. Maybe they found out the shipping routes and schedules through other means. After all, that wasn't classified information."

"Keep scanning with the Augur Array!"

As the ships advanced.

Several red markers appeared on the Augur Array.

"Captain! Hostile signals detected: one Gothic-class Cruiser, four Indomitus-class Frigates! They outnumber us by two ships!" the priest manning the Augur Array shouted anxiously.

"Captain! That's the Suarez Dynasty's flagship, the Tyrant! If the flagship is here, Nakanto is definitely aboard! The Tyrant is a Gothic-class Cruiser, granted to them by the Sector Lord who issued their warrant! It's been armor-modified—its decks are thicker than standard warships. In a direct fight, we'd have little chance."

Veil recognized the ship too.

The Tyrant exceeded standard Gothic-class vessels in both length and volume.

Most Rogue Traders avoided head-on battles, favoring maneuverability. But this Tyrant lived up to its name—it took the unconventional path.

As Gao Yi spotted the enemy ships, they spotted his fleet too.

The five ships parked in the planet's orbit immediately fired up their conventional engines and charged toward Gao Yi.

Though they couldn't see each other with the naked eye, the Lances and macro-cannons on both sides were already aimed.

"Have Damon lead the Rangers and naval troopers into the assault boats. Tell Pavian to send all SCVs to critical decks—engine deck, gun deck, shield deck—make sure no vital area gets completely crippled."

"You're planning a boarding action?"

"We're outnumbered and undercrewed. A conventional ship battle would be too costly! Our Combat Suits are our advantage, and so is our speed. Direct boarding to wreck their internals or even seize their Bridge is the best move. I don't want my freshly repaired ship torn up again—or sunk. Sound the alarm, all hands to battle stations! Hand out those Plasteel Combat Suits meant for trade! Pavian, bring mine and Veil's suits up!"

The piercing alarm blared. Every crewman rushed to their posts. The armory opened, and weapons were distributed.

Eight of the ten Ranger companies would join the boarding action; the remaining two would stay aboard the Golden Ram for counter-boarding.

Alongside the Rangers, 2,000 naval boarding troopers would go in.

Their assault pods would launch the first wave, drawing fire for the Rangers' pods.

It was brutal, but necessary.

An individual was nothing against a warship's weapons. Even a Primarch would die taking a direct hit from a Lance or macro-cannon.

Gao Yi could only let those ordinary naval troopers sacrifice themselves to ensure more Rangers made it aboard the enemy ship.

"Norris, are you there?"

"I'm here, Captain!"

"Board with Damon. Your mission is to find their Bridge and destroy their command center!"

"Mission guaranteed!"

The Confessor Priest prayed for the soldiers, while priests swung censers to bless each macro-cannon. Only a pleased Machine Spirit would let those giant guns function smoothly.

The Golden Ram's hull mounted two Mars-pattern Mk-6 macro-cannons on each flank.

These weapons, firing massive solid shells, were the most effective tools for collapsing an enemy vessel's Void Shield.

With the aid of both manpower and mechanical systems, the enormous macro-cannon shells were rammed into their breeches, awaiting the order to fire.

Meanwhile, the Mezoa-type lances along the spine and bow had completed their charge cycles.

"Distance to enemy vessel: 200,000 klicks. Void Shields beginning charge. Power output to maximum!"

"Distance to enemy vessel: 150,000 klicks. Close assault boat bay doors! May the God-Emperor protect you!"

"Sword Rain, Vanguard—hold their frigates back as long as you can!"

As the range shrank, the Acoustic Array Master received an incoming transmission.

"Captain! The Tyrant is hailing us. Patch it through?"

"Put it through!"

The holographic display before Gao Yi flickered to life.

"Hahaha, Ludwig, you're not dead? No—who are you? Where's Ludwig?"

"Ludwig fell in battle! I am the current Rogue Trader, Gao Yi Mongert! You must be Canto, aren't you? You dared to openly attack my planet—you will pay for this!"

At the sight of Gao Yi's youthful face, Canto's contempt was undisguised.

"Pity Ludwig didn't die by my hand... The current Rogue Trader? Ridiculous. You think those three scrap-haulers of yours can do anything?

And your Capital World is about to slip through your fingers. At this rate, you might become the first Rogue Trader in this Expansion Zone without a single planet to your name!

Your ships and your world will all belong to me!"

"What's happened to my Capital World?"

"A dead man has no need to know! Full speed ahead!"

The opposing Tyrant altered no course, made no evasive maneuvers—it charged straight in.

Perhaps in their minds, this battle was never in doubt.