Although the Vengeful Spirit was the spearhead of the attack, it was not without protection. Five squadrons of escort ships guarded it from every direction—above, below, to either side, and ahead. If necessary, they could use their own Void Shields or even their hulls to block incoming fire for the Vengeful Spirit.
In void warfare, numbers and firepower were key to victory, but formation was another crucial factor. If a fleet failed to spread out, it couldn't bring its numerical and firepower advantages to bear. That was why battles in which the smaller force defeated the larger one occurred.
This was especially important when so many Astartes were involved in boarding actions. If their ships were blown apart before they reached boarding range, then even the most experienced Space Marines would die meaningless deaths in the void.
The two fleets soon became entangled in close-quarters combat in the void. The Black Legion launched wave after wave of boarding torpedoes. Some struck their targets; others were shot down in the void, a chain of explosions flaring before the Imperial Fleet's Void Shields.
Most of the boarding torpedoes carried nothing at all. Some might have held Beastmen or cultists, or even Meltabombs set to detonate on a timer. No one would send their elite troops to board enemy ships in the first wave of a naval battle. At that point, the enemy's defensive firepower would be at its strongest.
On the Imperial side, Admiral Cassian Waldo had consistently chosen cautious tactics. After all, they were the defenders and had taken up advantageous positions in advance. They even had the support of the Cadian Orbital Defense Fire. I have defense towers, and you want me to come out and fight you? Ridiculous.
Compared with Admiral Cassian Waldo's cautious, steady approach, Grand Commander Valicar was far more aggressive. After all, they had only closed the distance by sacrificing small ships. Seated on the Vengeful Spirit's Command Throne on the bridge, he watched the inevitably brutal naval battle slowly unfold, searching for a way to defeat the Imperial Fleet, which had both the advantage of terrain and the support of its people.
Finally, the fleets drew close enough to engage fully. Countless lances and macro cannons pounded one another's Void Shields, while boarding torpedoes and orbital cannons were fired at close range.
On the bridge of the Vengeful Spirit, Grand Commander Valicar sat on the Command Throne, his brain connected to the command deck by data-cables. Tactical reports flooded into his mind. He quickly grasped the situation and issued orders, while servitors relayed the reports nonstop, then forwarded them through Psychic Communication to the command nodes of the Legion and its War Bands.
Countless Chaos Space Marines entered Imperial ships directly by torpedo and gunboat. Most of these ships had no Space Marines to protect them. The Admiral could only pray that his Sailors defending against boarders would work a miracle.
At the same time, Peter and his group received their orders: board and destroy the Imperial Navy's Siluria-class Light Cruiser, the Blade of Judgment.
The Blade of Judgment was equipped with Void Shields. Attacks from more than a dozen smaller ships around it merely scratched the surface. Its powerful Void Shields could absorb and disperse incoming energy and physical attacks, protecting the ship from fatal damage.
The ship's bow was also adorned with a Ramming Prow. It was more than decoration—it was a weapon for tearing apart enemy ships in close combat. Its macro-cannon turrets were huge and conspicuous, their rugged design proclaiming the Imperium's military might. A single shot had blown a Void Shield-less Cobra Destroyer beside the Blackrock into two pieces.
Peter and the others were ready as well. At the order of Barnabas, Lord of Fleets, First Tactical Squad would board and seize the engine room, Peter and Second Tactical Squad would board the bridge, and Third Tactical Squad would remain aboard the flagship.
Peter took his Boarding Shield and Bolter Gun and stood inside the boarding torpedo. Barnabas had exploited a blind spot in the enemy's defenses to launch a surprise boarding assault. Several ships fired ten torpedoes all at once. The enemy had no way of knowing which ones carried Astartes, and even if some were shot down, it didn't matter.
If any made it through and entered an enemy ship, the crew would have to send armed personnel to investigate. It might contain a timed Meltabomb, or mortal cultists, or nothing at all. But the torpedoes had already accomplished their purpose: wasting the defenders' precious time.
With a deafening crash, their boarding torpedo slammed into the hull of the Blade of Judgment. The hatch opened, and Peter and his men surged into the ship like a tidal wave.
Peter issued his orders:
"The squad will split into three groups: vanguard, center, and rear. I'll lead the way. We'll approach the bridge through the main passage."
"Remember, our targets are the bridge and the engine room. Once we control those two places, this ship is ours."
First Squad should already have boarded from the rear of the ship. They would complete their mission. Peter and his men had landed near the front, and they would seize the bridge.
With Peter, the Forged Steel Lord, personally leading the team, Captain Wonaby automatically fell back in the chain of command. No one objected.
The Space Marines responded quietly over the internal comms, fervent light gleaming in their eyes beneath their helmet visors. They knew this would be a bloody fight, but they feared nothing.
The Space Marines hurried through the ship's corridors, their boots pounding against the metal floors like the beats of a war drum.
In the ship's narrow passageways, Peter and his men soon encountered Imperial defenders. A group of Sailors stood ready, their Laser Guns and combat shotguns aimed down the corridor.
But the Astartes' bolter fire tore through the Sailors' defensive line in an instant. The fighting was brutal. In the narrow corridors of a warship, the flesh and armor of Mortal Soldiers stood no chance against the Space Marines.
Peter and his men pushed toward the command bridge. When the Sailors opened fire, Peter simply planted his Boarding Shield in front of him and picked off the enemy Sailors one by one through the firing port of his Bolter Gun.
The enemy tried to counter with the same tactic. The ship's Sailors raised Boarding Shields, attempting to defend themselves from the Space Marines' fire. But two bangs rang out, and two holes appeared in the shield of the man holding it. The rounds punched through the shield, and the Sailor collapsed helplessly.
The Sailors' shields were called Boarding Shields, but they were really just thick slabs of Plasteel armor. They had no Field Generators, and the Plasteel probably wasn't even the highest quality. They worked well enough against Laser Guns and Autoguns, but against bolter rounds of Space Marine caliber, they made little difference.
The seventeen Astartes pressed forward swiftly and soon reached another corner. Then, from a side passage in the middle of the formation, a Sailor who looked rather slight darted around the corner. More importantly, he was carrying a fully charged Plasma Gun.
The Sailor shouted:
"Die, Chaos scum!"
Bang! A ball of plasma shot straight toward the middle of the formation. There was nowhere to retreat in the narrow passage, nowhere to dodge. The plasma struck an Astartes in Heretic Pattern Power Armour square in the face.
In less than half a second, a teammate blew the Sailor's head apart with a shot from his Bolter Gun. But the Astartes who had been hit had his helmet and breastplate melted by the plasma. His massive superhuman body fell straight to the floor.
Wonaby reported over the internal comms:
"Lord, Neophyte Manny is dead on the spot."
But Peter had no time to concern himself with that. The captain of First Squad, Thor, who was attacking the engine room, had sent in a report:
"Lord, we've met heavy resistance while trying to seize the engine room. They have Astartes."
Peter was startled.
"They have Astartes guarding this ship?"
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