New Mission and New Toys

The Stormbird was as bumpy as ever on the return trip.

Talal turned to Fu Qinghai beside him and asked, "So, what was wrong with that woman?"

"She killed one of the Night Lords," Fu Qinghai said. "She used the same method she used against you. I'd guess that's why the Night Lords are slaughtering people in the city."

"Oh." Talal nodded, then turned away without saying anything more.

For an ordinary woman to kill a soldier from the Legiones Astartes, even through a surprise assassination, was already impressive. She had plenty of courage.

Talal didn't think she could be expected to do any more than that.

The short landing operation had visibly improved the Sword's condition.

Fu Qinghai hadn't taken part in the damage-control repairs, but the smile on Captain Konrad Adenauer's face showed that the frigate was in better shape after the resupply.

The most obvious change to Fu Qinghai was that the tray before him no longer held a bowl of the Space Marines' usual paste-like rations—a nutrient porridge mixed with plasteel balls. Instead, there was a whole roasted Grox hind leg.

Fu Qinghai picked up the leg. It was nearly as large as a Power Axe, and for a moment he wasn't sure where to start.

He found a spot he could bite into and took a mouthful. Juices spilled out, and his teeth sliced quickly through the muscle fibers, making for a satisfying texture. The frigate's cook had smoked it just right, keeping the meat moist.

Fu Qinghai tore off a large bloody chunk, chewed twice, and swallowed.

He savored the creature's meat. It reminded him a little of the curried crocodile he'd eaten while traveling in Vietnam back on Earth—a texture somewhere between chicken and fish. There was hardly any thick fat, but the meat itself was juicy.

Reptile meat really did have a distinctive texture.

Grox were livestock resembling giant dinosaurs. They were related to crocodiles, and widely raised throughout the Agri Worlds of the Imperium of Man. They yielded large quantities of delicious meat, but were extremely aggressive. Agri Worlds usually removed part of their brains to curb their violent, combative temperaments.

The Space Marines were all eating heartily. Before long, Talal wiped his mouth, stood, and sat down beside Fu Qinghai.

"How was it, Qingshan? Your first battle. How did it feel?"

Fu Qinghai shook his head. "Not great. Beating Albuslang in the training cage was more satisfying."

Albuslang, who had been eating with his head down across the table, looked up. "Say that again. Who did you beat?"

Talal laughed and clapped Fu Qinghai on the shoulder. "A native world that's already been subdued isn't much of a challenge compared to the training cage. But don't worry. We've entered the combat zone. We'll soon run into real enemies."

Before he could finish, Ogedei's booming voice came over the ship's broadcast.

"Space Marines, report to the briefing room!"

The Space Marines at the table all rose.

The briefing room.

A chaotic field of asteroids appeared in the center of the table's holographic projection.

Ogedei wasted no time. Once everyone had arrived, he enlarged the projection with a swipe of his finger, revealing two ships in the asteroid field.

They were docked together at a strange angle.

Captain Konrad Adenauer spoke first. "We received a distress signal from one of the two ships and locked onto their position."

"Pirates?" Talal asked, frowning at the holographic image.

"Quite possibly." Konrad Adenauer nodded. "But there was some other information in the distress signal."

He tapped the tabletop, and a broken recording crackled to life.

"Static... crackle... Mayday, this is the Imperial merchant vessel... Vaul... crackle... Long. We've been attacked by pirates. I'm the captain..."

"They have... crackle... Psykers... sorcerers, throne above... What am I seeing? Sorcerers in close combat, wielding daggers? They're slaughtering my crew..."

The transmission ended there.

Sorcerers in close combat, wielding daggers? The people in the briefing room exchanged glances.

"Ahem..." Ogedei, seated in his wheelchair, cleared his throat. "First, we can be sure the pirate ship has unregistered, illegal Psykers. How they choose to fight isn't our concern."

The Imperium had seen every kind of Psyker, some of them extremely dangerous. But, generally speaking, Psykers weren't known for their physical prowess or strength. Most avoided close combat, playing to their strengths instead.

Ogedei and Talal, veterans of Psyker riots, knew better than anyone that if a Space Marine got within three meters of a Psyker, the Psyker was all but dead.

Talal glanced at Ogedei. Understanding what he meant, Ogedei waved a hand.

"Our primary mission remains escorting Master Kunto to Mars. Those two ships are in our way, but wiping out space pirates isn't our job."

"But the Auspex detected another ship translating into the area an hour ago. It's heading this way, and it's most likely a warship, so..."

Ogedei suddenly turned to Fu Qinghai, his voice grave. "Qingshan! I'm assigning you to board that merchant ship by torpedo and assess the situation. Set up a Teleport Homer, so we can teleport the Terminator Tactical Dreadnought Armour aboard if necessary."

Caught off guard, Fu Qinghai jolted and quickly stood at attention. "Yes, sir!"

Teleportation. Yes, that was the proper way to deploy Terminator armour. On Moradigan, making the heavy, slow tactical armour run on its own two legs hadn't been normal use. The standard approach was to teleport it straight into the front lines, where the fighting was fiercest.

Teleportation had its requirements. Scouts, Imperial Army troops, or other Space Marines needed to set up a Teleport Homer in advance.

If the Teleport Homer wasn't accurate, there was a good chance someone would end up stuck inside a wall.

Ogedei continued, "The rest of us will prepare for battle aboard the frigate and get ready for the warship's arrival."

Talal frowned. "Can't we just avoid—"

Konrad Adenauer shook his head. "No. They've already spotted us and sent a signal asking us to identify ourselves."

The black-bearded man's expression turned bitter as he added, "It's a Lunar-class Cruiser."

That last part was what mattered.

The Lunar-class Cruiser was a standard frontline warship of the Imperial Navy. Five kilometers long and carrying over ninety thousand crew, it was equipped with numerous Macro-cannons, an array of lance batteries, and torpedo tubes. It far outclassed light cruisers, let alone an old Falchion-class frigate like the Sword.

Most importantly, cruisers were built for speed. If that Lunar-class Cruiser gave chase, the Sword had no chance of getting away.

Talal nodded, understanding. Ogedei had assigned the new recruit, Fu Qinghai, to deal with the pirates while keeping the main Space Marine force aboard to face the Lunar-class Cruiser. That meant the pirate ship wasn't the real problem. The real threat was the Lunar-class Cruiser drawn here by the distress signal.

Ogedei said, "Everyone, take your positions. Qingshan, take your new toy and wait by the torpedo tubes."

Everyone rose and answered, "Yes, sir!"