The Imperium's Frontier: A Moment of Redemption

The cockpit of the Aquila was dim and deathly silent. This exquisite inter-system shuttle had impeccable taste inside and out: smooth, supple reddish-brown leather pilot seats, well-arranged LCD screens scattered across the instrument panel, and two distinctive spherical holographic control interfaces on either side of the flight stick.

The shuttle looked nothing like it had been made by the Imperium. Its style was more reminiscent of an Aeldari longship cockpit, yet it still incorporated plenty of Imperial elements with perfect propriety, such as skulls and glittering golden decorative filigree.

Vito dashed through the cockpit door as it slid open. With practiced ease, he flipped into the pilot's seat and quickly powered up the instrument panel. The screens lit up one by one, and the spherical holographic system projected a full array of controls. Vito tapped and swiped across them with practiced ease, quickly completing the preflight preparations.

A faint hum rose from the shuttle. Vito pushed the holographic interface in front of him aside and tapped the glass. After a flash, the pitch-black cockpit window displayed the view ahead.

"Come on, beautiful. Time for an adventure." Vito increased the engine thrust using the control on the pilot's armrest. The vector thrusters at the shuttle's rear began spitting out crimson flames, lifting the craft into the air and sending it gliding smoothly onto the hangar runway.

Vito retracted the landing gear and opened the comm channel. "Hangar controller, open the doors. Anyone there?" A burst of static was the only reply. Vito sighed helplessly as he stared at the flat line on the audio display.

"Why did I expect them to still be at their posts? I should read fewer epics. They make humanity seem far too selfless most of the time."

Vito sighed and leaned back in his seat. "Hangar control Servitor, Inquisitorial override authorization I-001. Open the hangar doors." "Command accepted. Identifying. Identification complete. Authorization confirmed. Opening doors."

As the mechanical voice recited its response, the massive doors at the far end of the hangar began to open. Their heavy steel structure slid apart under the force of the mechanisms and powerful hydraulic systems. Crimson light spilled into the hangar. The gates to hell had opened.

Vito pushed the flight stick forward, and the shuttle roared out. The streamlined craft shot down the runway and through the doors in an instant, flying above the battle-torn streets of the Mid Hive. The burning city's light reflected off its hull in dazzling flashes.

The silver, teardrop-shaped craft raced between buildings. Vito watched the burning streets below and the Tyranid Swarm charging through them. At the end of an alley, he suddenly banked. The vector engines adjusted direction with incredible efficiency, and the shuttle completed a sharp turn just before a collapsed building.

The Aquila darted between the ruins. Vito pulled off a series of extremely difficult maneuvers as he flew through the wreckage of the city, yet in this no-fly zone, he made it look as easy as strolling through a garden.

The shuttle roared out through a collapsed breach at the edge of the Hive City and immediately began to climb. The vector thrusters' flames turned pure blue, propelling the longship into the upper atmosphere.

Vito skillfully dodged between the Mycetic Spores as he flew. Each time he pressed a button, the Lascannons fired in quick succession, blasting every spore in their path into falling chunks of flesh.

But the Aquila soon burst through the atmosphere. It shot out of the purple-brown downpour of Mycetic Spores, the flames of atmospheric friction fading from its streamlined hull until only the cold light of space remained.

Suddenly, a dense barrage of fire lit up the hull. Vito watched from the cockpit as Imperial warships exploded one after another. Imperial destroyers broke apart in brilliant bursts, their flames illuminating the entire galactic backdrop.

"Inquisitor," Bell's voice said. Vito looked toward one corner of the curved cockpit window and saw the blue Thunderhawk behind and to his side. The flames from its atmospheric entry had just gone out as well.

"Good. Looks like everyone's here. Let's go." "Can you tell us where we're going? If we're going to die, I'd like to know where." "Sure. We're going to find the Norn Queen."

"The Norn Queen?!" Ragnar cried in disbelief. Vito couldn't tell whether he sounded excited or terrified. "Stop shouting. Relax. We're just going to sneak in through the back door."

"How do you know where the Norn Queen is?" Olaf asked. "There are tens of thousands of Tyranid Bio-ships. How could you know where she is?"

Vito smiled as he looked toward the dazzling battlefield ahead. One warship after another turned into drifting flames. The cold backdrop of space had been lit up, utterly ablaze with blood and fire.

"Remember the Lobotomy Reader we took from Yomi-8 last time?" "Yeah. What about it?" "I used it to fry the brain of a Tyranid Node Creature. Then I found out where the Norn Queen was."

Silence fell over the comm channel. Then Olaf's voice came back. "When did you bring the Lobotomy Reader down from the ship?" "When Omega came down to help me. But that's not important right now, Cole."

"Go ahead." Cole stood on the bridge of the Infinite Frontier, staring at the chaotic barrage ahead. Countless Imperial warships were being reduced to wreckage, while the Tyranid Fleet surged toward him like a flood.

"Cover us while we get close to the Norn Queen's Bio-ship. I just opened the channel, so you heard everything. I don't feel like explaining, and there's no time anyway." "That's a fucking stupid plan, buddy." "Yeah, it's a fucking stupid plan."

Cole let out a long sigh and slammed his fist against the control panel. Captain Cole suddenly rose, radiating peerless authority and courage. He turned to the bridge crew below and pointed toward the Tyranid Fleet. "All Imperial warships, heed my order! Advance and attack! Cover the Inquisitor and the Astartes!"

The crew exchanged glances. But once they saw the resolve in Cole's eyes, they made up their minds. Roars and curses against Chaos and the Xenos echoed across the bridge. The first officer began turning the helm with all his strength, and the Infinite Frontier's banks of thrusters belched flames.

The battlecruiser charged ahead. The remaining Imperial warships around it joined the assault, their countless trails of fire converging into a blazing sun.

The Imperial Navy surged forward to meet the enemy. Lance Batteries and heavy cannons roared, pouring fire straight into the Tyranid Fleet. Dense volleys of torpedoes launched from ship after ship, streaking toward the enemy.

Explosions flared throughout the Tyranid Fleet, but the beasts charged forward without hesitation. The destroyer squadron at the front of the fleet collided with Tyranid Bio-ships and exploded. The brilliant bursts lit up the entire bridge of the Infinite Frontier.

"This is suicide! This is insane! I can't carry out this order!" someone shouted desperately over the fleet's comm channel. Cole looked to one side of the fleet and saw a Lunar-class Cruiser starting to leave the Imperial Navy's attack formation.

Cole frowned at the ship. He opened a comm channel to it, took a deep breath, and spoke slowly. "Commissar, carry out your duty." "As the Emperor wills!"

Gunshots echoed across the channel. A moment later, the ship returned to the Imperial Navy's assault formation. Cole switched back to Vito's channel and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Charge!"

"Will do!" Vito shouted back, as though they could actually hear each other across the cold void of space. He shoved the flight stick forward, and the Aquila shot out like lightning, racing between countless Imperial warships and Bio-ships. The Thunderhawk followed close behind, its pilot pulling off equally impressive maneuvers as they dodged, accelerated, and fired.

The Thunderhawk's rotary autocannon roared without pause, blasting the flying beasts swarming between the two fleets into pieces.

Vito flew the Aquila past the side of an Imperial cruiser. The massive vessel held pace with a Tyranid Bio-ship, its broadside Macro-cannons roaring in unison. Vito and the Deathwatch sped beneath the thunderous guns and explosive shells, with a constant flurry of explosions flashing beside them.

The brutal close-quarters battle unfolded in all its ferocity before them. The Imperial Navy stabbed into the Tyranid Fleet like a blade, but it was so outnumbered that every inch gained came at a terrible cost in ships and lives.

Exploding warships and the drifting wreckage of Tyranid vessels spread across space. The Aquila and Thunderhawk followed one another closely through the slaughterhouse, the Thunderhawk climbing behind the Aquila as they roared past just above the upper decks of an Imperial warship.

Tyranid Bio-cannons pounded one side of the warship. Its Void Shields had already failed under the assault of dozens of Bio-ships! The vessel broke apart and exploded, a towering cloud of fire billowing around the two aircraft. Gothic cathedrals and spires crumbled, while detonating Macro-cannons split the entire warship apart in an instant.

Cole looked at the surrounding Bio-ships. The monstrous creatures closed in from every direction, their tentacles and Bio-cannons pounding the Infinite Frontier's Void Shields. The flickering shields were suddenly pierced by one attack, and a Tyranid shell struck the hull directly.

A violent explosion shook the entire ship. Cole slammed into the side of the bridge, and many others were thrown hard to the deck. Swearing, Cole braced himself against the railing and punched it.

"Captain! The Warp is churning! A storm of destruction is coming!" the female Astropath shouted in a crazed voice. Cole scrambled to his feet and staggered back to the control platform. "Lady Oria, what are you talking about?" "The great powers of destruction are drawing near! Destruction is coming!" "Speak plainly! We're about to fucking die anyway—we're being killed by the Tyranids!" "No! Captain, it's the power of the Warp! A Chaos rift! Aaaaaah!"

The Astropath's voice twisted into a hideous scream. Cole looked outside the bridge. Countless Warp Rifts had opened above them and the Bio-ships.

Purple lightning shot from them. Cole stared at the rifts in astonishment. "Navigator! What happened to the Shadow in the Warp?" "Aaaah!" "Answer me!" "Power! The power of destruction tore open a rift! The shadow's been broken! Aah!"

They were being driven mad. It was the influence of the Warp, and it was overwhelming. "Is it the Chaos Fleet?" "No!"

A voice roared through the channel, as unyielding as steel. It suddenly cut through the chaos and shattered the noise.

Warships began to emerge from the rifts, one after another. A vast fleet of voidships appeared, each bearing a black cross.

"The Black Templars!" Cole shouted. "No pity! No remorse! No fear!"

"In Dorn's name! We shall bring down the wrath of Thunder!"

The Black Templars Fleet immediately unleashed a storm of attacks. Countless heavy cannons, Lances, and bombardment cannons tore into the battlefield from above without mercy. The Tyranid Fleet broke apart beneath the assault.

Vito looked up at the fleet from inside the Aquila and smiled. "Thanks, Lily." As he spoke, he rolled the Aquila sideways and passed beneath a Bio-ship.

He piloted the Fluid Longship straight through the chaos toward a Bio-ship that looked relatively lightly armed. Thunder followed behind, charging toward the Bio-ship with him.

Vito squeezed the trigger. Two small proton torpedoes suddenly launched from the sides of the Aquila. They streaked forward and struck the Bio-ship's carapace, blasting a small but substantial hole in the armor.

Vito charged ahead, heading straight for the Bio-ship's surface. He pulled the trigger again, and Melta beams from several emitters converged on the flesh beneath the hole. The Aquila plunged into the tunnel of melted flesh it had carved, and the Thunderhawk followed without hesitation.

Cole had been right. This was a fucking stupid plan.