The Chaos Space Marines relied on battle instincts honed over countless years, seeking out safe spots on the battlefield whenever possible. They did not even consider retaliating before the sweep of volkite beams had ended.
Harken was the most shocked of all. He was widely experienced and naturally understood the power of volkite weapons. Lasguns could only cut with heat; so long as the same spot was not exposed for too long, there was no risk of the armor being penetrated. Volkite weapons, however, could ignite their targets into living furnaces. Even if someone struck by one was lucky enough to survive, they would still have to endure the extreme heat coursing through their entire body.
How had these mortals gotten their hands on such equipment? The Astra Militarum could never be qualified to possess volkite weapons. Even among the great ranks of the Space Marines, volkite weapons were true sacred relics.
Even the most capable Mechanicus forge worlds found it difficult to replicate volkite weapons. These violent weapons were expensive to produce, difficult to maintain, and liable to backfire at the slightest carelessness. Only masterwork volkite weapons could avoid such safety issues.
Another reason volkite weapons had largely been lost was that once the intensity of war increased, production could no longer keep pace. The resources needed to produce one volkite weapon were enough to make several crates of bolt weapons, while a single volkite weapon's power cell required enough materials to produce tens of thousands of bolts. Seen that way, replacing volkite weapons with bolt weapons truly did suit the needs of war.
But that did not suit Oedmeir's needs. She treasured every scrap of matter immensely. The material reserves of the assembly plants in the Big Canteen were forever trapped in a shortage of resources. She would