The warship did not advance fifteen units. After traveling only a short distance, it fell into complete silence.
"The captain is dead," the Apothecary replied.
"The ship's systems have been disrupted. All controls have failed," the Techmarine answered.
The Chaplain watched the technicians struggle to restart the warship while calling for every warrior of the Carcharodons' Third Company over the comms.
Seventy warriors had survived the Drukhari assault. Compared to the Third Company's original strength of one hundred and fifty, the losses were utterly devastating.
No one knew how many gene-seeds had yet to be contaminated by xenos poison, nor how much usable material remained in the ship's blood banks.
"My lord! They're coming again!" A technician pointed to several blips racing toward them across the auspex screen.
The Chaplain gripped his weapon and turned to leave. The Apothecary and Techmarine swiftly rose as well.
The Techmarine set down his data-slate with a touch of gentleness, while the Apothecary's clean, decisive abandonment of the captain's corpse perfectly embodied the opposite of a healer's compassion.
Several Carcharodons warriors followed them out. The technicians asked, "What should we do?"
Before the hatch closed, one Carcharodons warrior told them, "Fight for The Emperor until death."
The heavy footsteps of power armor echoed across the deck as the Techmarine judged which direction the xenos would breach from.
The change in their flight trajectory surprised him.
"They seem to be tracking our position."
"Then let none return."
The distinctive sound of psychic teleportation reached the Carcharodons' ears. The warriors prepared for battle, their bodies concealed in shadow. Even their lenses, which should have carried a faint red glow, now displayed a dangerous blackness.
Several bolts of lightning erupted through the corridor, shredding the flesh of the dead.
Several Aeldari appeared amid the lightning, wary of