The Tredica System had completely become a stage for Ragnarok.
The bridge of the expedition fleet's flagship shook violently, the shriek of tearing metal intertwining with energy overload alarms into a symphony of despair.
General Maran gripped the edge of the command console tightly as he watched the blue points representing the Imperial fleet wink out one after another on the star map like guttering candles in the wind.
That vast Necron reinforcement fleet was suffocatingly immense, like a cold Sword of Damocles hanging above their heads. The pressure radiating from its core, the ring-shaped super-flagship Song of Oblivion, was enough to freeze a mortal soul even through the cold star map display.
Every casualty report struck Maran's heart like a heavy hammer.
The Silent King had not immediately launched a devastating all-out assault. He seemed to be weighing his options, observing.
But that brief "mercy" could not change the Imperial fleet's desperate plight on the brink of annihilation.
The fleets belonging to the other Necron overlords had already fallen completely into a frenzy of slaughter, their attacks growing fiercer with every wave.
"For the Emperor! For Terra!" Maran's voice was hoarse, yet filled with final resolve. "All surviving ships! Concentrate fire! Target the nearest Necron warship! Even if we die, we're taking one down with us!"
The remaining Imperial warships erupted with their last reserves of courage. Macro-cannons fired in volleys, lance beams tore through the void, and both crashed viciously into a Necron scythe ship charging at the forefront.
Yet this desperate counterattack was like a pebble thrown into the sea before the Necrons' enormous fleet.
Just as despair completely swallowed the Imperial fleet—
"Large-scale friendly signals detected! Source... Adeptus Mechanicus markings!" The sensor officer's voice suddenly rose, carrying incredulous delight.
The massive fleet emerging behind the expedition