The Battle of Bakka had reached fever pitch.
Every second, the Sector Fortress endured punishing blows from the Sons of Horus Legion.
As more and more traitor warships emerged from Warp jumps at the Mandeville Point, the once-spacious battlefield filled with densely packed silhouettes.
Ships belonging to different Traitor Legions swarmed in, joining the battle at an almost frenzied pace.
The advantage the Imperial defenders had gained through their minefields and opening salvos was slipping through their fingers, bit by bit.
The roar of macro-cannons could not travel through the void, but whenever muzzle flashes illuminated the ships' outlines, another Imperial vessel lost its void shields, then became tumbling wreckage under the next salvo.
The appearance of the enormous Renegade-class battleship seemed to signal that defeat was inevitable.
The immense ship resembled a moving mountain rising from the depths of darkness. More than ten kilometers long, its layered armor plates and turrets gave it an overwhelmingly brutal presence.
Its hull bore the green-and-gold insignia of the Sons of Horus Legion, and its prow still carried buckled scars from ramming another vessel.
As it slowly emerged from the Warp and thrust its immense bulk into the center of the battlefield, the targeting systems of every Imperial warship sounded shrill lock-on alarms at once.
The great ship's gun barrels were longer than the hulls of many Imperial destroyers. Row upon row of macro-cannon muzzles swung toward the Imperial formation, like huge teeth slowly parting in the darkness, followed by an overwhelming deluge of death.
The Imperial forces were steadily losing ground.
Voices on the command channel grew hurried and confused as ships reported damage, requested support, and described the ravaged battlefield.
Cestus's voice remained as steady as ever among them, but even he could feel that iron curtain closing in.
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