"Notice: the Pectaro is about to execute a Lateral Attack. All ships, clear the horizontal attack plane."
None of the Imperial Ships' captains who received Iax's warning understood what the instruction meant. They ordered their crews to watch the ship Guilliman had personally designated an ally, intending to observe its attack characteristics and find ways to coordinate with it.
But the personnel assigned to monitor it soon issued a puzzled report.
"The Pectaro is adjusting its horizontal orientation, assuming a perpendicular position relative to the fleet."
"Angle Thrusters activation detected. The ship is entering a spin."
When the captains of the Imperial Ships saw it stand upright and begin spinning, every one of them instantly recalled what had happened to the Dark Mechanicum.
That beautiful, death-laden lattice of light had swept effortlessly through their ships, leaving them silent.
"Emergency thrust! Clear the horizontal plane!"
The Imperial Fleet, which had been providing mutual cover against the incoming fire, collectively plunged downward as though startled.
Compared with the fire from the surrounding Chaos Ships, the defensive turrets on the Planet below were clearly less of a threat.
Watching the Imperial Ships' strange behavior,
Abaddon distinctly sensed that something was wrong. Instinct drove him to order his ships to follow their movements and dive a short distance downward.
Once the Imperial Ships had dived, the spinning silver pillar amid their formation stood revealed.
The Chaos Ships naturally noticed the Pectaro, spinning at high speed in a vertical position.
But once they magnified the image and confirmed that it was a strangely shaped ship spinning around, the Daemons and Rebels could not help laughing aloud.
"Hahahaha! A bizarre ship that can't even maintain its own attitude control!"
Abaddon did not recognize the ship at all. The last time he had seen the Pectaro, it