The Taste Meat Grinder

Deika was putting the warriors through intensive training so they could quickly familiarize themselves with fighting aboard the Steadfast Splendor. He also needed to build good relations with the ship's mortal crew. These mortals, recently poached from the Storm Will Chapter, were as miserable as children abandoned by their mother.

And so tactical exercises, speeches, reorganizations-everything was done twice. The veterans responsible for managing it all were nearly losing their minds.

Deika personally delivered three major speeches. He even stationed ten Astartes aboard the escort to steady its crew's nerves and back up his promise that they would never be casually abandoned as cannon fodder.

After some time, Deika decided they were ready.

Let's go. We'll practice on a rebel planet.

Deika opened the large map the Imperium had provided before the Warp Storm appeared. There were roughly seven rebel colony worlds and two rebel Forge Worlds in the area. After weighing his options, he decided to start with the nearest: the Taste System.

The Taste System contained six planets. Taste II was a world with a hostile environment and a permanent population of only eight hundred million. Too close to its star, it endured forty-degree heat year-round. Tropical rainforests covered the entire planet, concealing terrifying creatures.

If the Catachan Astra Militarum ever came here, they would surely hail it as their second home.

The climate was too harsh, and the system lay too far from the Imperium's heartlands. When they rebelled two thousand years ago, the Imperium had not even wanted to bother with them.

What taxes could they possibly pay? With so few people, their entire tithe would not cover the fuel for a single visit by a tax ship. They had minerals, but extracting them was so difficult that it would only lose money.

Back when Taste II was still loyal to the Imperium, its Imperial Tithe consisted of nothing more than strange animal bones and pelts. (The Imperial Tithe was the tax levied on ordinary Imperial colonies: one-tenth of their wealth, whether minerals, food, or even new recruits for the planetary defense forces. As long as a Planetary Governor paid the Imperial Tithe, he could govern his planet however he saw fit.)

There had once been a colony on Taste III as well, but it had been subjected to Exterminatus for unknown reasons. After that, the Imperium never returned to collect taxes from this money-losing system.

At that moment, seven heavy cruisers and over a hundred escorts had gathered beyond Taste V.

These ships had primarily been built by the two rebel Forge Worlds. It was not that they lacked the ability to build battleships or more warships. Rather, each colony world could only find so much material, and whenever one tried to build a second cruiser, the other planets intervened to preserve the balance of military power.

"Will they really come here? This place is far too poor. I think they're more likely to raid our home worlds."

"You really don't understand the Imperium. Their Departmento Munitorum doesn't care whether a place is rich or poor. If they see territory that isn't theirs, they send troops to conquer it. And they start with the nearest target, steamrolling everything along the way. That makes this place their most likely first stop."

"But they left this place alone before because it was too poor..."

"Once they conquer it, doesn't it become the internal affairs department's problem? Let them worry about the money."

"..." Imperial logic was certainly straightforward.

Because of the anchoring effect of planets, most fleets ended their Warp journeys on the outskirts of a system. Barring any surprises, the enemy fleet would appear beyond Taste VI.

The Astartes warships, which were ill-suited to long-range engagements, would then suffer bombardment from extreme range by the forces at Taste V, unable to return fire.

Meanwhile, most of the escorts would deploy a blocking line between the fifth and sixth planets, delaying the Astartes warships' approach to the fifth. By the time they broke through the blockade and reached it, they would discover that their enemies had withdrawn to the fourth planet and begun another long-range bombardment.

In common parlance: kiting.

At the same time, the rebel forces had prepared a generous gift for their attackers.

They might not have had battleships, but each faction had its own little schemes.

Come on, gentlemen. Look, I've only got one cruiser and a few escorts. That doesn't violate our military treaty, does it?

What? Three extreme-range Lance Batteries? Battleship weapons? You must be joking. This is a cruiser. We've only increased the Lances' range and output a tiny bit, right?

And so all seven factions had fitted enormous Lance Batteries to their cruisers, though doing so came at considerable cost.

While the Lances were operating, they could power either their Void Shields or their engines, but not both.

Fortunately, this was an ambush. Astartes ships, with their lack of long-range firepower, posed no real threat to them. They would not even need to raise their Void Shields for the first three volleys.

Their seven heavy cruisers carried twenty-one Lance Batteries in total. Once the enemy appeared, even if it was a battleship, fifteen would fire first to overload its forward Void Shields. The remaining six Lance shots would then surely blow it apart.

Countless dangers lurked in the dark void, while countless small detectors monitored the entire system's outer reaches.

Suddenly, a detector flashing a red light rapidly transmitted its data back to the fleet.

The entire rebel coalition immediately went to maximum combat readiness. Alarms rang through the compartments of every warship.

"Quick, quick! Aim at the target coordinates!"

Akarov, the first member of the Seven-Man Military Council to come online, immediately issued orders to every warship. The other commanders connected one after another.

A corner of reality tore open, and an enigmatic Warp vortex appeared at the edge of the system. The scarlet whirlpool seemed ready to suck human souls into its depths.

"Ignore the escorts. Aim for the big ones." Akarov's orders reached every member of the coalition clearly.

After an escort emerged, an enormous battleship translated out of the Warp.

"Fire! Fire now!"

The enormous Lance Batteries fired fractions of a second apart. Just as the battleship fully emerged from the Warp, its Void Shields were breached, and it became a ball of fire.

"Why was that a battleship? Is this the Imperial Navy? Weren't we told it was Astartes from a few Chapters?"

Before anyone could make sense of it, two Battle Barges translated out next.

The Lance Batteries had not yet cooled down. Akarov immediately ordered, "First-line escorts, advance and tie them down! Do not target the Battle Barges with the Lance Batteries."

"Don't target the Battle Barges? Then what are we supposed to target?" Before another bearded officer on the Seven-Man Military Council could finish questioning him, another battleship translated out behind them.

"All cruisers, cut power to propulsion and raise your Void Shields!"

But they were a step too late. The battleship at the rear had clearly received a warning from the ships ahead. The instant it emerged, it aimed and fired, sending four powerful Lance Batteries' fire into a single target.

A heavy cruiser was hit. Its evasive maneuvers saved it from being destroyed outright, but the two Lance Batteries on its bow were wrecked. Only its stern Lance system and power reactor remained.

"Ahh!" One member of the seven-man council spat blood. With his faction's cruiser battered like this, they would spend a long time either being swallowed by another power or scraping by without any say in affairs.

"Lance Batteries fully charged."

"Fire! Attack that battleship!"

The powerful Lance Batteries struck again. Even reduced to fourteen shots, their fire overloaded the enemy's Void Shields. The remaining five Lances pierced the battleship, one even striking the ammunition magazine for its bombardment cannon. A massive chain detonation tore through the enemy battleship, putting another of them out of action.

Now we just need to deal with those two Battle Barges, everyone thought with relief.

Then a Battle Barge and five heavy cruisers emerged from the Warp.

"Mother-beep! Beeeep! (Keeping the internet clean is everyone's responsibility.) How are there still more?"

Although Akarov was not an Imperial general, he could see something was wrong. What Astartes force could command so many battleships? This was not the Great Crusade, when the Emperor had walked among them.

"Scan their ships' keels."

The rebel coalition's escorts took enormous risks to scan the enemy vessels' keels.

"They aren't Imperial warships. There's no keel identification data. They look like Chaos ships."

"Beep! Beeeep! Chaos has never come to a backwater like ours! Where did they spring from?"

"Who cares where they came from? As long as no more show up, I'll take it."

After another of his cruisers was badly damaged, Akarov ordered it to fall back, then swiftly directed the fleet to fire a volley that shattered an enemy cruiser.

"All warships, stop charging your Lances! Divert all power to Void Shields and propulsion. Make for Taste IV!"

By then, more than seventy of their hundred-odd escorts had been put out of action. The good news was that there would be no further mass casualties for a little while, since most of the damage had come from enemy Astartes boarding actions. The enemy now had to retrieve their warriors before they could board again.

Which Space Marines were they? Who knew? The escorts' communications were completely jammed.

Akarov swiftly directed five warships behind the fourth planet, where they lowered their Void Shields and began charging their weapons.

The other two badly damaged cruisers withdrew from the battlefield at the insistence of their two wailing council officers.

Akarov did not believe for a moment that they could escape. They could serve as bait and buy some time. The enemy still had three Battle Barges and four heavy cruisers.

He had, at most, two more volleys before the escorts were wiped out.

His five cruisers against three enemy Battle Barges and two heavy cruisers-however he calculated it, their chances were poor.

"Lances fully charged."

"Move toward coordinates 383-180-987. Attack the first heavy cruiser that appears, then divert power to propulsion and Void Shields. Withdraw behind the third planet."

The two badly damaged warships were finished off by concentrated enemy fire.

The officers from the two planets that had lost their cruisers hurled the vilest abuse at Akarov, even wishing the Chaos Fleet would slaughter them all. Akarov simply revoked their speaking privileges.

The strategy unfolded according to Akarov's plan. An enemy cruiser was blown apart, but during the retreat, one of his own cruisers took enough fire to knock out its Void Shields. Fortunately, several escorts intercepted the incoming shots. Otherwise, it would never have reached the third planet.

The last thirty escorts were retreating toward them. The slaughter had broken their nerve. Their reports called it a withdrawal, but it was already a rout.

The five heavy cruisers' Lances were ready. Deep anxiety showed on every face.

The Imperium might accept their surrender, but Chaos never would. Their only hope was that the great Commander Akarov could work a miracle.

"The fleet will move slowly toward the wasteland of the third planet. Same procedure: concentrate fire on the first heavy cruiser you see."

The three Battle Barges were already very close. They had broken through the ancient defensive array of Taste III, deployed on the fourth planet, so the first enemy ship the rebel forces saw was a Battle Barge.

"Hold steady. Don't panic."

An enemy heavy cruiser appeared, pursuing one of their escorts.

"Fire!"

The enemy still had three Battle Barges and two heavy cruisers.

They had destroyed three heavy cruisers and two battleships, at the cost of two of their own heavy cruisers and eighty-nine escorts.

It was already an excellent record, but there was nothing they could do. The enemy had too many warships.

Just as the fleet instinctively prepared to withdraw to the second planet, Akarov called a halt.

"All combat forces will land on the wasteland of the third planet. After firing their Lances, the warships will raise their Void Shields and power their engines."

Land? Everyone looked at Akarov. "We would rather see the third planet's wasteland plowed over again than let the war reach the second planet."

"But our fleet..."

"Two ships will target each Battle Barge. After firing their Lances, raise Void Shields and power the engines. Trade fire with the Battle Barges at point-blank range, then ram them."

Everyone voiced their opposition. Wasn't that suicide?

"We can no longer win this war, but we still have a chance to destroy the enemy."

"With what? Every warship our seven factions possess is here! Do you expect our planetary air defenses to blow up Battle Barges? I object. Absolutely not!"

"We can't, of course. But the Imperium can."

Everyone froze. True enough, according to their intelligence, the Imperial Fleet should now be very close.

But even if we help them and the Imperium wins, won't we still be executed as rebels?

"Are you stupid? Just present all these Chaos warships we destroyed as proof of our allegiance. When we get back, drag out the families who led the rebellion back then and chop their heads off. We might even land ourselves commissions as naval admirals."

There were supporters of Akarov's plan on the Seven-Man War Council as well.

"Gentlemen, remaining in space means certain death. Our only chance of survival is to reach the third planet. Let's go."

Landing craft and supplies continued descending to the third planet. The fleet's personnel and anti-boarding troops stripped out every removable internal defensive weapon, loaded them aboard the craft, and took them away.

"Commander Akarov, aren't you leaving?"

"I will remain aboard the warship and send the Imperial Army information based on the final course of the battle. The more detailed my report, the better their chances of victory."

"General Akarov, a communications officer can do that. You don't need to..."

"My decision is final. You-"

His adjutant knocked Akarov unconscious with a rifle butt.

"Take the supreme commander to the third planet. We still need him to command the ground defenses."

The adjutant knew exactly what Akarov intended. These stubborn, old-fashioned soldiers were always thinking about going down with their ships, and considered it the greatest honor. How had such a bad habit from Old Terra managed to survive among the stars for over ten thousand years?

Did you ever stop to think how long those useless drunks could hold out on the ground without you?

The enemy Battle Barges appeared, and the rebel coalition's last four heavy cruisers moved to meet them. One enemy Battle Barge seemed wary and did not advance, instead cruising under the protection of two heavy Chaos cruisers.

The two Battle Barges' Void Shields were breached, but they finally displayed their formidable close-range capabilities. A single shot from their enormous bombardment cannons overloaded a rebel cruiser's Void Shields, while one volley from their twelve Macro-cannon batteries could put a heavy cruiser out of action.

But when the boarding Chaos Space Marines stormed into the cruisers, they were baffled to find no enemies, no resistance, no weapons-not even lights. Their Chainswords, roaring with the blessings of the Chaos Gods, had nothing to cut.

All power was fed directly into overloading the Void Shields. Excess energy that could no longer be discharged choked the reactors, sending their temperatures soaring. The two heavy cruisers that had not been disabled rammed straight into the Battle Barges, then erupted in earth-shattering chain detonations.

The sides of both Battle Barges facing the rebel fleet melted away. All twelve Macro-cannon batteries were destroyed-or rather, blasted who knew where. Even the exploding Void Shields briefly created turbulence in the Warp. Though the third planet's anchoring effect quickly closed the Warp rifts, many things aboard the Battle Barges were still swept into the Warp.

The Battle Barges' other weapons were caught in the destruction as well. Even one of their bombardment cannons was blown away.

With the four rebel cruisers erupting in chain detonations, the final heavy cruiser could not escape its fate either. Unlike the other warships, it had not even fired its Macro-cannons. Every shell had been moved to the third planet. The entire vessel was almost empty.

Akarov's adjutant stood on the bridge of the last cruiser, composing an astropathic message to the Imperial Fleet in the Warp.

"The Chaos Fleet has attacked the Taste System. Through our valiant resistance, we have destroyed three heavy cruisers and two battleships. The enemy still has one intact Battle Barge, two intact heavy cruisers, and two Battle Barges whose weapons arrays have been completely destroyed on one side. But we, too, have suffered near-total losses. We will now withdraw to the third planet to continue fighting. If anyone hears this message, please, for the sake of your fellow humans, avenge us."

The boarding Chaos Astartes swiftly passed through the ship's undefended corridors and reached the bridge.

Akarov's adjutant turned and greeted the Chaos Space Marines with a smile:

"So it's you, World Eaters scum."

The last rebel heavy cruiser detonated itself as well, taking the half-company of Chaos Astartes aboard with it.