A glorious mishmash

The Shadow Venom Blade Chapter's Battle Barge held the front while its Strike Cruiser slyly waited for its Lances to charge, then poked out to fire at the opposing heavy cruiser before ducking behind the Battle Barge again. The Battle Barge's sturdy protection put everyone at ease.

"Ah, so this is the appeal of a Battle Barge? This is the appeal of wealth." The Shadow Blades Clan Chiefs who had negotiated this "deal" felt immensely pleased, as though victory was already theirs.

The opposing heavy cruiser was helpless, too. I have to protect this intact Battle Barge, so I can't just run around. Stay here, and I get shot. Put the damaged Battle Barges out front, and the Green Templars' warship behind us will take a shot at me.

The heavy cruiser's commander was baffled. We're transporting such important cargo, and we've already taken supplies from Taste II. Why aren't we retreating? With the way they're positioned, if we pushed toward the edge of the system, they could retreat farther out. Then we could just slip into the Warp and leave, couldn't we?

Once we're in the Warp, you Imperial ships think you can compete with our Chaos Fleet? I've got a Dark God helping me!

Do we really have to sit here and take this?

After an hour of bombardment, the heavy cruiser could no longer hold out. Several Macro-cannon batteries and Lance arrays had been damaged, and the Void Shield had undergone four emergency repairs. Each overload unleashed an Ion Wind that killed swathes of crew.

What are we taking all this punishment for? Warp fluctuations from the endless void behind the Shadow Venom Blade Chapter gave them their answer.

"Deika, they've got reinforcements! What do we do?"

A Battle Barge and two Strike Cruisers emerged from the void, their weapons trained on the Shadow Blades warships.

Deika had not expected reinforcements like these. A Chaos force this large in such a remote backwater was suspicious enough, and now there were reinforcements? What was here that warranted so much effort?

The battle took a sharp turn for the worse. The Shadow Venom Blade Chapter fleet was caught between two enemy forces. Now it was their turn to endure hit-and-run attacks.

"Deika, how long until the Storm Will Chapter arrives?"

"Forty-seven minutes. They'll be here soon. Hang in there, brother."

"Those tortoises are always a step behind everyone else. Fine, brothers, we'll go take a look for you and find out what these bastards are up to."

"Shadow Blades, don't do anything rash! Come over to me! What are you doing? Stop! Stop right now!"

Ignoring the fire from behind, the Shadow Venom Blade Chapter's Battle Barge and Strike Cruiser charged straight toward the enemy's three barges.

Only four Clan Chiefs remained after the Shadow Blades' Penitent Crusade. Now they held their final conference.

"Are we sure we want to do this? Fighting this way, even victory would be no different from the Chapter's destruction."

"Do you have a better solution to being attacked from both sides? The Green Templars' warship can't break through three enemy Battle Barges to support us."

"True. Forget forty-seven minutes-we might not even last twenty-seven before their bombardment leaves us unable to fight back."

"Does that mean we have to fight this recklessly?"

"Rather than wait for their reinforcement fleet to board us, we should board the ship they've been protecting and see what the hell is inside. We might even thwart some grand Chaos scheme."

"If we survive this, we'll squeeze at least another three Battle Barges out of the Black Storm Will."

"At last, we'll meet the Emperor."

The Shadow Venom Blade Chapter issued its final orders. "All Astartes, prepare to board. All fighters, launch and bombard the enemy's undamaged Battle Barge. Any survivors are to return to the Green Templars' hangar. All warships, target the Battle Barge the enemy is protecting. Full speed ahead!"

Deika nearly ground his teeth to pieces. They're launching a suicide attack already? Things haven't gotten that bad yet!

The Green Templars' Battle Barge also ignored the enemy fire and charged straight toward the opposing Battle Barges. The Shadow Blades intended to board a Battle Barge with just over two hundred Astartes? Wasn't that suicide? The Green Templars had no choice but to prepare three hundred Astartes to board the enemy warship alongside them.

Five of the warships with the most powerful close-range firepower in the galaxy were about to fight face-to-face.

After blasting through three massive iron doors with Melta weapons, Evan and his three teammates burst into a corridor. Wrecked machinery, severed limbs, and bloody flesh lay everywhere. Revolting, blasphemous symbols covered the bulkheads. An attempted blood-sacrifice ritual in the center had clearly been disrupted. Other squads of battle-brothers had obviously broken through here and attacked the final section.

"Let's go."

The clash of weapons and the detonation of bolts came from ahead.

The four hurried through the doors into a scene of utter carnage. At least thirty Chaos Astartes and over twenty Primaris warriors of the Green Templars lay on the floor.

The last five Chaos Astartes had exhausted their ammunition. Raising crimson Chainswords, they charged at the sons of Jaghatai Khan. The Green Templars did not meet them head-on. Under Captain Zhanke's orders, they maneuvered with their Bolters, seeking openings.

Few Green Templars died to Bolter fire. These extraordinarily gifted warriors could almost make out the bolts fired at them. Unless caught by surprise or trapped in an unavoidable barrage, few were killed by shots to the head. Most of the dozen or so fallen warriors on the floor had been struck by Chainswords.

Evan's group swiftly joined the battle. Gajie and Evan fired first. A powerful ion pistol shot struck a World Eater in the thigh, throwing him off balance. Half a second later, bolts from Green Templars all around engulfed him.

Just then, a World Eater closed with a Fourth Company veteran. His powerful Chainsword cut through the veteran's pauldron but lodged there, leaving him unable to pull it free.

William and Kshevich rushed forward, each severing one of the enemy's hands with a sword stroke. The World Eater refused to stop. He raised his enormous Warp-mutated foot-or rather, a dragon's claw tipped with razor-sharp talons.

The Fourth Company warrior, pinned by the Chainsword, tried to block the claw with his arm. It tore his entire arm apart.

Kshevich delivered a beautiful slash, sending a head flying high. Yet he could not change the fate of the Fourth Company veteran who had lost both arms.

The Apothecary Aspirant assigned to the Fourth Company hurried over to treat him. Every Astartes' Power Armour carried emergency medication for treating wounds, but these injuries were severe even by Astartes standards. His Power Armour could no longer heal its wearer.

The Apothecary Aspirant quickly took white ointment from the armoured box on his back and smeared it over the wounds.

"Hey, brother, don't be upset. The Shadow Venom Blade Chapter's right nearby. Get some rest. Once the fighting's over, we'll have them fit you with mechanical limbs. What kind do you want? How about a Quad-linked Bolter? Or a Super Power Claw?"

"Heh, then you'd better put your backs into it and finish this quickly. I can't wait to get a few of those big killing machines fitted."

The warrior let out a laugh that sounded worse than death.

"Don't talk. Save your strength," the Apothecary Aspirant said. "Have you got nothing to do? Captain Zhanke has already taken his men inside. Why aren't you following?"

The four hurried forward. The mortals in the command room still imagined they could mount a defense, only to be swiftly killed by the Astartes. Several who attempted to blow themselves up could not even get close.

"Techmarine, get over here. Extract the ship's records."

The apprentice Techmarine hurried forward. Numerous sword marks scarred both his pauldrons, clear evidence of brutal close combat.

A mechanical arm quickly connected to the warship's internal network.

"The enemy seems to be protecting some important cargo. The records here have been destroyed, but we can confirm that whatever it is, it's aboard their intact Battle Barge."

"They did arrive in this system by accident. They planned to replenish a few... uh, a few sacrifices for Blood for the Blood God."

Zhanke quickly led his men in gathering useful items from the area.

"This warship has been cleared. Everyone, head to the designated evacuation points immediately. Apothecaries and Techmarines, recover the equipment and gene-seed."

Having only just arrived, Evan and his companions turned back. The warrior who had lost both arms had stopped bleeding and was heading to the hangar with the Apothecary Aspirant to evacuate. Once everyone regrouped, they proceeded to the hangar together.

A huge breach had been torn in the hangar. The transport had been forced to reconnect to the enemy hull using Melta equipment; otherwise, even brief exposure to vacuum would worsen the injuries of wounded soldiers whose Power Armour was damaged.

For the first time, Evan felt how wonderful an evacuation transport could be. Many comrades who had been chatting before their arrival were now corpses.

The devastating casualties helped Evan understand the Storm Will warriors' frenzy after the surprise attack by the Gork Dreadnought on Atris.

Of the hundred Astartes who had boarded in this battle, fifty-five were dead and seven seriously wounded. Only thirty-eight could take part in the next attack immediately.

Seventy-six World Eaters had been killed.

Fortunately, the enemy had no Primaris Astartes. If Khorne had corrupted Primaris Astartes, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Zhanke could not understand why a single heavy cruiser had carried so many Chaos Astartes.

It was hardly his fault. He did not know that, after bombarding the third planet, the heavy cruiser had intended to send sixty-five World Eaters down in transports to annihilate the remaining enemy forces on the ground.

Its original garrison had consisted of only one combat squad of World Eaters serving as officers.

The Blessed Forest had no time to concern itself with the survivors on the third planet. It left at once to support the main force.

Huh? Where's our ship? Where's that enormous Battle Barge? Holy shit, how did five barges end up fighting in one big tangle?

The Storm Will Chapter was delivering its prebattle address when an urgent astropathic message arrived in the command room.

"Last time, we taught the Orks a painful lesson. Now our eternal enemies, those vile traitors, the scum who surrendered to Chaos-those Chaos Astartes-have appeared. What should we do?"

"Kill them all!"

"The Green Templars and Shadow Blades have once again gone ahead of us. We cannot let them lead the charge every time. As fellow warriors of the Emperor, we..."

"Chapter Master, urgent communication." The message came over Skaro's personal Communications Channel.

"Everyone, make your final preparations for battle. Dismissed!"

Upon learning how badly the battle was going, Chapter Master Skaro immediately contacted the Techmarine stationed in the engine compartment.

"Is there any way to increase our speed? Whatever the cost."

"There is. Overloading the engines could reduce our arrival time to twenty-one minutes, but we wouldn't be able to travel through the Warp for five days afterward."

"Then do it. The situation has changed. Time is life. Accelerate at full power."

Their opponents this time were also Astartes. Each side had four Battle Barges and three cruisers. It would come down to who could hold out until the end.

The Storm Will warships accelerated. Exceeding standard cruising speed like this even destabilized their Gellar Fields. Strange Warp creatures occasionally appeared on the decks, then vanished with bizarre laughter. Right now, for instance, a peculiar cloak seemingly stitched together from a heap of rags was flapping about, slapping those odd little Warp imps across the face. Ah, the absurd Warp.

Skaro declared that five days without Warp travel was no issue at all. Even if they could never travel through it again, the Dawn Angels Chapter arriving with later reinforcements could take them away. So long as they won. So long as they won!!!

If the Storm Will Chapter had previously resembled a submarine slipping through the deep sea, quietly checking its charts and correcting course, now it was a speedboat that had gradually surfaced as it accelerated, racing over the waves. They skipped between the Warp and realspace like a stone across water. The enormous Warp ripples stirred by their wave-breaking advance were enough for even Greater Daemons roaming Khorne's Realm to notice their trail.

When the frenzied sons of the Imperial Fists burst from the Warp, relentless cannon fire and Lance bombardments greeted them.

"One Battle Barge and a Strike Cruiser? Do they think so little of us? All ships, charge! Annihilate them!" The two Battle Barges did not slow at all, charging forward at their furious speed. The Strike Cruiser followed close behind.

Ever since the five Battle Barges became entangled, the Chaos reinforcement fleet had tried to join the battle. But they, too, had heard the whispers of the Warp: an Astartes fleet was approaching the Taste system at an outrageous speed to provide support.

The Chaos reinforcement fleet sent only one Strike Cruiser into the melee. The other Chaos vessels concealed themselves, preparing to ambush that reckless Astartes fleet.

The Green Templars and Shadow Blades could no longer concern themselves with any of that. Deika had led the veteran company aboard the enemy's intact Astartes Battle Barge alongside the Shadow Blades. Over five hundred Imperial Astartes and more than four hundred World Eaters were locked in a bloody struggle. They received Zhanke's communication: something extraordinary had to be hidden here. Even if they could not seize it, they had to destroy it.

Seeing this, the other two damaged Battle Barges immediately assembled forces to board their own vessel in support, while also organizing a counterboarding assault on the Shadow Blades' Battle Barge. In response, the Green Templars pulled another company from the Astartes guarding their Battle Barge and sent it aboard a damaged enemy Battle Barge whose defenses had been depleted.

Meanwhile, the Blessed Forest, where Evan was stationed, directly confronted the Strike Cruiser sent by the enemy reinforcement fleet to support the main battlefield.

The entire battlefield descended into utter chaos.

The battle was largely divided into three sections: the main battlefield, where five Battle Barges and a heavy cruiser were tangled together; the secondary battlefield, where the Storm Will's two reinforcing Battle Barges and one Strike Cruiser traded fire with the enemy reinforcement fleet; and the encounter between the Blessed Forest and the Strike Cruiser detached from the enemy reinforcements to support the main battlefield, which were closing on each other.

The Blessed Forest now carried only the Fifth Company and the depleted Fourth Company, a total of just over a hundred and twenty Space Marines. Even so, seventy assault troops were assigned to boarding duty. Since Evan's group had just completed a boarding action with heavy casualties, they were assigned to defend the Blessed Forest.

A duel between Strike Cruisers involved no fancy bombardments or elaborate strategies. Both sides boarded each other at point-blank range while their weapon arrays traded fire. Whichever side killed all the enemy Astartes would win.

Enemy boarding pods plunged deep into the Blessed Forest. As uninjured Astartes, Evan, William, Kshevich, Charles, and Gajie formed a mobile unit and hurried toward the fighting. Huge breaches blasted open by enemy Macro-cannons appeared nearby from time to time.

"The enemy is approaching the bridge. Stop them." Zhanke's voice echoed over the communications channel.

Evan and the others quickly reached the passage between the lounge and the bridge. Any enemy attacking from the hangar would have to pass through here.

"Clear everything away. Keep our fields of fire open."

William methodically directed everyone to stuff the clutter into the cable ducts in the ceiling. Naturally, they also concealed a bomb there.

The passage could accommodate only three Astartes standing sideways. They blasted away the upper half of the alloy partition door and took up positions behind the remainder as cover.

Evan, Gajie, and William would form the first line of fire. Evan still carried his Bolter with an ion pistol attached. Gajie wielded a Heavy Plasma Rifle that could almost qualify as a Chapter relic, its powerful energy intended specifically for slaughtering heavily armoured enemies. William chose his favorite "twin-linked" Bolter.

Kshevich and Charles readied Astartes-pattern Fear Spears. These powerful power spears concentrated all their energy at the tip. Their tremendous penetrating power could punch a huge hole even through a Cataphractii Terminator.

Tremors in the floor heralded the enemy's approach. Everyone tightened their grips on their weapons.

This is trouble. Real trouble. With vibrations like that, either a Terminator Tactical Dreadnought is leading them, or there's a whole mob of Chaos Astartes.

The enemy realized there was an ambush ahead, but they did not care in the slightest.

A black-and-gold Terminator appeared first at the corner. Gajie and Evan opened fire the instant his pauldron came into view. Two powerful ion streams overloaded the Cataphractii Terminator's deflection field, and the dense barrage that followed shattered his frontal armour.

Both sides were stunned.

"Fuck, Primaris Space Marines!"

"Holy shit, Luna Wolves?"