The Imperial Fleet did not pursue at full strength. They had already secured orbital control, and there was no need to risk venturing into an atmosphere where the enemy might have laid traps.
Saul stood on the Bridge of the Blade of Sorrow, watching the retreating xenos warships, a flicker of conflicting emotions in his eyes.
"Saint, should we pursue?" Yanis asked.
"No." Saul shook his head. "Let them go. We control orbit. That is enough."
He turned toward the tactical star map. "Order the fleet to begin reconnaissance by fire against the surface. I want to know how strong their shields are."
"Yes, Saint."
Minutes later, more than a dozen Imperial warships adjusted their orbital positions, targeted several major cities on the surface of T'au, and began a probing orbital bombardment.
Orange-red macro-cannon shells rained from the sky like a meteor shower.
But as they approached the atmosphere, a pale blue curtain of light suddenly appeared, enveloping the entire planet. This was the T'au planetary shield system, maintained by hundreds of massive shield generators scattered across the surface.
The shells struck the shield in brilliant bursts of light, but it merely shuddered before returning to normal.
"Report: the enemy planetary shield is extremely strong. Our calculations indicate that, at our current level of firepower, we will need at least seventy-two hours of sustained bombardment to breach it."
Seventy-two hours. Three days and nights of uninterrupted bombardment.
Yanis frowned. "That will consume an enormous amount of ammunition, and the shield may be able to repair itself..."
"Then prepare for a landing operation," Saul said decisively. "If we cannot destroy them from orbit, we will send landing forces to seize those shield generators directly."
"Notify all Chapters and units to prepare for the assault. Their objective is to destroy every shield