Meanwhile, in a distant starfield, an asteroid lurched forward through turbulence.
No, more precisely, it was not traveling through "turbulence," but performing a series of utterly insane "jumps."
Every few seconds, the flying asteroid vanished from realspace, then abruptly popped out at another set of coordinates several light-years away. These jumps completely ignored the conventional rules of Warp navigation, like a madman scrawling at random across the canvas of the universe.
Inside the asteroid's cockpit, Ghazghk hammered frantically at the control console.
Behind him crowded hundreds of equally diminutive Gretchin. Some repaired the engines, which kept belching smoke; others taped together cracked bulkheads, while still others assembled bizarre weapons in the corners.
"Boss!" one Gretchin asked cautiously. "Are we really gonna rob the Necron boss's place? That's... that's the lair of the scariest Skullhead Boss in the whole galaxy!"
"Scared, my arse!" Ghazghk slapped the control console. The engines immediately let out a mournful whine, yet miraculously began spinning faster. "The Big Boss said he's lured that Skullhead Boss away! His place has gotta be practically empty!"
"But... what if there are still guards?"
"Then we kill 'em!" Ghazghk grinned, exposing a mouthful of sharp fangs. "Us Gretchin don't know much, but we know how to steal! This is our trade!"
He patted an enormous device beside him, which flickered with an eerie blue light. It was a modified Poké Ball, designed specifically to store and transport precious items.
"Lads! You ready?"
"Ready!"
"Then... jump!"
Ghazghk slammed the jump button. The asteroid vanished from realspace once again.
Seventy-two hours later, in the Khalifa System.
The Imperial Fleet had completed all its preparations for battle.
At the edge of the system, hundreds of automated buoys and smart mines formed the first line of defense.
More than a dozen makeshift defense platforms