Alright, I'm finally restarting my work on this story ... here's the next chapter:
++Chapter 3++
++Location: High Orbit above Thandros III Equator++
Like an ancient remora unlatching from a shark the
Dominion of Men slid out from underneath the Dragoon’s flagship, its plasma engines pumping untold quantities of energy into the void of space as it took up formation alongside the
Raphael’s Horn. Far in the distance, the lights of the Imperial fleet grew ever larger as they closed in on the Dragoon’s position.
On the bridge of the
Dominion, Captain Myr sat in his command chair and monitored the progress of his bridge crew. Through the thick bulkheads he could hear his ship come to life as the weapon systems and holofields began to fire up, and smiled as the ancient technology geared for battle. He heard of the great titans behaving as chained beasts before battle, and wondered if the
Dominion possessed a similar machine spirit.
He looked at the monitor built into his right arm support, and keyed in to look at the projection of the local area of space. The opposing fleet had half a dozen cruisers and countless escort squadrons, and they were all approaching the Dragoons at a rapid pace. The Dragoon’s flagship, the
Raphael’s Horn, remained at its position as the escort cruiser
Hegemon took up a position along side. Energy readings indicated it was already powering up its massive nova cannon.
The main holo projector at the center of the bridge displayed read outs for the major systems, and Myr saw that the reactors were diverting power into the holo fields and preparing the capacitors to engage the xenos technology. As he prepared to issue the command, a bridge officer shouted from behind the command chair, “Teleport alarm!”
Before Myr could even stand up to face the officer, klaxons began to wail across the bridge as a crack of thunder and bright light ripped through the forward observation deck and blinded the Astartes. Attempting to squint through the after image that stained his eye sight, he could see ten imposing figures that suddenly appeared on his bridge.
As the bright light faded and Myr had a clearer picture of the situation, he realized there was no cause for alarm. Standing on the forward observation deck of his bridge stood ten of his brother marines, equipped with the near-impervious tactical dreadnaught armor. Stepping down from his command chair, Myr approached his brothers with a salute of respect.
“Brother Captain Iscariot, you join us in this exercise?”
The lead terminator smiled and returned the sign of the aquila, “We’ve been ordered by the Horn to teleport to your ship. You’ve been instructed to engage the holofields and set course for the
Minotaur.”
Myr was glad to receive the reinforcements. “You’re to board the ship and take out our pursuer.”
Iscariot gave a toothy grin as he stepped forward and walked towards the door out of the bridge. “And you’re to join us in the assault. Prepare yourself, head to your armory immediately.”
The Captain of the
Dominion pointed at his first officer, an eager middle aged human who had served the ship faithfully for decades. “Mister Hoshi, you have the bridge. Engage the holofields and approach the Minotaur at best speed. Don’t set the intercept course until after the fields are up, I don’t want them to know of our approach.”
Hoshi saluted in affirmation as he sat down in the command chair, his body dwarfed by the furniture that was designed to accommodate an Astartes. Myr stepped out of the bridge and into the dimly lit walkway, proceeding to his quarters to don his armor and weapons. As he approached the elevator to his quarters’ deck, the normal white lighting dimmed to a pale blue, indicating the ship was now under the cloak of the holofields.
* * * *
“The same ship from our Espandor encounter just disappeared, vectoring towards our fleet,” the bridge crewman reported.
Tiberius pointed to the location on the projector where the
Dominion of Men’s indicator light vanished. The disappearance of the small cruiser left only the large flagship and its Gothic class escort the
Hegemon. The flagship was massive, and heavily gunned – but the numbers he brought would force it to split up its fire and drain its effectiveness considerably.
“Inquisitor, sensors report nova cannon firing up from the cruiser.”
Eyeing the sensor data, the Gothic cruiser was charging up the reactors and funneling energy into the massive energy cannon at the prow of the ship. Tiberius began wringing his hands in nervous anticipation as he issued orders, “Scatter our forces out to avoid clustering. I don’t want ships to get caught in that blast because we’re too close.”
As Tiberius delegated orders from the command seat, Captain Davidson attempted to retain some control over his ship. Walking over to the sensorium workers, he leaned in close to their consoles and kept his voice hushed. “Are the vessels scrambling any fighters? Are they setting up a protective screen at all?”
Matching the Captain’s quiet tones, one of the deck workers responded. “We’ve got screens up to protect from torpedo attacks, but no offensive movements. They have deployed no fighters whatsoever.”
Glancing back over, Davidson made sure that the Inquisitor was paying no attention to his conversation. “Okay good, signal the 71st escort cruiser squadron. They’ve got a bomber wing. Tell them to start deploying pressure charges in this sector,” he gestured to a vague area below the enemy fleet. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
A warning klaxon fired and filled the ears of all on the bridge. “Nova cannon fired!”
Looking out of the massive windows that formed the forward wall of the bridge deck, Davidson could see a blue-white plume of energy rapidly approaching the fleet.
* * * *
“Enemy fleet scattering to avoid the nova cannon, sir. The ships are still maintaining cohesion, however.”
Mister Hoshi stroked his chin as he looked over the data screens. The fleet was indeed spreading out, but they were maintaining their general formation, just with the ships of the line much farther apart. “The
Minotaur is moving straight up the Z axis, change course up seventy eight degrees and intercept. Maximum speed.”
The sensor officer looked up from his post, his uncertainty at the first officer’s orders plain to see on his furrowed brow, “The holofields won’t be able to mask a plasma discharge of that magnitude, sir.”
Shaking his head, Hoshi grinned, “The nova discharge will blind their sensors long enough for us to climb to their flagship and get within teleport range. Make the course correction, helm.”
“Course changed, full speed, up 78 degrees. Time to teleport range, twenty seven minutes.”
The
Dominion of Men glided through space, its hull invisible to all observers. The holofields concealing it; however, were designed for the Eldar ships that relied on the fluid, solar craft that emitted far less raw energy as they moved through space. Usually, the
Dominion would move at less than half of its potential speed to prevent the plasma discharge from overwhelming the stealth technology. Although visually no one could still see the ship, as she reached her maximum speed the energy began to bleed through and any attentive sensors could now detect the engines. For a brief moment the
Dominion was exposed to potential discovery, but then the nova fire erupted in a white blue sphere and easily dwarfed the energy output of the cruiser’s engines. Hoshi closed his eyes briefly as the bridge viewports took a moment to adjust their polarity. The
Dominion was at a safe distance from the nova shockwave, but still close enough to be blinded by the ferocity of the explosion.
Hoshi eyed the battle display that stood at the center of the bridge deck. Their flagship, the
Horn, had turned to bring its starboard side to bear on the Imperial fleet. In less than an hour, Tiberius’ fleet would be within range of the lance batteries, and the real firefight would begin. Even as he watched the cruisers and destroyers inch towards the
Horn, he saw another nova round fire from the Gothic cruiser, this time aiming at the lower portions of the enemy fleet. A pang of concern ran over the naval officer’s body. He had been serving faithfully for the Dragoons for decades now, and although he could not even begin to fathom the reasoning behind their tactics, he knew their effects all too well. Hoshi also knew, from listening to Captain Myr during their warp journey, that the Inquisitor Tiberius was not a fool. “Communications, establish a tight beam connection with the Hegemon.
“Signal to them that they need to lay down a pattern of fire towards … ,” Hoshi eyed the various vessels at the bottom edge of the Imperial fleet. He needed a believable target, something that would be vital, yet small enough for the Dominion of Men to engage. He noticed a squadron of escort cruisers drifting down and towards the Dragoon flagship. Sensors showed bomber sized craft disembarking. “Have them move the nova shots closer and closer to those escort cruisers. They’ll assume we’re trying to destroy their fighter forces so we can launch torpedoes or Thunderhawks. Wait to transmit until the next shot in order to mask the transmission.”
After the communications officer nodded that the transmission had been sent, Hoshi sat back in the command chair and looked at the slowly growing blob of lights in the distance that was the Minotaur.
* * * *
“Fourth nova cannon shot!”
Captain Davidson was still at the sensor stations, with Inquisitor Tiberius sitting in
his command chair. The computer projected the path of the cannon shot, and a little chill went down Davidson’s spine. He got up from his chair, and putting his arm on the technician’s shoulder he quietly muttered, “Keep me posted where the fifth shot goes.” Walking over to Tiberius, he could tell the Inquisitor had experience in directing naval combat. He had never encountered an Inquisitor in such a setting, but found it odd that one would be so versed in naval tactics and captaincy.
Tiberius saw Davidson approach, “They seem to be concentrating their nova cannon fire on the southern portion of our fleet. They want us to close our gaps and move up closer. That’s not going to happen.” With his hand, he drew invisible motions on the map of the battle – broad strokes moving to the extreme left and right of the combat zone. “Send the ships in the southern zone around the flanks. We need to envelop them and finish this swiftly.”
The communications officers began to relay the orders, and the southern ships slowly began to split off to the west and east of the battle. All of the ships began to move, save the 71st escort squadron, which continued to move on their original course. Tiberius was quick to notice this, with an angry scowl forming on his face “Why aren’t those ships changing their heading?”
“Call it a hunch, Inquisitor. I sent that squadron on a mission to lay pressure charges several clicks below the enemy vessels.”
Tiberius shot up in an instant, and grabbed the naval tunic that Davidson was wearing. “I’ve got a rogue marine chapter in my grasp. These are the most conniving, deceitful opponents the Imperium has faced in centuries. I need every ship to make sure they cannot pull a single piece of wool over my eyes, and you’re attempting to supersede MY authority?!”
Sweat began to accumulate around his collar, and around his hairline as his options flashed before him. In an instant, he determined his course of action. “I was concerned they had another card left in their hand we aren’t seeing, sir.” The edge of his
sir was filled with such vitriol and sarcasm that Tiberius shook with anger. “I bet if you see where the fourth nova cannon shot hits, it will confirm that I’m on to something.”
Tiberius’ grip loosened as he was unable to mask his surprise that Davidson did not back down at all. The Captain saw the opportunity and pressed forward, “Your authority certainly does supersede mine,
Inquisitor, but your experience does not. I’ve been in my share of battles, and a ship of that size does not have just one escort with it. Recall those escort carriers if you want, but when your dorsal flank is exposed there’s not an Inquisitorial power that will save you or the rest of us.”
Just as the Inquisitor was reaching for his bolt pistol, one the sensor station attendants shouted out, “Fifth nova cannon shot!”
Davidson and Tiberius turned towards the attendant and asked the exact same question. “Destination?”
The tracking grid flared up on the main projector displaying the impact detonations of all four nova cannon rounds. No one on that deck could mistake what that visual told them, the rounds were angling towards the squadron. Unwilling to back down, but realizing he had been proven wrong, Tiberius nodded to the attendant and turned back to Davidson, “We’ll finish our conversation later. For now, continue to monitor the progress on those pressure charges.”
Internally reveling in his small victory over Tiberius, Davidson walked over to the sensor stations to monitor the situation closer. The three escort carriers, barely large enough to be designated light cruisers, had deployed their bombers and those tiny craft were now beginning to lay down a grid of pressure charges. The Captain knew that the vastness of space meant the minefield would probably not hit a single ship, but he hoped its presence would force the enemies to expose any hidden craft on his terms instead of theirs. Minutes passed as he watched the sensor banks, and there were no detonations, reports of communication traffic, or even unexpected energy readings. If there were other concealed ships, they were not budging at all.
* * * *
“Twelve minutes to teleport range.”
The machinery continued to rumble on the bridge deck, but none of the crew uttered a sound. They were now well beyond range of the Horn and her escort, so if the
Dominion was discovered now they would certainly face destruction. They had lowered their engine output back down to levels the holofields would mask, and now the crew waited for the ship to get close enough for Captain Iscariot and his terminators to teleport on board the
Minotaur. Far below the bridge deck, First Officer Hoshi knew that the strange servants of Mars were preparing the arcane machinery, probably the only people on board moving around save the Astartes. Although the Astartes and tech priests had faith in the holofields, it was still tough for most of the crew to trust alien technology, and the thought of being blown apart by macro cannons at close range brought knots to most of the crew’s stomach.
“Ten minutes to teleport range. Holofield integrity remains stable.”
Hoshi simply nodded in acknowledgment of the bridge crewmember’s report. With each passing second, the
Minotaur loomed larger and larger. The
Dominion of Men could teleport from a significant distance, primarily so it could teleport troops to the surface of planets from hundreds of miles up in orbit. The added bonus was that the
Dominion could maintain a relatively safe distance from any ship it sought to board. Relatively safe is the operative phrase – should the holofields fail she would be able to limp to safety taking in some damage, rather than being blasted into hundreds of pieces at point blank range. While the Astartes exhibited their calm disposition, the human crew could never hope to remotely emulate their zen like focus. Nervous sweat formed on the hands of every person on that deck as the timer continued to count down.
“Five minutes to teleport range.”
The hull of the
Minotaur was looming quite large now, and the crew began their final preparations for the use of the teleporter when a communications officer broke the nervous silence. “Sir! Incoming tight beam transmission from the Horn!”
A chill ran down Hoshi’s spine. “Why would they send a transmission! They just gave away our –”
Before he could finish the realization that their location was now exposed to the entire fleet, warnings began to flash on the bridge deck. “Weapons alert! The
Minotaur is firing macro cannons at our location. She knows we’re here. Three destroyers vectoring towards our position, too!”
The almost half hour of nervous silence quickly vanished as the bridge crew erupted in frantic activity to respond to their exposed state. Hoshi stood upright and began barking orders. “Drop the holo fields, emergency power up to the void shields now!” He paused to look at the timer, and saw they were less than four minutes away from teleport range. At this distance, the macro cannons’ accuracy would keep them fairly safe, but a lucky shot without their void shields could cripple the light cruiser. “Navigation, maximum speed as soon as the voids are activated. We need to close the gap to teleport range now.”
Hoshi could feel the slight rumble in the floor increase in pitch as the engines roared to maximum acceleration. Looking up, he saw the timer compensate for the changing speed of the ship. They now had a minute and fifty seconds until they could teleport the terminators onto the
Minotaur. Then they would have to address the question that was in the back of everyone’s mind: how would the
Dominion escape back to the protective fire of the
Raphael’s Horn?
