40 Thousand Reasons

Chapter 25: Size matters

My tiny fleet doesn't even tingle the attention of the Hive fleet, which is possibly great.

This Forge World, Triplex Phall is considered the largest ship builder in the Ultima Segmentum, with many enormous shipyards in orbit, building the largest ships still possible for these days, medium-sized battleships.

They build smaller ships and space fighters too, but the focus is on the large ships, and they take enormous quantities of minerals and work-hours to construct. The flow of mineral barges has obviously stopped, as did the large ship construction.

If I manage to save the shipyards...It would be nice. There are a dozen battleships under construction and perhaps three times as many cruisers, while a host of smaller ships are being rushed into battle without full armor and point defense weapons.

Rose immediately takes charge by her Inquisitorial powers, and starts assembling the defenders into a semblance of order and a line of battle.

It even works, to some degree. Concentration of armor and firepower does give an advantage to the smaller force, but only as long as that force stays mobile and avoids getting surrounded.

She keeps glancing at me after every order, as if I was the one in charge. Wait, I should be the one in charge.

"Lady Inquisitor, I'm certain you can manage for some time, right?" I ask just as a frigate in the defensive fleet gets grabbed and snacked upon by the Hive Ship.

"Only if you find a way to save the day, Lord Pef. This isn't quite what I've been trained for." she mutters in a colder voice.

I nod and glance around the bridge, as everyone stares at me, even the Deathwatch marines. C'mon guys! You're supposed to be loyal to your Inquisitor, aren't you?

"In difficult ground, press on; In encircled ground, devise stratagems; In death ground, fight." I declare in my best voice, quoting from memory.

Ludvaius smiles sadly and nods towards me. The quote might not be in the Codex Astartes, but the wisdom inside is timeless. Come to think of it, the Astartes do practice this war axiom anyway.

I delve deep into the Litany's Machine Spirit, trying to articulate what I want, and when. Without yet another headache, the cruiser listens and changes course, accelerating at our highest sublight speed.

Meanwhile, I direct 4 destroyers to speed directly towards the combined fleet and provide support.

The space fighters launch and head for the planet, where their firepower would be most effective. I could also send assault landers with reinforcements, but they are too slow and likely not survive the blockade.

I eye my last escort holding pace with my ship, just underneath.

Nah. A sacrifice is needed, but not my own.

"Those two frigates already infested by spores. Have them ordered on ram course with the Hive Ship." I tell my Rose while the Litany recites vectors and binharic cants on different voice channels.

I do have implants though, so I can keep track of what's the relevant part of the machine rambling.

The unfinished frigates accelerate on a new course, just as the Inquisitor asks them. A final, glorious sacrifice in the service of the Emperor. They were already dead, so might as well use their deaths well.

Of course, the tyranid Queen reacts shifting a thousand ships to form a flesh and tentacle barrier, defending the precious Hive Ship.

This also leaves a small gap in the swarm, just enough for my purpose.

The Litany fires a full barrage of torpedoes, most of them normal plasma warhead torpedoes, but one of them is not what it seems. Still, all of my torpedoes have been modified to allow a miniature organic servitor brain, just smart enough to avoid obstacles and return to course, without needing long range transponders and telemetry.

At my urging, the first torpedo shifts and impacts a cruiser sized bioship, leaving a burning crater and wounding it mortally.

The Queen ignores the other 7 torpedoes, thinking them harmless, or at least barely worth of notice. The Hive Ship's stone-like armor is itself cruiser wide and thick, and it would take a hundred torpedoes to create a penetration, and even that would heal soon enough.

At the last minute, the regular torpedoes shift targets and cripple other bioships. No point wasting valuable munitions when there is something worse on the way.

The Vortex_Warhead on the last torpedo opens a Warp rift, that splits the Hive Ship into a dozen burning fragments, and demons pour out into the flesh hallways to fight the Tyranids warriors still alive.

In a minute, the Silence created by the large Tyranid presence proves stronger and the rift closes, just like a Pariah was next to it.

With the Queen dead or at least gravely wounded, the Hive fleet loses most cohesion and starts turning towards the nearest enemy without any more semblance of strategy.

The Litany fires another salvo of torpedoes and turns away, just as our lance batteries enter effective range and start discharging city destroyer fascicles at the nearest enemies.

My escort destroyer fires as well, trying its best to cover the Litany from the furious insects that have been tricked into defeat.

We lead a flock of bioships on a merry chase around the system, slowly focusing one after another until they stop following or just blow up.

Meanwhile, the combined fleet is doing quite the same, only in a tighter orbit around the Forge World and the shipyards, forcing the lesser hive ships to follow them into minefields and orbital defenses, while still protecting the ground forces of Titans and skitarii and Astartes with orbital fire or extra troops.

Battle-automata from the special Mechanicus regiments emerge to shred Tyranid bioforms with exotic weapons like electric claws and neutron lasers.

Skitarii raiders fire Volkite calivers and melta guns with perfect accuracy, each of them killing a hundred bugs before dying without a scream.

Tanks and Titans, armsmen and Astartes fight side by side, lasers and krak grenades filling the polluted Forge World air with more and deadlier effects.

My space fighters strafe Zooantropes bio-titans and unleash a barrage of missiles, doing some damage, though it's not sure how much. They turn around fire their laser cannons and aid the ground forces resist for longer.

By next day, the ground fight has aligned on improvised defense walls and long lines of tanks and other Mechanicus machines. Combat servitors emerge to stem the tide and replace lost allies.

Sometimes, the wounded are simply cyborgdized on the spot and sent back into fight.

More and more ships begin to arrive to support the Forge World, some by accident, others by rushing with intention.

Triplex Phall offers free emergency resupply with reactor rods and torpedoes at the smaller shipyards, and so I arrive to do just that.

I even send a dozen landers to deploy Hydras and Chimeras at some difficult spot in front of a large Titan Manufactorum.

Then I turn towards the Astartes guards. "Anyone wants to deploy and fight a little? You must be getting bored to death around me." I ask in a curious voice, and notice my auspex crew smile like it's an inside joke.

They nod as one. "One of us should stay anyway. Rookie, you're it." the Scythe Captain declares, pointing at the most decorated veteran in the squad.

The man pouts and sits back on the plasteel pedestal. "It's not fair..." he complains in a childish tone and starts cleaning his new combi-bolter another time. Like fifth time only today.

Perhaps I was right about being bored to death.

Ludvaius sighs and glances at me with a puppy eye. "Can I trust you to stay put on the bridge?" he asks with small hope in his gruff voice.

I just wave him away. "Take super extra ammo clips. Make it double."

Rose giggles and gestures at her own pouting Deathwatch Astartes. " Go have fun boys."

The marines salute and run towards the hangar bay, already bragging who's going to kill the biggest Nid.

Damn idiots all of them, I already killed the biggest one, the Hive Ship. Didn't even have to lift a finger, using the Machine Spirit link to do it instead. Funny enough, the Silence makes vortex warheads much safer to use, as the rifts would close pretty soon.

Then I see an eager auspex engineer bouncing in excitement in his accel couch.

Perhaps the stupidity isn't reserved for Astartes.

Humanity has been bred and indoctrinated to glorify bravery in combat. A good thing too, when living in Hell.

Then again...I wasn't much better. Just did things on a greater scale.