953.M30.
Coronid New Zone, the Soshyan Passage, 4.13 light-years from the Grail Abyss.
The Ramilles-class starfort Casardeg guarded the gateway of the passage.
For a large-scale green tide to break into the Coronid New Zone, it would have to pass through the Soshyan Passage.
Other regions were either blocked by Warp storms or chaotic asteroid belts, allowing only sporadic Ork vessels through, posing no major threat.
The Soshyan Passage was the only route permitting large-scale Ork transit from the Grail Abyss. Hold it, and the Orks couldn't truly threaten the Coronid New Zone.
For nearly a century since the Casardeg's deployment, the majestic void fortress had repelled wave after wave of greenskins surging from the Abyss.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm sounded in the central region of the Ramilles-class starfort.
Gomez, a Librarian of the Sixth Chapter and a divination-psyker, checked the tactical data on his helmet display.
He hurried to the divination table, lit incense, and placed his hand on a crystal ball.
After nine seconds, the crystal ball remained inert.
Gomez ascended to the Third Level of the Enumeration, freeing his light body from his flesh.
From above, he observed the Auxiliaries' pale red battle-lust and their deep black fear.
The battle-brothers' faint red battle-lust and their blue, rational order.
....
The divination-psyker released his guarded mind, allowing his thoughts to drift.
He wandered aimlessly through the fog, searching for a thread.
His light body gradually dimmed as he journeyed. Fatigue set in.
He gathered his thoughts and let his light body settle back into his physical form.
Gomez stood still for a few seconds before opening a comm channel.
"Captain, I can't divine anything. I can't provide you with actionable intelligence."
"Understood." The captain quickly ended the call.
Gomez pressed the activation rune and slid open the door.
CORV Drone, one on each side of the door, fell in behind him.
Gomez walked swiftly to the strategic command room. As he entered, the image projected by the main holographic projector drew his gaze.
An asteroid fortress.
An engine shroud, a patchwork of junk several kilometers wide, was deeply embedded in the bedrock, glowing with an eerie red.
Gomez's eyes widened. The rugged surface bristled with massive orbital cannons and torpedo launchers.
This incoming asteroid fortress was more heavily armed than the one fifteen years prior.
Rows of las-beams from the southern quadrant sliced through the void, slamming into the asteroid fortress.
Steam clouds flashed and burned. Threat vectors plummeted.
Gomez stepped forward, looking around. Officers were ensconced in the simulation sanctums. Columns of dense numbers and runes scrolled.
Serf crewmen nervously pushed and pulled switches at their consoles.
Chattering automated telegraphs read out void force dispositions, damage reports, and weapons fire plans in binary.
Tech-Priests occasionally intoned key information back to the commanders.
His gaze swept over the view screens. An endless stream of torpedoes from the central quadrant arced over, overwhelming the Orks' junk fleets.
Librarian Gomez's mind raced through calculations.
He moved to the Captain's side and stated his conclusion: "A powerful Ork Warlord. But his junk fleet will still be destroyed."
"Correct," the Captain said. "The macro batteries in the eastern quadrant are ready."
"Enemy vessels are within firing range," a red-robed Tech-Priest intoned.
Each quadrant of the Ramilles-class starfort carried different weapon systems. Four subordinates and the Chapter's full-fledged Techmarine commanded the four quadrants respectively.
The Techmarine's team controlled the eastern quadrant.
The recoil from the massed macro battery volley was absorbed by the majestic Ramilles-class starfort.
The machine-spirit's wrathful static surged across the main holographic projector.
The display's glow flooded Gomez's world.
The light blazed.
As Gomez's vision returned, the Ork asteroid fortress had been torn apart.
Void flashes and shimmering electromagnetic pulses were all that remained.
Gomez sighed in relief. He didn't know why he had received no revelation, but at least the Ork invasion had been crushed.
"Alert!" The Tech-Priest's cold voice cut through.
"Threat vector rising!"
"90.2... 90.5... 94.13..."
The threat vector scale for the Ramilles-class starfort was 0 to 100. A reading above 90 indicated a mortal threat to the starfort's existence.
The Captain stared at the main holographic display. "Identify the threat source."
"Four Ork asteroid fortresses," the Tech-Priest's mechanical voice trembled slightly. "Six..."
Gomez's pupils dilated, swallowing his irises.
Only the most powerful Ork Warlords in the Grail Abyss possessed an asteroid fortress.
Now, there were six... no, including the one just destroyed, seven.
"Eight..." The Tech-Priest's bionic eyes flashed red.
"Threat vector: 100!"
The Captain rapidly switched comm channels, shouting: "Northern quadrant! Full power!"
Crack!
The lumen lights in the command room went out. The chattering telegraphs clicked feebly and stopped.
The plasma weapons in the northern quadrant were the most powerful in the Casardeg's arsenal. At full power, they would instantly drain the energy pumped by the punitive-class reactor.
White-green plasma energy surged tens of thousands of kilometers high. The fierce lightning was visible to the naked eye.
Gomez squinted, his eyes fixed on the main holographic display.
A vast debris cloud slowly came into view within his obsidian eyes.
The asteroid fortress had been burned to ash; no debris remained.
"Seven... asteroid fortresses remain!" The Tech-Priest's announcement was abnormally piercing.
"Enemy impact!"
A crimson sphere streaked in like a meteor.
The asteroid fortress slammed into the fortress-grade energy shield. The explosion, accompanied by alarms, shook the entire command room.
"Northern shield collapsed. 40.9 percent of the region lost. Impact..." The Tech-Priest's report cut off.
Rumble!
The Casardeg lurched, tilting.
A dark shadow suddenly loomed in Gomez's mind. He shouted a warning: "Danger!"
The Librarian raised his force staff. Runes flickered around him and his CORV Drone.
A dazzling light flared!
Rumble!
Another asteroid fortress crashed into the central region.
The dome shattered. Massive towers, bridges, and defensive walls crashed into the strategic command room.
Boom!
A tower slammed into the Captain, crushing the Shadow of Order into a dark smear.
The tower's sharp edge shrieked as it struck the psychic shield.
Gomez saw stars. Blood trickled from his nose and mouth.
Bang! Bang!
The CORV Drone exploded.
Gomez staggered backward.
Bang!
An Ork crashed into the tilting main strategic room. A head taller than Gomez, it swung its two mechanical pincers.
Gomez drew his force sword. A faint glow flickered.
Shriek!
A blue arc severed the Ork's mechanical right arm.
Whoosh!
Its mechanical left arm shot through the air, clamping onto Gomez's black armor.
Armor plates shattered. Flesh tore.
The Ork raised the Librarian's corpse high and roared: "Waaagh!"
Ork lootas, carrying crude rocket packs, screamed down around him.
They howled.
"Vigil!"
"Waaagh!"
The green tide divided the Ramilles-class starfort Casardeg. Seven Ork Warlords, bellowing their war cries, surged towards different star systems within the Coronid New Zone.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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