V2 Chapter 114: Bound for Tanith. The Exercise Plan.
The matter of Entropy's Song was settled.
Duvette would continue to keep the Vulkan relic in his custody. Fourth Company of the Salamanders Chapter, the Branded Warriors, would remain with the Sabbat Expedition as the Entropy's Song watch and cooperative detachment.
Beyond that, Harath Shen had drawn a ten-warrior squad from the Fourth Company, including an Apothecary, a technical sergeant, and several elite veterans, and assigned them to remain directly at Duvette's side as personal watch for both him and the relic.
That level of protection was uncommon even in Marshal Slaydo's immediate circle, let alone for a newly promoted Major General.
At this moment, Duvette was standing on the command bridge of Admiral Villent's flagship. He glanced back over his shoulder at the two dark green figures standing twenty metres behind him.
The two Salamanders stood motionless at the bridge's edge like statues, their crimson lenses continuously covering Duvette's position. Beyond them, further Salamanders were posted at the bridge corridor, by the hatch, along the tactical table's flank, and near the communications section.
The corner of Duvette's eye twitched.
Nothing to be done about it. He had agreed to Harath Shen's terms. As long as he carried Entropy's Song, a minimum of two Salamanders had to remain in the same area. The rest were distributed in the outer perimeter, recording the relic's status at all times and intercepting anyone who approached it without authorisation.
Harath Shen himself was not permanently stationed on Villent's flagship.
The Fourth Company's main strength remained aboard the Salamanders' strike cruiser, travelling with their own fleet but maintaining independent command. When required, they could deploy via Thunderhawk to the surface within a very short window.
Tu'Shan would depart afterward with the battle barge toward Nocturne, to present the complete personal account to the current Master of the Forge and the Pantheon Council.
The one thing that still required careful management was the Markus squad.
The Black Shields were resting, training, and preparing inside the fleet, but they had not yet come face to face with the Salamanders formally. Duvette knew that meeting was inevitable, but he would prefer it not to be today.
At that moment, the bridge's sound system issued a tone.
"Full fleet, preparation confirmed. Departure sequence verified. Mandeville point route locked."
Admiral Caspar Villent, standing beside Duvette, gave a nod.
Duvette acknowledged as well.
The entire fleet began leaving Balhaut's orbital berths.
One by one, the great warships released their moorings and their engine exhausts spread slowly in the planet's orbit. The fleet did not translate immediately. Following standard procedure, they moved toward the Mandeville point at the outer edge of the Balhaut system.
Only there, clear of the gravitational interference of the star and its planets, could the ships attempt a Warp translation with any degree of safety.
Duvette looked through the viewport at the fleet outside.
Its scale far exceeded anything that could be called a standard escort convoy. Six main cruisers, twenty-four escort and auxiliary warships, and nearly forty transports, ammunition ships, repair vessels, and logistics ships moved in their ordered formation.
There were also two armed merchantmen maintained through the Carpé family liaison, responsible for transport, resupply, and perimeter feinting. And the Salamanders' strike cruiser.
As for Lord Inquisitor Heinz Werner's black cruiser, the Silent Verdict, it had effectively forced its way into the fleet's formation. The Thorian Lord Inquisitor had cited the need to monitor Entropy's Song, the Black Shields, and any potential Chaos contamination as grounds that he was required to travel alongside Duvette, and would not accept any other arrangement.
Duvette had not been particularly surprised by that.
With this fleet's combined strength, the Chaos remnant warships that would come for Tanith in its original history would find a very different situation if they came in at full strength now.
He also understood that the enemy would not be foolish enough to line up for a stand-up engagement with Villent's fleet.
Their purpose was not to win a void battle. It was to break Tanith as quickly as possible, destroy the surface, and kill the three newly raised regiments. As long as the orbital strikes were delivered, even an eventual Imperial naval victory would leave Tanith in ash.
Duvette looked at the hololithic navigation chart in front of him and thought through the arrangements for Tanith.
Once the Chaos fleet was dealt with at Tanith, he could push the fleet and the battle group straight toward the planet where the STC was located. No time for General Delavere or people like him to prepare a response.
Villent finished directing the bridge crew, confirmed the fleet had entered sub-light cruise, and came to stand beside Duvette.
His gaze moved across the silent Salamanders nearby, then he lowered his voice.
"Your position has become something quite remarkable."
Duvette looked at him and exhaled slowly.
"That's not necessarily a good thing. Too visible. Easier to be watched."
Villent had already heard about what happened at the equipment receipt area several days ago.
He did not press the subject. He simply clapped Duvette on the shoulder, smiled, and moved on.
"Your exercise plan for Tanith. What are you thinking?"
Duvette brought his attention fully back to the present.
He had used the exercise as justification, but based on his memory of the original sequence of events, the Chaos fleet would not leave them much time.
He thought for a moment, then directed the battle group's acting Chief of Staff Evan to contact Gaunt.
"Tell Colonel-Commissar Gaunt to come to the bridge."
Before long, Gaunt arrived.
He saluted Duvette and Villent, took a brief sweep of the Salamanders on the bridge, and returned his gaze to the room without asking about them.
Duvette spoke directly.
"After the three Tanith regiments complete their recruitment speeches and initial oaths, they immediately proceed to a rapid assembly exercise at the designated location."
Gaunt gave a nod and waited for the rest.
Duvette continued. "The 112th Combined Battle Group will run joint exercises in the area around Tanith's main settlements. Content: forest concealment training, transport landing drills, orbital beacon tests, anti-aircraft position calibration, and medical and supply deployment."
"The first phase transport landing drill must be completed within forty-eight Terran hours of arrival."
Gaunt's brow tightened.
"The three Tanith regiments will not have completed full military training. Completing assembly and concealment within forty-eight hours is achievable. But if you expect them to participate and coordinate throughout, the confusion will be considerable."
"That is why the 112th demonstrates the first run." Duvette said. "Your three regiments watch the complete first cycle, then replicate it in groups."
He looked at Gaunt.
"I am not expecting them to become veterans in forty-eight hours. I only need them to know, if actual fire comes down, where to move, whose orders to follow, and who to hand their beacons and wounded to."
Gaunt was quiet for a moment, then gave a nod.
"I understand."
Duvette turned back to the hololithic chart.
"The full exercise period remains two weeks. The public documentation frames this as the Tanith regiment founding inspection and the 112th Combined Battle Group's first multi-regiment coordination exercise."
He traced several markers across the display.
"The Armageddon Mechanised Infantry demonstrates urban perimeter mobility routes. The Krieg and Mordian handle defence line deployment. The Elysians demonstrate rapid delivery. The Catachan Hunting Company enters the forest and tests how well the Tanith local guides and light infantry adapt. The Eisenmark Armoured Regiment operates in the outer perimeter only and does not enter the dense forest."
After laying out the ground exercises, Duvette's attention moved to Villent.
"For the fleet, I would like you to run a simulated combat exercise in the outer system after we arrive at Tanith."
Villent's brow came together.
"A simulated combat exercise?"
"Fleet deployment at the outer perimeter, escorts spread wide, listening ships and scout vessels testing the system-edge alert line." Duvette said. "The main warships do not need to approach Tanith's orbit. They only need to complete fleet coordination and early warning response procedures."
Villent was quiet for a moment, then gave a reluctant nod.
"All right." He said. "But this will slow our timeline."
Duvette did not respond immediately.
Villent looked at him and continued. "The Marshal's window for you is not generous. Tanith is a recruitment world, not a primary assault target. If he finds out you have arranged ground exercises here and sent the fleet running outer perimeter simulated engagements, he will very likely have words with you about it."
Duvette smiled slightly and offered no real explanation.
"I can manage that."
Villent studied his expression, appeared to consider saying something further, then simply shook his head and turned back to the bridge to issue the next sailing orders.
Gaunt stood to the side. He had listened to the entire exchange without speaking. He could sense that this exercise was not ordinary, but Duvette had not explained it, and Gaunt did not ask.
Outside the bridge viewport, the armoured shutters began closing slowly. The fleet was approaching the Mandeville point, and all non-essential observation windows were entering their pre-translation protective state.
Duvette looked at the Tanith coordinates brightening on the hololithic navigation chart, and the slight smile faded from his face.
He knew perfectly well that he was adding some delay.
But if they could destroy that fleeing Chaos fleet at Tanith, the delay would not only be forgiven but credited as an additional victory. A little extra time counted for nothing against an engagement won.
More to the point, what he was actually trying to secure was not the exercise time.
It was making sure that every person who needed to be in position was already there before anything else happened.
With the Navigator and the Choir's confirmation given, the Warp translation sequence began its initialisation. Rippling light appeared around the exterior of the vast hulls. Realspace bent and distorted around the fleet.
The entire formation slid gradually into the Warp tide.
They were moving toward Tanith.
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