Oh well, I knew there would be reinforcents coming to this party, I had just forgotten that warp-less engines had spread among the Imperium forces as well, and possibly even the warp-less transceivers, even if those were new.
Battlefleet Deter was ford around a fleet carrier with about 200 system-corvettes and thousands of Fury starfighters, an Emperor-class battleship and a dozen cruisers, which wasn't bad at all.
The Dark Angels had brought and inviting boarders to battle him in a honorable duel.
Got ya now idiot!
A plasma warhead blew up his bridge, right after the traitor himself was trapped in my labyrinth, with all his precious artifacts. A dozen of his chaotic lieutenants joined Abaddon the Despoiler in my Chaos deck, arranged to stand one on top each other's shoulders like a circus troupe, with the frozen Abaddon holding them all like a champion.
"More vox ssages from the Imperial ships, Captain!" the vox officer announced as expected.
"The battle is not over. They can congratulate when we win, which is not yet." I muttered and directed a hundred corvettes to enter low orbit and bombard the invaders, while the rest of my ships were allowed to hunt in packs and demolish the remaining opposition.
It took an entire day to hunt down and lt down the surviving Orks and traitors hulls, before my fleet regrouped back in orbit over Pythos.
The Imperial Navy Admiral was dead, because he invited Chaos Terminators on board his Emperor-class battleship, the Revenge. And the Dark Angels and the Grey Knights had to battle hard to recover the ship.
It didn't matter anyway. Another well-connected officer will be promoted in his place, and nothing of importance was lost. Too bad about the Navy crew who saw the Grey Knights, as they will be killed to keep the secret.
"Everyone leave the bridge. All ships cover your windows as for Warp. No point getting executed for seeing funny Imperials." I ordered and pointed to Canis as well. The Space Wolf threw a pitiful glance and ran out.
Rose waited until the bridge door closed, and then leaned over to kiss my cheek. "A magnificent victory, my love. But you know, that Primarch I sense on the Rock will take the glory."
Didn't bother one bit. "I lost ten ships...it kinda hurts." I muttered instead.
Velayne kissed my other cheek, and then sat in the vox officer seat. "Your Lady Ivixia seems eager to et you, dear Pef." the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor explained while overriding the security controls and establishing a pict-link with the Rock.
"This is Inquisitor Ramaeus. Identify yourself." the woman demanded in a stern voice.
"This is Primarch El'Johnson. Explain why you blew up the last battleship." the man demanded in powerful voice.
I tapped into the Vox channel as well. "Well t Primarch. I am Pef Lancefire, Chapter Master of the Lanters Chapter and a Rogue Trader too. Any reason why any Astartes or Rogue Trader should not blow up Chaos warships?" I asked in a teasing voice.
The Primarch glared at for a few seconds. "... There were precious relics on board. Plus so traitors I wanted to be captured."
I ignored his feeble excuse and smiled genially. "Of course, Lord El'Johnson. I do have so important prisoners and their artifacts. I'm certain we can trade and both obtain what we want. Lady Ivixia, always a pleasure to et an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor that has not been corrupted, yet." I declared with a wry smirk, which didn't please Ivixia too much, as she gritted her teeth with a red face.
With a ntal flick I closed the connection and began sending landers to recover my troops and Tarantula turrets. My job had been finished rather satisfactory, although eights Knights and three Titans were damaged, plus a third of the Tarantula turrets and Guardians had been destroyed. I intended to make the Imperium pay for my loses anyway.
"Incoming transmission from the silver cruiser. Wanna chat with the Grey Knights?" Velayne asked in a professional tone.
"They are rely mindless automatons, no point in talking with them." I answered with a level voice, while ordering my fleet to interpose aggressively and protect our lander craft.
"Twenty more attempts at vox transmissions." Velayne muttered as my ships ford a barrier of armor and lance batteries around the stream of landers.
"Just ignore them, and they'll go away. Or perhaps shoot first, so I can blow them up in self-defense." I said in a careless voice.
It wouldn't co to that with a Primarch watching, but better make sure.
"...And you wouldn't even blink doing that, would you?" Rose asked curious.
"Why would I blink, my dear? I have family on Pythos that I intend to protect and recover. Those demonhost space marines an nothing to . Mindless zombies all of them." I grumbled as I leaned into my command chair.
A new communique arrived from the Rock, and that I allowed through. "Lord Lancefire...the Grey Knights demand that no locals be allowed on your landers. Vital to the security of the Imperium." Inquisitor Dannica announced holding out her Rosette to confirm the order.
A pity then. Nearly 50 million people...well. If they were going to burn them anyway, I could pillage the place.
I nodded at the holoscreen and closed my eyes. There were thousands of small settlents dotting the higher mountains, which beca suddenly empty as their population was transferred into my tesseract labyrinth.
Nearly 40 million people that never boarded a lander, as ordered. Couldn't do anything for those poor souls in Hive City Atika, which would be closely monitored to prevent escapees, but I could steal a thousand tons of munitions and weapons from their sealed armories. The Imperium would pay for my losses double.
"My duty here is over then." I announced with a calm voice, and turned off the Vox channel. The Tyranids would not wait after all, and were already massing for great al on the jungle world.
Without replying to more transmissions, I loaded the Titans and Knights back in the landing bays and urged my fleet away, clearing an escape path with our Nova Cannons and concentrated lance battery fire. The Imperial Navy didn't stick around either, following my bigger fleet to safety.
Just before we departed the gravity well of the sun, the jungle world Pythos was engulfed in the familiar flas of an Incendiary Exterminatus torpedo, only an hour after the Tyranids began landing their spore pods.
A bit too soon in my opinion, but good enough. The lead Tyranid spore pods did contain the Broodlords and Tyrants, and losing them would weaken the Tyranid splinter Fleet greatly. This would also leave the bioships stranded here, hibernating to conserve energy while maintaining a thick Shadow in the Warp around the ruined Pythos.
The Demon Cache under Atika would be sealed by molted lava and covered in Warp disrupting Silence, while the Chaos forces lost their best leader and much of the Black Legion fleet, probably more than half.
anwhile my own collection grew, and I had things to trade now, valuable things.
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