Dazzling lances and macro-cannon shells poured into the T'au fleet like a torrential rain. The void shields of the Imperial battleships held firm, absorbing the brunt of the return fire.
The Imperial Navy's objective was singular and ruthless: the systematic attrition of the enemy's strength. Lances from the battleships and battlecruisers bypassed the larger silhouettes to deliver devastating strikes against the clustered cruisers and escorts. In the opening salvo alone, sixteen T'au escorts were reduced to expanding clouds of superheated debris.
The Imperial Navy's centuries of ship-to-ship combat experience far outstripped the T'au tactical repertoire. The majority of the xenos' firepower was wasted against the layered void shields of the Imperial capital ships; the Imperials suffered only minor damage to a single frigate.
However, this initial exchange did not guarantee Imperial dominance.
The T'au Custodian-class Battleship Or'esel'leath served as a formidable carrier-hybrid. Possessing the displacement and durability of a battleship, its primary function was the deployment of swarms of strike craft. Barracuda Fighters and Tiger Shark Fighter-Bombers erupted from its hangar bays like a disturbed hornet's nest. Furthermore, long-range plasma cannons and massive railguns, forged with the technological aid of the Demiurg (Votannic prospectors), granted these vessels terrifying anti-ship capabilities. Concentrated plasma bursts and railgun slugs hammered against the Imperial void shields, eliciting rhythmic pulses of violet light as the shields struggled to bleed off the kinetic and thermal energy.
The T'au possessed no void shield technology. Instead, they relied on energy shields, a primitive derivative of Dark Age of Technology principles. Unfortunately for them, their power generation and shield-recharge rates were mere shadows of true Federation standards. Even with Demiurg assistance, they could not replicate the nearly impenetrable, layered shielding characteristic of the ancient Iron Men's mechanical fleets.
As Imperial missiles and strike craft closed the distance, a chaotic dogfight erupted. Barracudas danced through the void, weaving between the strafing runs of Fury Interceptors. Meanwhile, Tiger Sharks bypassed the shifting dogfights, banking past Starhawk Bombers to dive headlong toward the Imperial line.
For the pilots of both sides, the void was a deathtrap. Beyond the enemy's guns, they had to navigate the primary weapon trajectories of the massive warships. A stray lance beam or plasma bolt would turn a starfighter into a fleeting, silent firework.
As the strike craft drew near, the escorts, hitherto sheltered beneath the hulls of the capital ships, broke formation to move into picket positions. In this instant, every frigate and destroyer faced its mortality. Their task was to utilize high-RoF point defense and rapid-lock systems to swat the bombers and attack craft before they could breach the perimeter. If these craft penetrated the formation, they would sow chaos and degrade the fleet's combat efficacy, using heavy missiles and bombs to target primary weapon batteries at ranges where energy shields provided little protection.
The T'au strike craft complement was nearly triple that of the Imperial force. The Fury Interceptors were fighting a desperate, losing battle of numbers. Of the Imperial ordnance, missiles, torpedoes, and Starhawks, only twenty percent managed to break through the xenos interception screen.
Just as the engagement entered its most brutal, close-quarters phase, a warp rift tore open on the flank of the battlefield.
A small flotilla emerged from the Immaterium: an Inquisition Black Ship, an Adeptus Mechanicus Ark, and two Guardian-class mechanical vessels. Immediately upon exiting the warp, the Black Ship transmitted a high-priority communication request to Volkus.
When the Imperial Commander accepted the link, the Inquisitor on the viewscreen looked at the officer's battle-worn appearance with surprise.
"War Zone Commander? Is there an error in the vox-link?"
The Commander cut through the Inquisitor's hesitation. "If you are looking for the Planetary Governor, you have the right frequency. That fool is currently in my custody."
The Inquisitor's gaze sharpened. For a military commander to imprison a Planetary Governor was a severe breach of protocol.
"Save your judgment," the Commander growled. "The world is infested with xenos infiltrators of which the Governor was blissfully unaware. The local Ordo executed the arrest; I merely provided the muscle."
The Inquisitor's expression softened instantly. "Very well."
"Tell me, Inquisitor, are you here to reinforce us?" The Commander's voice held a glimmer of hope, though he knew the Inquisition rarely traveled with such a small, eclectic fleet unless on specific business, even if they carried Black Templars or other Astartes. He hungered for the sight of a full Segmentum battlefleet.
The Inquisitor shook his head. "Hardly. We are here for the Tithe. Volkus: Industrial World, Tax Grade Exactis Tertius. Mechanical Tithe, Psyker Tithe, Material Tithe. The Tithe of Trainees and Manpower will, of course, be handled by the Astra Militarum and Navy directly."
Fury flashed across the Commander's face, tempered by a sense of crushing futility. Against the backdrop of a war for survival, the Imperial Tithe was the inexorable machine that kept the Imperium turning.
"The xenos are at our throats! As a representative of Imperial power, you ignore the coordinate of battle to obsess over planetary taxes?!"
The Inquisitor understood the man's rage. However, his confidence stemmed from the previous world they had visited. He had witnessed the horrifying potency of those mechanical ships.
Those "iron husks" had initiated a boarding action against a Chaos fleet consisting of four cruisers and several destroyers. Within two hours, they had purged every traitor. Finally, they had towed the drifting hulks to the nearest star, watching them incinerate as "extra fuel." A single such vessel possessed the combat weight of a small Imperial task force, and here, there were two.
Furthermore, there was the massive "accessory" flanking them: an Ark Mechanicus. He couldn't fathom why the Cult Mechanicus had dispatched an Ark for a routine collection task usually handled by a cruiser, but he had noted the Ark spent the entire voyage attempting to scan the very mechanical ships assigned to escort it.
Mid-transmission, an adjutant rushed into the command bridge. "My Lord! The T'au fleet is breaking formation! They are turning about, it looks like a full retreat!"
The report reached the Inquisitor's ears as well.
"It seems we should reconnect shortly," the Inquisitor remarked.
The Commander had no objection. The Tithe was the duty of every citizen of Volkus, but he had no appetite for bureaucracy while the void burned. He needed to know why the T'au were fleeing.
The Inquisitor, meanwhile, was simply curious. Having seen those mechanical ships board a Chaos fleet, he wanted to see what kind of "baroque violence" these iron giants would inflict upon the T'au.
——————
If you want to read ahead of everyone, go to my pat-reon: pat-re-on.c-om/magnor (remove the hyphen to access normally)