40 Thousand Reasons

Chapter 74: Eldar strike back

"Mighty C'tan, you were saying something about a fleet coming here?" I asked out loud.

The ancient god nodded gravely. "You stirred a hornet nest by attacking those Eldar craftworlds, Pef Lancefire. And although you have tried to prepare, minefields and forts and a whole fleet of human warships, a thousand Aeldari cruisers and even some battleships will arrive soon. Perhaps only the Necrons would be able to match this array of forces, a whole Dynasty or two."

I grimaced in a pained smile. Of course the Eldar wouldn't simply take it.

"Janice dear, visit the torpedo room and examine each warhead, starting with Vortex, then Exterminatus and the melta torpedoes." I sent mentally towards my naive daughter.

"Oh? Can I daddy? Mom said it was dangerous!" she replied a bit doubtful.

"She is here with me, sweetie. We need to receive a big Eldar fleet coming here." I explained a bit more sternly. "Tell Janice is okay. We better start priming the welcome gifts for our visitors." I added in a level voice towards the Inquisitor.

"Alright. I suppose we can do that. What about Ario_Barzano?" my Rose asked sternly and eyed the C'tan warily.

Well, this godling wasn't the issue right now. Keeping a mental eye on Janice, I followed her steps into the armored torpedo room, and the most secure and potent weapons in the humanity's arsenal. I will need them all.

"I don't know this Inquisitor well enough, my dear. He was sent to Forge Antax by his 'rescuer'. It seems he had been poisoned by a Dark Eldar Archon, and barely survived." I commented as the first Vortex torpedo arrived in the inner cave of the Pharos.

Now, you want to attack my fleet and private lighthouse/teleporter/observatory? Not on my watch, silly Farseers! I can see you coming...well... I mean, the C'tan can see you coming from half the galaxy away.

" Antax is not that far...if the Mechanicus provide him a fast escort, he could arrive in a few days, or weeks." the Inquisitor mused in deep thought.

Warp travel was never an exact science. Unless your destination was just the star system nearby, travel time was always of dubious reliance.

Now, what could the Eldar target be? The captured Eldar for certain. They were kept on board the new Aegida fortress, guarded by a Company of Astartes, and thousands of Scythe serfs and some tech-priests.

Better send the Silent Sisters there, just in case. Eldar were psykers, so the Sisters would nullify most of their abilities.

What else? The derelict Eldar warships? Most likely. They would try to keep their technology secure, especially from humanity whom they saw as primitive monkeys. They might try to destroy the ships, before we reverse-engineered their advanced tech.

The C'tan himself? Quite possibly. Nothing I could do about that. We did have kilometers of magma above us, and walls of nearly indestructible living rock as a bunker. The safest place around, anyway.

The tech-priests and the fragile Universe-class conveyors would make a juicy target, just to hurt the Imperium, or in this case my new empire in the fringe.

Will need to send them orders, to depart for Forge Retribution at once.

The defensive fleet and the forts would help somewhat, although the C'tan was certain they will not be sufficient. Possibly correct, if the Eldar brought Void battleships. Those vessels were nearly as tough as the Necrons' Tomb ships.

So I will need to scry-and-fry the bigger ships, and won't be available for conducting fleet maneuvers. Except via advice to my more loyal Blood Angels. Will need to disperse them as bridge security on every ship of our own, if the Scythes would allow it.

Which they probably won't, or would not listen to combat orders anyway.

"Signus, take command over the teleportarium console. A few Blood Angels will provide enforcement." I sent into the mind of my more trust-worthy bridge officer. He did have plenty expertise with Warp-based machinery.

"Lord Pef? Is this some kind of psyker transmission?" he wondered in worry.

"Nope. I'm a Blank remember? Just a device for mind-to-mind messaging, which I suspect the Inquisitor might use to command her Sisters of Silence." I explained with a mental shrug.

"... If you say so, Captain. The Sisters are voiceless but Blank as well...huh. I never considered how they coordinate in battle." Signus reasoned his way through the logic problems, like any Mechanicus member.

"Right. Anyway, there seems to be an Eldar fleet on approach. Make use of those nice warheads, if you can." I added, then started commanding the Blood Angels to their new posts.

"You seem determined to fight these Eldar, even against impossible odds." the C'tan commented out loud, while Rose was activating warhead after warhead, with her Inquisitorial Rosette, much faster than I could.

I nodded in silence. "Requiem, escort the conveyors to Forge Retribution. Launch our fighters first, and have them on patrol at the Webway. The Atreides will keep station and finish off damaged invaders." I continued with another flurry of mental commands.

There! Everything was as ready as it could be.

"My Rose, have your Sisters deploy on the Aegida, if you will. I doubt they'll listen to me." I asked in a soft voice and just relaxed to rest.

Teleporting torpedoes was a little tiring, and this was still only orbit to ground displacement. Don't fail me now, Astartes genes!

A true Astartes could maintain combat effectiveness for weeks, or maybe years, by sheer strength of will, while true Primarchs could hold on for millennia. Those giant morons hunting demons inside the Eye of Terror as self-imposed penance, they had never rested in 11 thousand years. I would only need a few hours.

I began reciting the canticle over and over, trying to fortify myself, still keeping an eye out for incoming enemies via the Pharos.

And as expected waves of Eldar fighters emerged from the Webway, right into the minefield and point defense fire from the Atreides, the Scythe cruiser who guarded the portal.

Then our own fighters chased and launched hunter-killer missiles and fired their lascannons.

For half-an hour the skirmish continued, with starfighter losses quite equal for both sides, despite our ambush. Eldar craft were fragile, but very fast and maneuverable.

"Battleship arriving in 10 solar seconds." the C'tan warned me, with a mocking voice.

Instantly, I primed then teleported the vortex torpedo right next to the Webway portal. The prow of the Eldar battleship vanished in a gigantic Warp rift, which soon devoured the portal itself, and began bending and warping the wraithbone construct, scattering the Eldar fleet for light years around.

The Eldar battleship flared some kind of shield and pushed through, although a third of its bow was missing and a third more of the hull was on fire and crawling with demons.

The Atreides cruiser fired his own torpedoes from behind the gate, ripping off a few solar sails and setting more fires.

Well, that ship won't bother anyone too soon.

More Eldar ships began to emerge, more or less damaged and began firing at the Warp rift with their own lances and beams, while the secondary batteries targeted the winged demons.

I really wish they had popcorn in 40k, although I suppose I could invent it. Microwaves were not all that complicated after all, even if the Mechanicus made only Volkite guns with them.

Meanwhile, the Canticle and the Requiem had formed up with the conveyors and were slowly accelerating in the opposite direction from the Webway, trying to reach the Warp limit for a safe jump.

"Strike Cruiser Atreides, disengage and support the Aegida perimeter." I demanded as another battleship began emerging from the burning portal.

They didn't listen right away, launching another torpedo salvo and firing their batteries, without much effect. Instead, they got hit pretty bad in return, and they had to enter emergency Warp to escape.

Damn idiots.

Anyway. I did have another vortex warhead, but I was wary of launching it in the same place. A Warp Storm could form, and then everyone would lose.

Instead, I teleported a melta torpedo right beneath the battleship's engines, which worked pretty good anyway.

The Eldar lost most power and speed, although their big weapons could still fire on the Warp rift.

At least a hundred more cruisers followed, and I began running out of plasma warheads and mental energy, just mechanically priming and teleporting the deadly payload inside their engine rooms.

And then, my will began to waver and my knees buckled.

Falling to your knees was nothing bad in this universe though. It made reciting prayers all the more effective.

Not recommended during melee fight, but I wasn't doing that, was I?

"Pef? What's going on? Are we winning?" Rose asked me in slight panic.

I shook my head to clear my muddled thoughts. "I don't intend to lose any battle, my dear. Just waiting for the Warp rift to close." I answered with a tired voice.

"So cautious, even in the face of certain defeat. Another Aeldari battleship will emerge in 20 solar seconds." the C'tan provided in an amused voice.

I struggled to lift my head and glare back at him. "Good. They will need a big ship, where to sign their surrender."

The alien god laughed, and the living rock closed around him again.

Laugh all you want, mighty C'tan. You won't be laughing much when I keep you in a box.

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