When the ambush was sprung it was as deadly and as fearsome as they had expected. Despite centuries of service to the emperor Aradiel was still amazed at how the emperor protected his own. The data slab that had activated itself and then been retrieved by them had contained the energy signatures, mimic engine silhouettes and combat strengths of the predatory chaos fleets that had wiped out the famous commodore Drenexar's destroyer flotilla. Drenexar had indeed served the emperor well, and had been afforded a formal funeral and burial in space as a mark of respect. The data so gleaned had allowed them to specifically attune their sensors to the enemy vessels in the expectation of the ambush. Despite their preparedness, when the ambush came it hit the defenders like a sledgehammer. This was not a mere ambush flotilla that was assaulting them but an entire chaos battle fleet. He looked at Apollyon and admired the calm manner with which he controlled this vast opera that was unfolding around them. Hundreds of space ships crisscrossed the space around them as the enemy pressed home their assault. Small ships exploded while larger ones floated dead in space as a testimony to the fierce nature of the battle. Space marine battle barges are built to withstand massive amounts of punishment as befits their main role of close in bombardment of planets or boarding actions against enemy ships. But most space marine ships are out ranged in a fleet engagement due to their shorter ranged armaments. It was Apollyon's insistence that had resulted in the concentration of all available Nova class frigates from all chapter fleets within the defensive perimeter of the Tower. The fest of the fleet assets were deployed in battle groups, taking the battle to the attackers, something that the space marine relished. The massive dorsal bombardment cannons of the battle barges were reaping a massive toll of the chaos heavy and battle cruisers, while the damage to themselves was limited by their hardy construction. Breaking away from the concepts of the Codex Astartes, Azrael had ordered many changes to their battle tactics. Deathwing terminators were deployed within the smaller ships of the line, some Hunter class destroyers and Gladius class frigates were equipped with teleporters to support these intrepid ship hunters. Already a whole flotilla of chaos raider class vessels lay dead in space on their left flank, their generators blown by the boarding terminators. Amongst the wreckage of that flotilla lay the outlines of at least four slaughter and Murder class cruisers. Deathwing units from the various chapters were indeed reaping a bitter harvest. In a straight fleet engagement with most fleets space marine battle fleets usually have a significant disadvantage, particularly if the element of surprise was not on their side. This is mostly due to the relative lack of long range lance armament. In this engagement however the unfogiven armada had a number of factors to even the odds. They had at their head, grandmasters Aradiel and Apollyon, some of the most brilliant naval minds of their time. In addition the Tower of Angels was a great equalizing factor. There was a veritable forest of long range weaponry emplaced within the asteroid which was protected by the greatest and most powerful void shields ever devised. These were the same shields that had held the continent sized segment of Caliban together when the rest of the worlds had been ripped apart by the warp storm. The umbrella of protective firepower emanating from the Rock was carefully choreographed by Aradiel to support Apollyons fleet actions and the results were devastating to say the least. The unforgiven armada cut through the opposing chaos fleets so much like hot knife through butter, an old terran delicacy. As the giants battled amongst themselves, smaller firefights were taking place all around them. Flights of thunderhawk gunships faced off against waves of enemy swiftdeath fighters, doomfire bombers and most deadly of all the dreadclaw drop pods that were attempting to make land fall on the asteroid itself. These were not limited by the void shields and could penetrate on to the surface of the Tower of Angels if allowed, but so far not one had made it through the ring of death the unforgiven had created around them. All the time the entire armada continued to head towards the coordinates that would allow them to intercept the planet killer before it reached the planet of Cadia. The time for subtlety was over, the gauntlets were off and the unforgiven were content to use their sheer brute force as abattering ram to reach their objective. Try as they might, their defence of their base was never expected to be water tight. The occasional torpedo made it through the defensive screens and impacted on the holy bedrock of Caliban, gouging out large chunks of stone and earth. The void shields prevented the debris from reaching the void of space and thus preserved the last remaining parts of their home world intact. Alert as ever the astute Aradiel constantly analyzed the pattern of attacks and the progress of the battle. He could only pray to the emperor that the despoiler had not expected the unforgiven to bring their base of operations in to harms way and that the enemy had not yet gained access to the Imperial Navy's latest torpedoes, the "Rok-Buster". Specifically developed to destroy the orks' Rok fortresses, their effect on the Tower of Angels would be devastating. Mouthing another silent prayer to the emperor and his primarch, he continued assessing the battle. They had been in constant conflict for more than twenty terran hours. The enemy fleets would break off contact and another enter the battle to replace them. Had they attempted this adventure with a fleet of ships they would certainly have been ground down by attrition and the need for re-supply, but this battle was different. The presence of the massive fortress monastery not only equalised the long range firepower of the fleets but also gave a protective haven for damaged ships as well as those requiring re-supply. Millennia of planning and preparation for such an event had finally paid off handsomely. The long stream of debris, dead ships and blossoming explosions stretched back for thousands of miles like a memorial to the fighting prowess of the unforgiven armada and the sacrifice of the loyalist angels. Aradiel's brilliantly analytical mind suddenly found the inconsistency that he felt was present. Almost imperceptibly at various intervals in the day long battle, a stream of torpedoes had impacted on one specific point in the bedrock of their fortress. Most would have dismissed it as a vagary of war, but not the Grandmaster of the Tower. Five torpedoes had impacted on the same coordinates and from the same angle of attack but their impacts spaced out in time so that this effort would go unnoticed. The result was that it had gouged out a wide crater of considerable depth on the under surface of the asteroid. Within seconds he had computed the trajectory that future projectiles would need to take to avoid the rim of the crater and impact within its depths. Extending that line, his heart froze for a moment. A soft but sudden exclamation stuck in his throat. Apollyon noticed it and was at his side in an instance, studying the hologram. They looked at each others face as realization seeped in. Activating the secure vox channel to the chapter's command centre Aradiel spoke, his voice strained with anticipation. "Supreme Grandmaster Azrael! We have a coordinated missile and torpedo attack on sector omega-five-seven-grey. I expect this point to be assaulted imminently. I request permission to activate defence status vermillion-one" Azrael contemplated the faces of the two grandmasters on his vid display screen. Vermillio-One was a defence condition never before activated and released the authority for self destruction of the Tower of Angels in to the hands of both the supreme grandmaster and the Grandmaster of the Tower. To request this, the situation must indeed be extremely desperate. "Condition Vermillion-One activated. You have joint control of the destruct sequence, Aradiel!" replied Azrael, trusting his watch commander implicitly Aradiel continued "The line of the impacts, if extended, would penetrate to chamber 000." An icy chill penetrated the hearts of the three grandmasters upon hearing this. The dreaded fears of Ezekiel had been realised. Someone knew of their innermost secrets. Someone had obviously planned the space borne ambush and sacrificed the equivalents of three entire battle fleets to achieve the accurate placement of those torpedoes. No more words needed to be spoken as all three reacted with lightning speed, issuing orders to their own commands as alarm klaxons began to sound within the Tower of Angels once again. Additional void shields were being brought to bear at the crater by expanding those on the surface and lateral aspects by Aradiel. He re-directed gunnery priorities focussing the data banks to identify and target small fast projectiles such as assault craft and torpedoes. Apollyon had already re-directed droves of thunderhawk flights and Hunter class destroyers to the affected quadrant. These were nimble enough to intercept the expected wave of torpedoes and assault craft. The supreme commander returned to stage managing the tactical battle, and deploying his ground troops as he saw best, in his own inimitable and unhurried fashion. Just as the vast unforgiven armada responded to the rapid succession of orders, another vast flotilla of ships appeared on their left flank. Aradiel and Apollyon made eye contact, realizing the gravity of the situation. These were all Iconoclast destroyers preceded by waves of elder pirate raiders in their fast and nimble Corsair class escorts. How these blasphemous aliens and traitors worked together was beyond Apollyon's comprehension. Even as he redirected his defences to intercept the oncoming enemy with increasing urgency in the pit of his stomach, a wall of blazing plasma and nova flares incinerated the entire first wave of the attackers. The guns of the Tower of Angels were still very much in the fight and Aradiel was never going to let the enemy have a second chance. What followed next was a cat and mouse game as the attackers recklessly pressed home the attack, paying a high price in ships for every step they closed. Finally the back of the assault was broken, broken and exploding ships littering the entire port side of space, the few survivors breaking away to safety. As the last swarm of Iconoclasts launched their torpedoes from near point blank range and turned away, Aradiel focussed his firepower on the oncoming torpedoes, which were aimed with unerring accuracy at the deep crater on the underside of the Rock. It was Apollyon who first saw the danger. |
CHAPTER XXIII: IN HARM'S WAY (Continued) Chronicled By ( Shadow Guard ) |
GATHERING OF ANGELS |
This section provides the narrative history of the events that took place during the Gathering of Angels campaign conducted by the Inner Circle, during Abaddon's Thirteenth Black Crusade. This is in no way the official GW version nor is it in anyway an attempt to infringe on their IP. There are many versions of imperial history buried within the sands of time and this is but just one of them. Read on if you dare! |
