Chapter 135: No Traitors Here, Just Some Caliban Jokes
"Arthur still has things to do. Wait a moment," Romulus replied in a low voice, his gaze still fixed on the chaotic battlefield outside the viewport. His fingers unconsciously tapped on the edge of the command console, a faint "tap-tap-tap" sound physically calculating the passage of time.
In the brief contact after the first fleet emerged from the Warp, they had quickly disengaged from the brawling Eldar and Chaos forces. Although the fleet's formation was slightly scattered, it still maintained its basic combat order.
In the distant starfield, the streamlined silhouettes of the Eldar warships and the twisted forms of the Chaos vessels were intertwined, energy beams and cannon shells carving countless dazzling trajectories through the void.
"Check ship status. Confirm first contact losses," Romulus's voice broke the brief silence on the bridge.
A bridge officer quickly operated the control panel, data-streams scrolling rapidly before his eyes. A moment later, he looked up and reported quickly, "6.23% component damage. Hull integrity is sound, but the armor plating in section R309 has been breached and requires immediate repair."
Romulus nodded slightly, his gaze still on the battlefield outside. "And communication with the other ships?"
By now, the fleet had truly completed its transition. The armored shutters of the viewports slowly opened. Through the observation window, they could clearly see the chaotic battlefield behind them. The Eldar warships moved through the stars like ghosts, while the Chaos ships radiated an unsettling dark light, like monsters crawling from the abyss.
Romulus's brow furrowed even deeper.
The Iron Warriors' fleet seemed to have a daemonhost coordinating their communications. The entire fleet's movements were exceptionally fluid, as if each ship was connected by some invisible force. In contrast, the Imperial fleet seemed clumsy and slow.
"The vox-casters are being jammed by psychic interference. The auspex is still functioning normally," Captain Aurora's voice came from the side. She was intently observing the auspex, her slender fingers sliding quickly across the control panel, adjusting the ship's course to bring it closer to the core of the first fleet.
The atmosphere on the bridge was somewhat oppressive, the silence broken only by the hum of the instruments and the occasional alarm. The internal vox-system was still functional, so ship-wide communication was not a problem. But the fleet-wide vox-casters were filled with a constant, piercing static, as if some unknown entity was mocking their helplessness.
Romulus's gaze shifted to Ramesses.
He was leaning against a console, his arms crossed, a look of helplessness on his face.
"Don't look at me. The frequency is constantly changing. If you want to keep up, you'll need an AI. But you know how it is in the Imperium," he said, a hint of teasing in his tone.
"I knew it," Romulus sighed. This was not the first time he had encountered this situation. The Imperium's communication systems were always easily jammed by the Eldar and Chaos, as if their technology was so fragile in the face of these enemies.
The officers around them seemed to be long accustomed to this. In most cases, limited by the influence of the Warp and the efficiency of information transmission, these ships basically had to judge their next move based on the battle situation. The Imperium's scale was vast, but on a battlefield like this, a delay in information often meant more sacrifices.
Ramesses was full of curiosity about the Eldar Farseer's methods, a look of inquiry in his eyes. He turned his head and looked at Captain Aurora, his tone a mixture of doubt and interest, "Is it always like this when fighting the Eldar?"
Captain Aurora turned her head, thought for a moment, and then replied, "With the exception of the Eldar Corsairs, who lack Farseers, and the Drukhari, who have abandoned psychic powers, in most cases, our communications are in a state of being blocked." Her voice was terrifyingly calm and steady, as if she were narrating a perfectly ordinary event.
She paused for a moment, as if recalling the battles she had experienced, then continued, "The Craftworld Eldar rely heavily on psychic powers for combat. And they are indeed able to use psychic powers to shape various advantageous environments on the battlefield." Captain Aurora had served Archmagos Cawl for over a hundred years. She not only had the marks of life-extending surgeries, but had also undergone extensive mechanical modifications. Her experience was rich, and she knew the Eldar's combat methods like the back of her hand.
One had to say, as a warrior race created by the Old Ones sixty million years ago to fight the Necrons, their application of psychic powers was indeed a very systematic model.
Ramesses listened intently, a hint of envy and longing in his eyes.
"Hiss~ I want to learn," he muttered under his breath.
Just then, Romulus's voice broke the brief silence, "Use astrotelepathy."
An officer, hearing this, looked hesitant and reminded him in a low voice, "My Lord, the enemy has a Farseer. If our astropaths are captured by them, the consequences will be very severe."
"Don't be afraid. Use it," Ramesses's voice immediately sounded, filled with a reassuring confidence, as if everything was under control.
Aurora's gaze swept over the floating heads of the Howling Banshees on the deck. Without hesitation, she quickly signaled for the astropaths to begin their psychic communication. The astropath closed his eyes, his hands gently pressed to his temples, his brow slightly furrowed, as if concentrating. A moment later, his voice was transmitted through the psychic network, "This is the Dawnlight. All ships, report your status!"
Soon, responses came in one by one via astrotelepathy. "The Eagle's Crest receives. Ship's current damage is 14%. Crew losses..."
The reports from each ship were swift and clear. As the information was consolidated, the command of the fleet became more orderly. Under a unified command, the first fleet quickly turned to rendezvous with the second fleet that had just transitioned from the Warp, and began to compress the Eldar ships' maneuvering space in a multi-pronged pincer movement.
Romulus sat at the command console and quickly issued a new order, "Energy weapons on the Eldar. Kinetic weapons on the Chaos traitors."
The moment his voice fell, the officers on the bridge immediately sprang into action. The indicator lights on the control panels flickered incessantly, and the weapon systems quickly charged.
Finally, we can afford to beat up on both sides at once.
Just then, the commanders of the various Imperial fleets found that the Iron Warriors' fleet had become visibly sluggish. The once-agile warships were now as if bound by some invisible force, their movements stiff and clumsy.
Romulus's brow relaxed slightly, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
So what if your command system has no delay? I'll just take out your command system.
"Got the data," Arthur's voice came from the shadows behind the command throne. He was holding a data-slate, which he tossed to Romulus. "The battle-barge in combat area A2 needs to be boarded. It has an Ordinatus on it."
Hearing this, Ramesses raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise on his face. "An Ordinatus? Doesn't Cawl have those too?" His tone held a hint of confusion. After all, since the two parties had confirmed their technological exchange, the cooperation between the Dawnbreakers and Archmagos Cawl had been quite sincere. The Dawnbreakers had provided a series of biological experiment data and a certain degree of query service for Cawl, and Cawl had also generously shared a lot of technology.
Romulus took the data-slate, quickly scanned it, and said, "This is relic-tech. An Ordinatus Majoris."
His gaze swept over the Invictarus Suzerains who were assisting with the command, and Romulus continued to explain, "It's the one Perturabo used to bombard the gates of Terra. It was destroyed by the Khan, though I don't know why it was preserved." He paused, then added, "The so-called 'destruction' was not a direct annihilation, but a loss of its ability to fire. It can still be repaired."
"The two the Lion gave him?" Ramesses's expression instantly became strained, and then he said it without any hesitation.
"..."
While coordinating the fleet, Romulus's gaze swept around and found that the expressions of the Invictarus Suzerains had also become strange, as if they were caught between trying to hold it in and not being able to.
He then nodded, his tone still calm, "One of the two."
The surrounding Invictarus Suzerains looked at each other, an indescribable awkwardness in the air.
A loyalist Primarch gave a traitor legion two Ordinatus Majoris to bombard the gates of Terra—no matter how you looked at it, it was a gallows joke.
Drakus realized that of the three members of the Imperium Secundus, besides Lord Sanguinius, the other two were really something else.
"One could say it was a wonderful misunderstanding," Romulus said. "Although the master of the great First Legion remained on the sidelines at the beginning of the rebellion, in order to gain support in the future Warmaster election, he was tricked by Perturabo into giving away two Ordinatus Majoris for the attack on Terra. After his contact with Terra was cut off, he participated in the establishment of the Imperium Secundus—"
He deliberately drew out his tone. "But the Lion is loyal. There is no doubt about that."
"It's just that the Primarchs are also human. They also need to make their own judgments based on the current situation as a reference. They make mistakes, and they also have things they need to pursue," Arthur interjected coolly, finishing the joke.
"Yes, my Lord," Drakus immediately collected his strained expression and nodded seriously in response.
The Invictarus Suzerains were all veterans of the 30k era. They had all been present at the establishment of the Imperium Secundus. The double act between Lord Guilliman and Lord Lion, if you just reviewed it, was enough to make everyone lose their composure. When the Primarch had been ambushed by Curze with explosives, it was Dantioch who had rescued him and teleported him to Sotha. The scene of them being scolded by Seneschal Tarasha Euten until they didn't dare to make a sound was still vivid in their minds.
Facing these true 30k old-timers, the transmigrators had no need to be secretive when they talked about these blasphemous secrets. And talking about these joking topics was also a way to increase their mutual understanding and to reduce the worries of these old veterans. After all, this group of transmigrators was more or less seen as the embodiment of the Emperor's will. The fact that they didn't take it seriously meant that these problems were not problems.
(End of Chapter)