869.M30.
One after another, ships of varying colors transitioned into realspace. Fleets from nine Astartes Legions surged into the Taxal system.
The black ships of Shadows of Order held the center, their total number exceeding the combined number of warships from all other participating Legions.
The black-terracotta Dark Angels and cobalt-blue Ultramarines formed the flanks. Ships bearing the winged sword insignia made up over a third of their number.
The crimson Thousand Sons, purple Emperor's Children, white War Hounds, Zadkiel's Feather-Quill Scions, and the Night Lords fleet filled the gaps.
The Alpha Legion's ships quietly departed from the main fleet, prowling the void in covert operations.
Seven void Leviathans stepped forth from the tens of thousands of escort vessels surrounding them.
Shadow of Order's Primarch flagship, Shadow's Sovereignty; First Chapter's Judgments glory; Third Chapter's Midnight Veil; Seventh Chapter's Black Mercy.
The Dark Angels' Invincible Reason and Truth's Razor.
The Ultramarines' Macragge's Honour.
Aboard the Macragge's Honour, Marius Gage stood beside Guilliman, relaying the Primarch's deployment to the ships of the other Legions.
Guilliman stared at the green hololithic image of the system, rapidly updated with auspex scans from all Legions.
Nareth, the key brother among the Dauntless Few, trusted him and had given him command of the void battle.
Guilliman's gaze settled on that creation shining with a deep crimson light, the xenos war-moon.
"Contact Omegon. Confirm when he will join us."
The firepower of eight Gloriana-class battleships was enough to destroy any obstacle.
He looked out through the viewport, its armor lowered.
The drone swarms, vast as an ocean, receded like an ebbing tide.
Xenos ships, bristling with spikes and flails, were torn apart in silent, blazing flashes.
Guilliman felt humanity's glory tearing apart the xenos' evil void.
The Macragge's Honour beneath his feet, and the six other ships, were the Emperor's light.
'Seven ships. Four are from Nareth's Legion. Over half.'
Guilliman's smile vanished. His expression was complex.
'So many...'
He thought of how Nareth had recovered the STC for the Ramillies-class starfort and reached an agreement with the Fabricator-General of Mars.
'Even measured by value, it's commensurate.'
'Nareth has recovered too many holy STCs, of too high a value. Ferrus can't match him.'
'The ability to detect the xenos' falsified ship readings also relies on his unique technology. Ferrus seems to have mastered the same technology...'
Guilliman's gaze returned to the hololithic star chart, focusing on the red markers.
He felt the computational workload drop by orders of magnitude, yet also regretted losing the challenge of pushing his own calculative limits.
As Guilliman pondered, Gage's voice sounded.
"Lord Omegon replies: twenty minutes."
The Alpha slithered out like a serpent, joining the line of Gloriana-class battleships.
It prowled on the periphery, seeming ready to break away at any moment.
"Father, all drones are converging on us. The xenos ships are deploying in layers. There are thirteen defensive lines before us."
"Gage, as I've told you, victory in battle is often determined before the first shot is fired, even before the order to fire is given."
"Codex Militaris, Chapter Seven, Section Three, Subsection Two." As the only one to have read the book Guilliman was writing, Gage immediately identified its location.
"It's only a first draft," Guilliman corrected, then continued: "Nareth and I, and the other brothers, have reached a consensus. When we gather the Gloriana-class battleships, the outcome is already decided."
As Guilliman finished, the eight void leviathans simultaneously spat out blinding lances.
Crystalline, deadly energy sliced through xenos ships like blades.
The light from their exploding engines was as dazzling as firecrackers.
Dense macro-cannon barrages shredded wave after wave of attacking drones.
The xenos' first defensive line was crushed by overwhelming firepower.
Guilliman looked around at every screen, filled with signals.
"Compile the scan results for Taxal."
The officers around the hololithic tactical table worked tensely. Data torrents surged like waterfalls across their data-slates.
Guilliman's transhuman mind monitored each data stream until all data scrolled slower than his benchmark. Then he instructed Gage.
"Establish a real-time comm channel. It's time to speak with my brothers."
Gage relayed the order to the hololith operators. Workstations around them buzzed.
Once the system was ready, Guilliman walked onto the circular platform, like an arena, surrounded by workstations.
As he stepped onto the activated hololithic platform, light bloomed around him.
Figures appeared around him, blurred, like shadows.
Light was captured, bent, and warped, finally forming lifelike projections.
"My brothers, it's time to discuss the ground operations plan. Unlike the void, where victory is assured, this is the real threat."
After speaking, Guilliman watched to see if the Lion would object again.
"I agree," the Lion said, to Guilliman's relief. "But ground operations are not numbers and symbols."
"Specify each Legion's strength, mission, and operational zone."
"The Lion is right." Omegon immediately supported.
"We have no prior experience with large-scale coordinated operations," Nareth looked at Guilliman. "Let's start with our respective operational styles. We'll fight together when facing powerful enemies."
Guilliman reluctantly abandoned the preliminary plan he had been developing. "Good."
"One hundred twenty-one thousand Dark Angels." The Lion said succinctly.
"My Legion is newly founded. Only thirteen hundred men." Omegon spoke next.
Nareth knew Omegon wasn't lying this time.
The Alpha Legion's deployed forces wouldn't be far off from that number.
It was true that the Legion had just been formally established. For unknown reasons, the Emperor had limited the Alpha Legion to between one and two thousand.
Only after Alpharius found Omegon was the 20th Legion permitted to be publicly founded and begin rapid expansion.
The large-scale conscripted recruits had not yet completed their implantation surgeries. Their numbers likely didn't exceed two thousand.
At this time, the Alpha Legion was the smallest of the twenty Legions.
Before the Heresy, their numbers ranged from ninety to one hundred eighty thousand. Nareth didn't know the exact figure.
As Nareth pondered, Guilliman spoke.
"I will commit eighty-one thousand three hundred Ultramarines to ground operations."
Nareth nodded slightly. The one hundred fifty thousand reinforcements he had requested from the Emperor were satisfied.
"Two hundred five thousand Shadows of Order."
Besides the decisive battle at Taxal, Shadows of Order also had forces deployed across other front lines and garrisoning their territories.
'Including task forces from other Legions like the Emperor's Children's Second Company, and Luther's nearly two thousand men, total about four hundred thirty thousand.'
'Thirteen thousand more than the Decisive Battle in my memory.'
Guilliman looked at Nareth in surprise.
'Nareth can actually deploy two hundred thousand Shadows of Order at Taxal. My Legion's numbers are still too few.'
Omegon's gaze met Alpharius's, who was watching from outside the platform.
The Lion glanced at Nareth, then said.
"Next, we divide operational zones."
"The mountain range in Sector A-1 holds the xenos' second-largest war fortress. It is the primary objective for my Legion."
His tone was forceful, leaving no room for discussion.
Had Nareth not been overall commander, he would have unhesitatingly chosen Sector C-11, the largest fortress at Taxal.
With Nareth's coordination, the four Primarchs, in a harmonious atmosphere, each selected their objectives and assigned targets to the other task forces.
As the meeting ended, the eight Gloriana-class battleships had already reached their designated attack positions, surrounding the war-moon in high synchronous orbit.
The four central black ships shadowed one entire side of the sphere like a blot.
Countless weapons aimed at the planet's surface below: blazing energy weapons, ranks of bombardment cannons, ready kinetic weapons...
Lances dropped like vertical fingers of light. Blinding energy weapons lit the void. Magma bombs rained down. Hypersonic shells deafened...
Within the first standard hour of the assault, orbital defenses were reduced to ashes in the inferno.
Drone swarms rose like locusts, only to be shattered in the storm.
The war-moon became a world of light and fire within a single day.
The eight Gloriana-class battleships steadily retreated, but their devastating attack did not relent in the slightest.
With a flash like a stellar explosion, the entire Taxal system was illuminated as if in daylight.
Countless dead Rangdan and slaves raised a towering wave in the Great Ocean.
Ship after ship surged from the Great Ocean, tearing through the breach.
The soul-storm, raised by billions of dead, drew the gaze of four eyes beyond the veil. Their attention turned to Taxal.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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