Chapter 57: Boarding - Unleashing the Night Haunter
The strategic assembly concluded with Imperial efficiency.
The generals, high-ranking officials, and Primarchs who had attended the war council rose from their positions and departed according to protocol.
The holographic projectors and luminescent arrays illuminating the vast chamber were systematically deactivated.
The Emperor, the Raven, and Constantin Valdor remained beside the dimmed command console, their forms cast in shadow.
"The planned journey to new realities must be postponed indefinitely," the Emperor declared with divine finality.
"The massacre within the Antimone System constitutes an atrocity of unacceptable magnitude. This matter demands immediate resolution."
Valdor inclined his head respectfully. "My lord, given the current strength of our expeditionary forces, annihilating these Dark Eldar raiders presents no insurmountable challenge."
The Emperor shook His head with careful consideration. "I harbour no concerns regarding the imminent conflict within Antimone itself. My apprehension lies with their inevitable retaliation once the Human Empire declares total war upon the Dark Eldar as a species."
The Eldar possessed origins ancient beyond mortal comprehension, their lineage traceable to the legendary War in Heaven, that apocalyptic conflict which erupted between the Old Ones and the star-spanning Necrontyr dynasties.
The Eldar had participated in that reality-breaking war as vassals and servants of the Old Ones, learning secrets of the universe that lesser species could not fathom.
After the Old Ones faced annihilation and the Necrontyr fell into their Great Sleep, the Eldar inherited the Old Ones' technological legacy and became the galaxy's undisputed overlords.
No rival species could threaten Eldar supremacy. Countless star systems were occupied and transformed into paradise worlds under their dominion.
A substantial portion of the Webway, that extradimensional network the Emperor Himself sought to master, had been constructed by their ancient ancestors.
The difference between Warp travel and Webway transit resembled the difference between treacherous mountain paths and perfectly maintained highways.
Without external enemies threatening their existence, and possessing highly advanced technological capabilities that eliminated survival concerns, the Eldar gradually descended into complete decadence. Cults dedicated to excess and sensation arose throughout their empire.
They pursued physical pleasure and increasingly cruel entertainments with obsessive dedication.
The psychic emanations generated by their unrestrained revelry created powerful disturbances within the Warp itself, agitating the Sea of Souls with their collective indulgence.
Ancient entities of pure malevolence, eternal and hungry, were drawn to these psychic emanations like predators to wounded prey, eager to devour those unrestrained souls.
When Eldar indulgence reached its absolute zenith, that ancient entity had accumulated sufficient power to manifest within realspace.
It emerged as Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure, and was "born" into the material universe through their collective excess.
The first shriek issued by this terrifying Chaos God destroyed the entire Eldar Empire in a single moment of cosmic horror.
Most Eldar who had participated in the revelry were either consumed entirely or twisted into monstrous abominations beyond recognition.
Slaanesh's violent birth tore permanent rifts between reality and the Warp, transforming the once-glorious heart of the Eldar Empire into the Eye of Terror, a wound in reality that would never heal.
The surviving Eldar, no longer unified at their former peak, fractured into three distinct factions: the Exodites, the Craftworld Eldar, and the Dark Eldar.
The Exodites had opposed their society's corruption from the beginning, maintaining hostility toward the cults of excess.
Long before the Fall and Slaanesh's birth, they had abandoned their privileged existence, choosing harsh lives upon savage worlds far from the empire's decadent heart.
The Craftworld Eldar had heeded warnings from prescient Farseers who appealed to their people to cease their dangerous indulgences.
When these warnings proved futile, this portion of the species planned their escape. They constructed planet-sized Craftworld vessels, massive arks that would preserve their civilization.
On the eve of the Fall, they boarded these vessels with precious artworks, genetic samples, and cultural treasures, escaping the empire's destruction while preserving their species' flame.
Finally, there existed the Dark Eldar, remnants of the empire's former madness given form.
During the catastrophic explosion of the Fall, some indulgent Eldar escaped Slaanesh's predation by fleeing into the Webway's protective embrace. They continued the decadent lifestyle of their ancestors, pursuing hedonism with desperate intensity.
To avoid having their souls consumed by Slaanesh like spiritual sustenance, they resolved the problem through a solution of perpetual torment.
Since Slaanesh fed upon their souls, they replenished what was devoured by tormenting others and consuming their pain and anguish.
To obtain sufficient torment material for soul replenishment, they transformed into interstellar pirates, piloting advanced Eldar vessels to raid vulnerable worlds.
They treated captured slaves as spiritual beverages, slowly tormenting them to death to feed their own cursed existence.
Most Dark Eldar resided within Commorragh, an incredible hyper-dimensional city powered by two stolen stars, existing partially within the Webway itself.
The Dark Eldar represented the faction that inherited the most substantial legacy from the ancient empire, possessing technological capabilities that rivalled or exceeded those of the Great Crusade.
They controlled terrifying weapons beyond Imperial understanding and maintained dominion over vast sections of the remaining Webway network.
They constituted an exceptionally dangerous adversary.
The Emperor paced within the chamber's shadows, expressing His concerns with divine wisdom. "The Dark Eldar possess vindictive natures beyond mortal comprehension. Once the Human Empire declares war upon their species, they will certainly retaliate through countless methodologies."
"They will raid worlds with minimal defensive capabilities, slaughter innocent populations, rob Imperial merchant convoys, and assault strategically important military installations."
Valdor's expression darkened beneath his helm. "This presents a significant strategic problem, my lord. We cannot deploy sufficient military forces to every world capable of resisting these interstellar pirates."
"Raven, what counsel do you offer?" The Emperor regarded the creature perched upon His shoulder.
"The optimal defense remains aggressive offense," the Raven declared with characteristic confidence. "Deploy Astartes Legions enhanced with Gene Engine implants directly into the Webway itself."
"The Webway's configuration proves excessively complex, a labyrinth of impossible geometry. Conventional forces entering might become permanently lost within its passages," the Emperor replied with careful consideration.
"Then prepare dimensional charges. When navigation fails, simply blast holes through the Webway's structure to enter the Warp, then return to realspace from there."
The Raven's suggestion embodied brutal simplicity.
What constituted the fastest method of navigating a maze? Proceed in one direction while breaking through every obstacle encountered, and the exit would inevitably be found.
Provided sufficient force was available, such miracles remained achievable.
What consequences befell the Webway proved irrelevant to humanity's interests.
Invisible blades of translated reality sliced through the void of the Antimone System.
A dimensional rift manifested suddenly upon the surface of the physical universe, reality parting like torn fabric.
Amber light poured from the Warp breach with intensity exceeding a thousand suns, assaulting mortal senses with its otherworldly radiance.
The Emperor's Grand Design emerged first from the Empyrean's embrace, its massive hull bearing the scars of Warp transit with dignity.
Atmospheric venting ports cycled open, releasing pressurized steam in controlled bursts. Internal atmosphere was redistributed as gravity systems resumed normal operation, circulation sweeping through the vessel's blessed corridors.
Conventional propulsion engines roared to life, driving the warship at sub-light velocity into the Antimone System proper.
The expeditionary fleet, having successfully translated into realspace, quickly discovered the massacre site where Battle Group Thirty-One had met their doom.
The shattered remains of Imperial battleships and cruisers drifted through the void like broken monuments to human valor.
Leaking fluids formed glittering nebulae around the twisted debris, creating beauty from tragedy.
"Emperor preserve us," whispered the crewman responsible for auspex observation, his voice thick with horror at witnessing such brutal slaughter.
Traces of plasma discharge were visible within spiraling clouds of frozen oxygen. Massive cargo containers filled with unexploded ordnance rotated slowly through the debris field.
And there were thousands of corpses, Imperial sailors and soldiers floating in the eternal cold.
Some had their limbs splayed outward while others were curled defensively. All appeared strangely peaceful, as though sleeping rather than dead.
As the expeditionary force absorbed the shocking evidence of massacre floating before them, urgent alarm klaxons began blaring throughout the fleet.
"Enemy vessels approaching our position!" the Information Supervisor announced with professional urgency. "Confirmed identification, the xenos raiders responsible for this atrocity!"
Massive data streams poured into the projection systems, causing holographic displays to flash rapidly while outlining different tactical patterns.
Multiple overlapping projections created images as layered and complex as nebula formations.
Slender Eldar bone warships appeared on the displays, accelerating toward the Imperial fleet with predatory grace.
"Those xenos filth have found us," the Fleet Marshal declared while studying the enemy vessels displayed on tactical screens, his voice filled with righteous killing intent. "Open fire immediately! Let them experience the full wrath of the Imperium!"
Shortly thereafter, the opposing fleets made contact and began exchanging devastating fire across the void.
Space itself was illuminated by brilliant energy beams and the fiery radiance of multiple explosions.
The Dark Eldar warships demonstrated no intention of engaging in conventional void warfare. They utilized their superior speed, far exceeding Imperial vessel capabilities, to break through the outermost screening formations and advance directly toward the Emperor's Grand Design.
"They intend to initiate boarding actions," the Emperor immediately perceived the enemy's tactical intention.
The xenos fleet operated at severe disadvantages in both firepower and numerical superiority. If conventional void combat continued, victory would inevitably belong to the Imperium.
The Dark Eldar had chosen to exploit their advantages while avoiding their weaknesses. By initiating boarding actions, they could negate the disadvantage in void-based firepower entirely.
If they succeeded in decapitating the flagship's command structure, they could reverse the tactical situation and achieve victory despite numerical inferiority.
"Have Curze and the Eighth Legion prepare for anti-boarding operations," the Raven suggested with dark satisfaction. "We shall demonstrate to these pale xenos who truly masters the art of fear."
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