40 Thousand Reasons

Chapter 118: Splinter

I saw all the Generals and officers nod glumly at my description.

Then Major Sulla raised her eyes to look at me. "We will die for the Emperor, Lord Lancefire. But perhaps...we might be given more weapons?" she asked in a calm voice, as if expecting to be punished.

I smiled gently and turned on the central hologram projector.

"More weapons, yes. For now, I've managed to requisition 5000 Basilisks and 10000 Hydras with extra ammunition. Thus, every regiment will have 100 Hydras each, while the Artillery regiments will receive 100 guns more. The Infantry regiments will also receive 200 Sentinel walkers, and some automated Tarantula turrets. As for Armor, there are 200 Leman Russ tanks and 100 Macharius tanks available to be spread among the regiments. At need, the Lamenters will deploy our Auxiliary regiments and provide drop pods with turrets and supplies. But, most of my efforts will be focused on stopping the bugs in the void. Once they manage to land, the Tyranids will devour any biomass and reproduce rapidly, growing in numbers a hundred times." I explained in a level voice, waiting for someone to crack.

Reality was harsh in this 40k universe, and it will get much worse.

General Vann glanced at the hologram, showing the nice Macharius tanks in all their glory. "More tanks are great, my lord. But I already have 300 tanks in my regiments, and even double that...it won't be enough. Surely there will be more reinforcements?"

Well, a normal Cadian armor regiment had 30 Leman Russ tanks and 5 Hydras. Good enough for minor Ork raids and defending a city, but obviously not enough for a big campaign. The armor units were kept in reduced numbers by intent, to prevent them getting too strong in case they went traitor, as they often did.

I nodded at her question. "There are 700 more Sentinels and a few hundred Tauros and other light vehicles like the Centaurs. However, most of your job will be to simply destroy the bio-titans of the Tyranids, and prevent our static positions from being overrun or outflanked. There will be ships in low orbit to provide fire support and some spacefighters, plus ground attack craft from the Lamenter Auxiliaries. I cannot speak for other Astartes Chapters, but I expect a few Companies might arrive, just like these Iron Hands and White Scars did. There are some Blood Angels with me, and even some Silent Sisters, but they'll mostly target the psychic leaders of the Tyranids, with deep-strikes aimed to disrupt their synaptic links."

And if the Catachan infantry regiments 'accidentally' received some containers with artillery shells normally used by the Basilisks, well...they did like setting traps and mines.

After that, the long task of preparing a logistic chain and supply method began, with the Navy cruisers obliged to load up the extra vehicles and munitions and the tech-priests and their servitors, while most vehicles and turrets were being hastily covered with blackstone armor, mostly provided freely from my own reserves that just appeared in empty fighter hangars on the carrier or my barge.

In this month, I did manage to strike a friendly relation with Regina, firstly over a working dinner, then a visit to my quarters to show her my trophies and exchange war stories over a few bottles of wine.

I bet Regina didn't expect my glands to still work, but she wasn't disappointed at all. Sadly, she had to return on her transport to oversee her troops, but her aide Jenit stayed as a liaison with a squad of her own Valhallan guardswomen to feel safe. Well, it was very safe in my bed, that was certain.

With good relations thus established, I decided to conscript the entire Valhallan regiment as Lamenters Auxiliaries, both because we lacked a dedicated artillery group, and for the other more obvious advantages of an all-female unit under me.

A month later, we arrived at Periremunda and began setting up orbital defenses and ground defenses. However, only two regiments were needed here, one infantry and one artillery. The terrain was broken up into high plateaus, easily defendable.

I picked the most green and covered with vegetation plateau, where the city of Konnandoil was located. Then I let the Catachans prepare the ground with surprises, including a squad of Special Ops Catachans selected and slightly trained by Sly Marbo.

The 276th Valhallan regiment was moved on board my ship, the Tranquility, the Battleship with warp-less engines. These brave platinum-haired women wouldn't see much combat on my ship, and they could raise their children in relative safety now.

From here, the bulk of the fleet moved outward, reaching Isis_V and preparing stronger defenses here, even landing five regiments, including 12th Artillery with Commissar Cain overseeing the defenses.

A few smaller fleet departed for Coelia and Karak Prime to secure the Hive Cities there, but mostly to pin the Tyranids in place if they arrived. An armor regiment, two infantry and three artillery each, plus a cruiser with a Nova Cannon.

Then we moved onwards, with the roving fleet, reaching the Kiltor Sector and burning down a dozen worlds already overrun by Tyranids. Exterminatus torpedoes were very useful for that.

A hundred small-scale void battles ensured we saved most of the sector, with liberal use of teleporting Nova mines, plasma torpedoes and even a Vortex torpedo on top of a Hive Queen.

It wasn't really difficult, when controlling spatial powers with impunity.

As for the planets already under attack, it was triage.

We couldn't defend everything, but Hive Cities, Mechanicus Forges and Research Stations, important industrial centers, those we could.

And every time some priest demanded we defended some empty planet with religious significance, he vanished and wasn't heard again. I did not care at all for Shrine Worlds, or Cardinal Worlds or any other type of Imperial Cult bullshit.

Population and industry would allow the Imperium of Man to survive and fight back, while Sanctuary Worlds or Cemetery_Worlds were amazingly stupid in my opinion.

Given this was 40k, dead people should be burned as soon as possible, and their ashes used to grow plants, to feed the living. Having ossuaries and crypts filled with skeletons would only tempt Warp entities or biomass seeking monsters.

Also, precious relics or libraries should be kept on Fortress Worlds, because they also tempted cults and traitors or demons. Better have guns close to kill them.

Wherever possible, I organized such maneuvers, sending the priests away to escort those relics to a Fortress World, presumably to boost morale and piousness of the defenders, beside keeping them safe.

Guilliman has also began setting up Sentinel Worlds, somewhat akin to a factory, fortress and shipyard world, with a Reality Cage being constructed deep underground. Only a couple of them, probably testing the effects on nearby Warp Storms like Medusa_V.

That world was doomed anyway, so might as well try to save it, even if the means were somewhat...unorthodox. And then someone closed the Rapidity Warp Rift, and the installation stayed.

And then the astropaths received a message from an agri-world called Jollov, sent by a frantic Mechanicus tech-priest that was studying an STC fragment, but was interrupted by a Tyranid splinter fleet.

I rushed my warp-less fleet ahead, heedless of the encroaching Silence, and began setting up hasty orbital defences, and blowing up wave after wave of Tyranid bioships and landing spores.

But the Tyranids were hungry, and this was an agri-world, teeming with biomass. Soon enough, they began ignoring my corvettes and the Battleship, diving heedlessly towards the appetizing food source.

A single Lamenter Drop-cruiser managed to make orbit in time, and began dropping turret pods and providing orbital support, while local regiments retreated towards the spaceport. The Deathwatch company covered their retreat with relentless determination, despite being decimated for their actions.

Well, the Astartes were the defenders of humanity, clad in mighty armor and armed with the most powerful guns. Still, they shouldn't be wasted.

So I began to cheat, kidnapping bio-titans from their spore pods, placing Nova mines in the midst of landed hordes of Tyranids, while the Blood Angels began landing in the besieged perimeter beside my own Auxiliary PDF regiments, including Lord Whitelance in his Knight.

And then we kept shooting and shooting, corvettes unleashing thousands of torpedoes and missiles, firing their plasma cannons and lances, while the Tranquility did the same, but rarely and quite strongly. Blowing up a dozen bioships per salvo was very fulfilling though.josei

When the other naval forces managed to break through the Tyranid Silence on the realspace plasma engines, they found half the planet in flames, and a mountain of Tyranid corpses around the spaceport.

It only took a single week, and I already had to resupply my corvettes from my pocket a few times.

And I even lost a couple of corvettes, although not the crew.

Corvettes may be cheap and easy to replenish, but good crew was not, and especially not my family.

Soon enough, the perimeter was cleared and corpses burned, and then the armor regiments began attacking, with mobile infantry engaging stragglers and lurking organisms, hidden in swamps or rivers and lakes.

Three squads of Special Ops and the Blood Angels took over the task of locating and destroying the Lictors and lurkers, while spacefighters and low orbit frigates cleaned the skies.

Even Captain Khan went down to help, enjoying hunting Tyranids for sport. With his sword!

It seemed madness to me, but perhaps the best of humanity were that good. I still couldn't touch even Rafen in spars, not to mention Ludvaius or the good Master of Blades.

"Mind if we join the fun, Master Lancefire?" a familiar voice asked from the vox channel.

Heh, I was so focused on the surface I ignored the orbit for a bit. "Brother Cassiel, I see you brought an entire Company with you." I exclaimed in surprise, while checking the contents of that barge.

My own sons in the Blood Angels Chapter, all clad in Terminator armor and armed to the teeth. And lead by Captain Aphael, like he promised.

"You don't need my permission, Brother. I'm not even a real Astartes!" I quipped back in a joking voice.

"Forgive him Brother, for his idiocy is without bounds. Are you going to sit on that bridge, or fight beside your sons, Lord Pef?" Captain Aphael intervened in a sterner voice.

I sighed inward, feeling the pain of Commissar Cain for myself now. "Let's take that tundra region, above the last Cadian regiment. I'll bring my good armor suit for the occasion."

Reason, my Knight, was feeling a bit lonely, even with Felicia oiling his joints every day. And I could practice those fancy blade moves in real combat.

Damn it, I was becoming an idiot like everyone else in this crazy universe.