Chapter 2 Part 7

Chapter 2: Dawn of war

Part 7​

Broadsword 1-1

Kronus 51st Lightning Interceptor squadron

Kronus

"Broadsword Actual, Overwatch Wilco. Intercept a bomber flight vectoring towards friendly convoy. Coordinates..." Flight Leftenant Erica Astra pulled her control stick and banked to the east. Her agile fighter obeyed like an eager puppy and easily settled into a new course. Behind her, the rest of the squadron followed suit, forming into a wedge formation.

"Broadsword Two, Broadsword Actual, confirm orders." Erica's XO – Leftenant Korolev asked over the vox.

It wasn't like the Victory Bay's local to question orders – any orders. Yet, the Flight Leftenant could understand his concern – she shared it. The new orders carried them to the east – straight at the source of the Chaos sorcery that dominated the skies in the form of a purple wound in reality itself. The Emperor damned thing was connected to the ground via pulsing tentacle made of wriggling energy that made it painful to look in that direction.

The warp storm in orbit above that location – an abomination made of unspeakable things, didn't help either. Yet, the 51st had their orders – to disobey was treason and that had only one outcome.

"Broadsword Actual, Broadsword Two, orders confirmed. We're to intercept enemy bombers and provide CAP for a ground convoy." Erica repeated the orders, which came straight from the general.

"May the Emperor watch over our souls." Broadsword Three – Leftenant Orlin Kovac – muttered a prayer over the vox.

"The Emperor protects." Erica answered just as quietly. She looked at her instruments, at the side of the cockpit, just so she didn't have to stare at the purple tendrils of energy undulating over the horizon.

"Broadsword flight – don't look straight at whatever is happening over the Deimos Peninsula." The Flight Leftenant ordered. She didn't think that her men were dumb enough to stare into that madness, but she wanted to make sure.

Erica started muttering prayers to soothe her nerves and keep her mind off what was happening to her world, while her eyes never left the instruments.

It didn't really help.

Until just a few years ago the Tau were little more than peaceful traders – before they started shipping more and more hardware and troops. About the same time, more people began to adopt their culture and views – something that the Imperial authorities saw as what it was – an attempt to subvert the Emperor's rule.

That's when everything started going to hell. The unrest started growing, a few PDF units sided with the Tau – which would have sparkled a war if it wasn't for an Ork Rock crashing near the blue skin's settlements and focusing everyone's attention on the green menace.

Then things went weird – disappearances, traces of cult activity, rumors of Eldar sightings – if all that wasn't enough, the Imperial Guard shortly followed by the Adeptus Astartes arrived and that sparkled the conflict everyone knew it was coming.

Now there was Chaos too – threatening not only body but soul.

The flight was just a few minutes of the target area, when the sensor suite of the Lightning whined, announcing high energy disturbance that made it hard to detect anything.

"Broadsword Flight, Broadsword Actual. Are you experiencing auspex disturbances?"

"Broadsword Two – detection range is at fifty percent and rapidly decreasing."

"Broadsword Three – mine just fell to twenty five percent and it's not moving from there."

"Broadsword Actual, Overwatch. Be advised – we're experiencing interference. Auspex detection range just fell to one third. Please advise on enemy location." Erica informed command

"Overwatch, Broadsword Actual. Be advised – we're detecting four boogies vectoring on the convoy. Course..."

As command gave her the vector and distance of the enemy, Erica typed it into the flight cogitator. Four blinking red dots appeared on her sensor screen showing the estimated locations of the enemy.

"Flight profile and sensor sweeps estimate four Marauder Bombers." Overwatch declared.

"Affirmative. Target is four Marauders." Erica answered.

"Good hunting, Broadsword Actual. Overwatch out."

A few minutes and multiple small course corrections later, Erica finally got the enemy on sensors. The bomber's targets too – the later were hard to miss when they were the only moving thing on the ground.

"All Broadswords, hit the afterburners and engage at will." Erica ordered as her flight screamed far above the guard convoy. The bombers were almost in effective range – they would have had a clear shot even earlier if it wasn't for the disturbance that all but guaranteed a visual range dogfight.

At least that wasn't too big a problem this time – Broadsword flight had already expended their missiles while dueling with Tau fighters for air superiority in the vicinity of Victory Bay.

The enemy detected them almost at the same time and split – two bombers dived, while the rest pulled up.

"Broadsword Flight, Broadsword Actual. I'm taking the low pair. Eliminate the rest and reinforce."

"Affirmative."

"Willco. The Emperor Protects."

The Flight Leftenant put her fighter into a sharp dive. This was going to be tricky – ideally she would be able to take out both bombers on the first pass, however that wasn't something she could count on. If even one of the traitors managed to lock on the convoy, they would be able to kill it.

Erica grit her teeth when her flight suit tightened around her as she sped down and the gravities affecting her started mounting. Soon enough, the targeting cogitator gave a pleased beep as it locked on the leading bomber. Erica smiled viciously and pressed the trigger. Her wingtip mounted lanscannons spoke and a pair of blinding beams of coherent light bore through the air.

"One down." The Flight Leftenant muttered after her target vanished from the sensors.

She looked up from the instruments at the fast approaching bomber she was flying at. The enemy craft lit up as it's auto-canons and bolters opened up in an attempt to swat her out of the sky. Erica answered with a burst of her own auto-canon, which unfortunately went wide.

The enemy's return fire became more accurate and bolter rounds pinged off her armored wings – the tiny explosions making her plane shake.

Erica glanced at the charge – just a few more seconds and she could fire her primary weapon again. She sent another burst of shells at the bomber, missing again as it banked right.

A ping announced that lanscanons were up and Erica pressed the trigger. The ponderous bomber had no prayer of evading this salvo – not at practically point blank range. Two lances of boiling energy speared the enemy craft just in front of the left wing, slicing it open as its own momentum drove it through the beams.

Then the ordnance cooked off and the bomber disappeared in the middle of a colossal explosion.

"Broadsword Flight, Broadsword One. Sound up." Erica ordered and pushed her Lighting into a steep climb.

"Broadsword Two, scratch one boogie."

"Broadsword Three, the heretics are dead."

"Good. We're on CAP until the convoy is in friendly territory. Broadsword Actual, Overwatch. Enemy bombers killed. Broadsword Flight is providing escort for the convoy. Over."

"Overwatch, Broadsword Actual. Well done. Carry on. We'll keep an eye for enemy fliers. Over."

Erica glanced at the convoy speeding on the highway below. She hoped that it carried something important enough to justify pulling her squadron out of the furball above the capital. To her utter astonishment and confusion, the convoy braked and started turning around. What in the Emperor's name…

"Broadsword Actual, Overwatch. The convoy is turning around, please advise." Erica hissed into the vox.

"Overwatch, Broadsword Actual, wait one."

Erica was left fuming as the convoy of chimeras sped back towards the Deimos peninsula.

"Overwatch, Broadsword Actual. The convoy is going back to retrieve a pair of stranded Adeptus Astartes. Provide CAP. We'll vector support when available. Over."

Why did the guardsmen go back to retrieve the same maniacs who had been "accidentally" killing them for the last couple of weeks? What did she do – offend the Emperor himself or something to deserve dealing with this?!