Chains of The Imperium

Chapter VI - Fight or Flight

Sol System

Sol System

A UNSC destroyer drifted listlessly after being gutted by a column of Covenant Plasma. Fire poured from gaping wounds that somehow were still venting atmosphere. Shields flared with the impacts of various munitions. Fighters danced around lumbering capital ships. Splotches of light and flame betrayed the distant doom of both Covenant and Human vessels. The war had finally come to Sol. Humanity was a cornered beast and fought with the ferocity of one.

Confusion was rife throughout the Covenant fleet. They had not expected this world to be occupied by the humans, much less be the most fortified system yet encountered in the war. Human 'Super MAC' platforms were wreaking havoc on fleet coherency. Only a few ships had been gutted by the tungsten slugs fired from the human weapon stations. However, they were the least of the fleet's worries. The human infidels had somehow produced several shielded warships. The smallest of the new warships were acting as screens against the waves of Seraph attack craft. Far more troubling was the pair of large vessels scything their way into the heart of the Covenant formation. It was interesting to note the religious motifs that were evident on the shielded ships. There had been no evidence that religion played any role in the UNSC. Covenant theorists had believed that the humans had cast aside all religion or had never embraced any faith at all. It was one of the many reasons the Covenant were in the right in this war. The endless strings of victories were a testament to this fact.

The Prophet of Regret slammed his fist onto the arm of his gravity throne. "Why haven't the other two stations been cleansed by holy fire?"

A Sangheli turned and bowed to the Prophet. "The forces we have sent have encountered heavier than expected resistance. We will purge their filth and secure your route, Noble Prophet of Regret."

Regret nodded; his voice fiery with rage. "Very well. Concentrate fire on the human behemoths! Cleanse the pagan constructs from this system!"

 Cairo Station, Space Elevator

Brother-Captain Warin's Chainsword ripped and tore through yet another Covenant 'Elite'. The pieces of the xenos commander fell into an ever growing knoll of the slain. Fire from the small cannon fodder troops was sporadic and tinged with fear. Without the lash of their overseers, the smaller troops would often turn and flee before the might of the Astartes. The space elevator had become a tomb for nearly a hundred alien soldiers. Covenant corpses were piled into mounds. Plasma scorches were evident on the walls from the impacts of both Covenant and the plasma pistol of the Astartes captain. Battle-Brother Van had not even drawn his bolter at this point into the battle. His combat knife sliced through armor, shields, bone and flesh. Where ever the Astartes stood, none would live.

"Brother-Captain! The Xenos are falling back."

Warin fired a plasma blast into a group of fleeing Covenant soldiers. There were no screams as a Grunt was reduced to a burnt husk. The Astartes had heard the transmission from Lord Hood and felt the shockwave that heralded the death of the Malta Station. Warin had said a quiet prayer so that the souls of the human defenders would find their way into the Emperor's embrace. The discussion between the Adeptus Mechanicus Tech Priest, the machine spirit of the Athens and Lord Admiral Hood had put forth the likelihood of a Covenant bomb on board the station. That revelation caused a terrible truth to dawn on the Astartes. The Covenant likely wanted to use the space elevator to deliver a bomb to the proto-hive of Cairo.

The Astartes captain practically hissed. "These creatures are persistent if nothing else."

A click informed Brother-Captain Thomas of an incoming vox transmission. "Brother-Captain, Azarias reporting. We have just repelled another Covenant assault on our position. The last attack lacked the intensity of the previous assaults."