Warhammer 40k: Starting as a Rogue Trader

Chapter 138: The Upper Hive Breakout

The artillery fire caused a third of the entire building to collapse, and a sky-blotting cloud of dust obscured everyone's vision. The entire upper hive was drawn to the commotion, but no one dared to approach.

The private armies of the various noble houses moved to protect their masters, while the planet's PDF acted as if they saw nothing at all. Governess Glydus had already come to an understanding with these nobles, and most were willing to grant her this favor.

The conflict wasn't just in the upper hive. Up in Malfi's orbit, the planetary defense fleet had launched a sudden, surprise attack against the four warships of the Mongorte Dynasty. Nearby merchant vessels and the fleets of other factions quickly moved away, wanting no part in the conflict, though they harbored their own doubts about the Governess's declaration of this Rogue Trader Dynasty as heretical.

Malfi's warships did not immediately try to destroy the Mongorte vessels. Instead, they attempted to seize control of them. A light cruiser and three Sword-class frigates were a considerable prize for any power. Fortunately, the ships had remained on high alert, knowing this mission would not be peaceful.

The enemy had also severely underestimated the individual combat prowess of Lucan's soldiers. If it had been a ship-to-ship firefight, Lucan might have had to be cautious. But in a boarding action, his soldiers would show them what true dominance looked like.

Glydus listened to her soldiers' reports. On the surface, everything in the upper hive was proceeding smoothly. However, in orbit, she had dispatched several times the number of troops that the Mongorte vessels could possibly hold, yet her forces had failed to gain even a single inch of ground. In fact, they were being completely suppressed at the breach points, unable to advance at all.

"Multiple patterns of unknown recoil-absorbing armor? Possibly even power armor?"

Glydus's first reaction was that the report must be a mistake.

In the time it took for her to process this, the engines of the Mongorte warships roared back to life and they began to break orbit. Malfi's warships were entangled with them, preventing the massive orbital defense platforms from firing at will.

Realizing she could not capture the vessels, Glydus gave a new order: the orbital defenses were to concentrate fire. If she couldn't have them, she would destroy them.

She had assumed her fleet and the numerous orbital platforms would be enough to annihilate the enemy ships. But layer upon layer of void shields flared to life, stubbornly absorbing all the incoming damage. With technology that pleased the machine spirit and the constant repairs being carried out by SCVs within the ships, they weathered the first devastating salvo.

In the past few years, using void shield technology from the Stellar Pioneer and tech captured from the Winterscale Dynasty, Pavian had significantly improved the void shields of all Mongorte Dynasty warships. Their power output and durability had nearly doubled.

Protected by their robust shields, the warships used the lull in the enemy's firing to escape orbit at maximum speed. They could withstand the orbital platforms for a time, but if Glydus became desperate and used the planet's primary surface-to-orbit cannons, not even their shields would hold. The ground-based defenses of an Imperial sub-sector capital were far more powerful than anything in the Koronus Expanse.

Glydus couldn't believe that such a sudden, well-planned attack had failed to take them down. She was beginning to understand why the gods were so interested in this particular Rogue Trader Dynasty.

Watching the fleet retreat into the void, Glydus did not order a pursuit. Her most important targets—Damon and his team—were still on the planet.

"Cough, cough..."

A kine-shield shimmered around Ian, and between it and his adamantium combat suit, he had withstood the damage from the explosion.

"Damon! Holter! Are you alright?" he asked through his suit's comms.

"I... I'm fine. By the God-Emperor! The governor here dares to attack a Bishop of the Ecclesiarchy!"

Holter was incredulous. The sheer audacity was breathtaking.

"Be careful," Damon's voice cut in. "Did you hear what those soldiers were yelling? It seems we've already been declared heretics! The governor here is the hidden heretic we've been looking for!"

Damon's enhanced hearing had caught the soldiers' proclamation.

Caules the assassin had used the chaos of the explosion to escape Damon's grasp. He realized he had been set up. None of his men were responding; they were most likely dead. He didn't feel any grief for them, however. As long as he made it back to the underhive, he could raise a new crew in no time.

He tried to slip away under the cover of the dust, but he quickly found that the area was completely surrounded by the Governess's private soldiers, a watertight cordon. Where could he possibly run?

The private soldiers spotted the fleeing Caules and opened fire without hesitation.

"I'm not with them! I work for the Governess!" he screamed.

But no matter how he shouted, the cold-hearted soldiers didn't stop their assault.

"Purify all targets! That is the mutant who colluded with the heretics! They are all assassins who tried to kill the Governess!"

Hearing the officer's voice, Caules knew he had been completely abandoned, sacrificed as a scapegoat to frame the others.

The weapons in the hands of these private soldiers were not the standard-issue gear of the Astra Militarum or the PDF. Some carried arc weapons usually only seen in the hands of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Plasma and melta weaponry seemed as common as lasguns, and every soldier was protected by full-body carapace armor, leaving not a single patch of skin exposed.

If Lucan had been there, he would have undoubtedly sensed the palpable warp corruption clinging to them. And it wasn't even from a single Chaos God.

The rubble of the building couldn't save Caules. In a last, desperate act, he jammed all of his remaining injectors into his body. He charged out, attempting a final struggle, but nearly every one of these soldiers was stronger than him.

Caules died, leaving behind nothing but a pile of shredded meat.

"Leave the body," an officer commanded. "It's evidence of their collusion. Keep advancing. The ones from the Mongorte Dynasty are not dead yet."

But before they could advance, Damon was already leading the Night Sentinels in a charge. The two squads of Raiders also began to open fire.

For the first time, the roar of C-14 rifles echoed in a place touched by the light of the Astronomican. The Night Sentinels weaved through the ruins, harvesting the lives of the enemy soldiers. The warp corruption emanating from the Governess's private army was like a potent lure to the Night Sentinels, drawing them in.

They charged out from the dust cloud. Night Sentinels carrying reinforced boarding shields absorbed the incoming fire, while Damon and the warriors beside him dual-wielded heavy bolters, their incredible arm strength negating the weapons' recoil.

Holter and Ian joined the fight. The Governess's private soldiers, despite their absolute numerical superiority, were being pushed back. In this close-quarters combat, individual strength was magnified infinitely. Often, an entire enemy squad would be annihilated before they could even send a request for support.

Ian knelt beside the corpses of several soldiers. He saw not only the taint of warp sorcery on their bodies but also the blasphemous implants of the Dark Mechanicum.

"The Governess is using mutants as her private soldiers? Does she have no fear of being discovered? She and her entire family should be put to the pyre!" Holter roared in fury, his eyes unable to tolerate such abominations.

"If she isn't discovered, then in the eyes of the Imperium, she has committed no heresy," Ian said grimly. "And if she doesn't want to be discovered, then it's even more critical that we don't leave here alive!"

Although they had dealt with the first wave of enemies, more were still closing in. The Raiders and Night Sentinels formed a makeshift defensive line, holding back the tide.

"We can't stay here!" Damon shouted, making a snap decision. "There are too few of us to fight an entire army! We need to move into the nearby building complexes to prevent them from using weapons of mass destruction!"

Damon and the others feared that the Governess would get desperate and, disregarding the other residents of the upper hive, simply order a saturation bombardment of their position. No matter how strong they were, they were still ultimately flesh and blood. He immediately began to lead the team in a breakout.

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