PART 1

Commander Fürtlinger stared intently at the auspex reports in front of him. New contacts were appearing at extreme range.

He had been tasked by sector command to lead a small scouting force towards enemy lines. The archenemy had taken a forgeworld at the far edge of the sector and were suspected to be trying to expand. His task was to see if this was true.

"General quarters, signal the task force to report status."

The bridge of the Recleants' Cataclysm sprung to life, all personnel suddenly busy with their own tasks. He had commanded the mars class battlecruiser many times but this was his first as a commander of other ships.

He watched as, one by one, the friendly contacts blinked green. He was leading only a handful of ships but the responsibility was weighing on him. He knew each of the captains under his command as equals but this was the first time he had needed to consider them as his subordinates. The captain of the dauntless class Alugura, in particular, was an old academy friend. His thoughts were interrupted by his First Lieutenant.

"Commander, the Lord Odobenus, the Sus Osculum and the Alugura have all reported ready. However, the By His Hand has not reported in."

Fürtlinger cursed being lumbered with the civilian transport for the operation. It was supposed to be trying out the emmission obfuscation drive, something the cogheads told him would make it appear as a larger ship on auspex. All he had noticed was that it played havoc with the comms.

"Lieutenant, keep trying to raise them. Use the Monarch's callsign, they may be taking their decoy ruse more seriously now we have a chance to use it."

He turned back to the auspex. The enemy seemed to be comming straight at them. Four ships, all cruiser class. One seemed to be on a divergent course from the rest, making to pass behind a small moon on the right flank.

"Boost auspex strength, I want that ship identified. Is it carnage class?"

"Carnage class confirmed, reading long range weapons batteries only. Two other ships displaying Scartix engine signatures, possible slaughter class cruisers. Last ship is unknown."

Fürtlinger thought for a moment. He saw the By His Hand blink green in readiness.

"Open comms to the task force."

"Confirmed sir."

"All ships, prepare to engage the archenemy. Give no quarter and expect none. Osculum, Odobenus, take point and blunt their attack. Alugura, escort. Monarch, insert yourself between them and that carnage class. The Emperor protects. Out."

He watched as the contacts on the auspex moved towards the enemy. Now all that he could do was wait for the inevitable contact and ready his ship.

"Launch strikecraft. Two formations of starhawk bombers, support the lunars. Master of Ordnance, Nova cannon?"

"Ready and willing commander."

"Set target as the middle slaughter class. Fire when able."

Within seconds the deck shook as the warhead was accelerated at near light speed towards the enemy. Even with its extreme velocity it took a few seconds to reach the target. The auspex went white.

"Miss to enemy's starboard, sir."

Well it would be a shame if it was so easy.

PART 2

Commander Fürtlinger sat, waiting for the inevitable mayhem to begin. He watched the auspex as the multiple returns drew closer to one another. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, it started.

"Commander, the Sus Osculum is reporting contact with three slaughter class cruisers. Their torpedo salvo only caused light damage. The Lord Odobenus is sending similar reports. They are continuing to close."

Fürtlinger considered his options. He had hoped that the torpedo attack would open up a weak spot in the enemies formation, which he could then exploit. His order was already on his lips, there was little choice.

"Order the bomber wings to follow up on the torpedo attack. Bring the nova..."

He saw a flash of light out of the starboard window. He knew what the next report would be before it was voiced.

"Commander, the Hand has been destroyed. Looks like the enemy took it for an out of position cruiser."

At least the decoy seemed to fool them. Now to take advantage.

"Lock the lance batteries on that damaged ship. Lock the nova on the carnage class, we need to keep it suppressed while we engage the slaughters!"

The ship hummed with the sound of weapons fire, punctuated only by the sudden shock of the nova cannon's recoil.

"Commander, direct hit on the carnage! Only reading minimal damage, it seems that the plasma warhead failed to fully ignite. Lance batteries doing light damage to the slaughter, bomber wings are reporting that munitions were on target and caused serious damage. The Osculum is reporting heavy incoming weapon fire. They are taking crippling causualties. The Odobenus has pierced the enemy lines."

"Order the Osculum to disengage, I won't lose a ship on my first command. Instruct the Odobenus to come about and attack their rear."

At that moment, the air seemed to aquire a sharp, almost metallic taste. Fürtlinger knew the sensation well, the void shields were being assaulted by weapons fire.

"Sir, all remaining slaughter class ships have locked on to us and are closing! The carnage is providing long range supporting fire. Bomber wings are being repaired and reloaded. Shields at 50%. Nova cannon is ready for..."

At that moment the air suddenly seemed clear. It reminded Fürtlinger of clear mornings back on Tvashtar, after the ion storms had ceased and when the sulphur clouds were low in the valleys. It could mean only one thing.

"Brace for impact!"

As soon as the words formed in his mouth the ship was rocked by multiple hits. Blast doors and bulkheads sealed all over the ship. The deck plates turned into a torrid sea, shaking and rolling with every impact. Conduits on the bridge ruptured and control stations spewed forth sparks. The three enemy slaughters were close, unloading all of their hate into the Recreants' Cataclysm. The feable amount of fire that was able to be returned at them seemed to do little more than slow them down. Then, after what seemed like an age, the ship calmed.

"Damage report."

"Damage report aye. There are reports of light crew casualties. Sensors are impaired, coming back online now. By the Emperor, they are right on top of us!"

The entire ship lurched with multiple impacts.

"Boarding parties reported on decks two and three. Starboard launch bays have been breached. Armsmen are responding but are heavily outnumbered."

It was then that Fürtlinger became aware of a faint hiss from the armoured bulhead door behind him. The metal began to glow, first red and then brighter and brighter toward a brilliant white.

"Helmsman, by the Emperor get us clear of those ships. The rest of you, prepare to repel boarders. In His name!"

Fürtlinger grabbed his trusty pistol just as the door turned to liquid and flowed onto the bridge. Right behind the molten metal flowed a tide of filth and hate. A dozen heretics clawed and climbed over eachother to be the first into the fray. The air was filled with screams of rage.

"BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOODY SKULLS FOR HIM!" the first creature through the door called as he took a man's head off with a single cleave, before having his torso reduced to viscera by a shotgun blast. No sooner had he fallen than another damned soul had taken his place, rushing straight for the nearest man and brandishing a flail tipped with meat cleavers. The rest of those behind him were equally as savage, calling for their god to witness the death.

"Drive them from this place! For the Emperor!" called Fürtlinger as he put a las round between the eyes of the closest abomination. Drawing his ornamental longsword he ran staight at the tide, followed by his closest aides and retainers. They cut a bloody swath through the heretic swarm, pushing them back through the bulkhead.

Fürtlinger tapped the comm bead in his ear, connecting him to the bridge and demanding a report.

"We are clear of the slaughters sir. Boarders are under control but we have taken severe casualties. Still taking fire from the carnage. Shields are..."

The air was filled with fire and the sound of tortured metal. Fürtlinger was thrown against the wall and blacked out.

PART 3

Fürtlinger awoke in the dark, his eyes taking a moment to adjust. He was surrounded by the bodies of both ally and enemy alike. The way to the bridge was completely destroyed, a mass of twisted girders and compressed metal.

One of the bodies moved.

Fürtlinger's hand went straight to his side, searching for his trusty pistol. It was absent. He saw it lying in a pool of blood across the corridor. As he pulled himself up to make a dash for it he relaxed. The man that moved was none other than his trusty aide Karthod.

"Are you injured, Sir?" Karthod managed to splutter through bloodied teeth.

"I'm fine. We have to find a station and determine the situation. Comms are down and the bridge is destroyed."

The two set off, moving down into the ship. The hull seemed to sporatically lurch from incomming weapons fire. They met few others, the occassional heretic or injured crewman. They pressed on. Upon finding a suitible terminal, the commander wasted no time in bringing up fleet and system data.

The situation was grim. The Sus Osculum had successfully disengaged and the Alugura appeared to be unharmed. However, the Lord Odobenus was out of position and had taken some damage. The Recreants' Cataclysm was barely functioning. The bridge had been smashed and the nova cannon was off line. To make matters worse the enemy fleet seemed to be coming about for another run, as if they smelled the blood in the void. Fürtlinger opened the fleet comm channel.

"Commander Fürtlinger to all ships. Disengage. Repeat, disengage. Rendevous back at fleet command at the earliest opportunity." He saw the Odobenus go dark on the screen, cutting power so that they could make their escape. He then opened a channel to the engine room.

"Engine room, report." Another explosion shook the ship. "Report!"

He saw the face of Techpriest Heisenwrath appear on the stormy screen.

"Commander, the spirits are in pain. Those that control secondary plasma drive 7/B have passed and there is a build up of pressure in the primary venting system. We are trying to calm the sacred devices."

"Disengage the ship. Turn hard to port and then cut power throughout the ship."

"It may take some time commander." the techpriest replied, "If we cut power too quickly we could lose plasma containment."

"Just do it. If we don't do it quickly then we are done for."

Fürtlinger, grabbing a new comm bead and a tactical dataslate, headed towards the secondary command post. After a few minutes he heard Heisenwrath in his ear.

"Commander, the drive system is venting plasma into space. The reactor is going critical. All failsafe systems are offline and I am unable to stop it. The Recreants' Cataclysm wishes to join the Omnissiah."

"Understood. Emperor be with you." He cut the channel. "Karthod, the ship is done for. We must get to my shuttle."

There was doubt in his mind. With three cruisers closing fast the chances of reaching the shuttle were slim. However, half way to the shuttle the incomming fire seemed to lessen. Pausing just long enough to check his dataslate, what he saw suprised him.

The Alugura had not disengaged, as he had assumed. It was in the midst of the enemy slaughters and pouring on the fire. It had reduced two of them to hulks but had taken severe damage in return. As he saw the Alugura go dark and disengage, he could only be thankful that they had bought him enough time to escape.

Explosions rocked the Cataclysm as Fürtlinger stumbled into the shuttle, followed by Karthod. He wasted no time in ordering the crew to get underway. As the acceleration pinned him to his seat he saw the damage readout of the Cataclysm. Plasma fires were breaking out along the ventral side and the prow was completely destroyed. It wouldn't be long now.

As he looked at the screen the plasma drive imploded. A giant shockwave shot through space, erasing his command from exsistence. As he sat there, drifting through space, he couldn't help but lament the loss of his first command. However, his fleet had managed to destroy two enemy cruisers and disengae with only a single ship lost, and the decoy test had been sucessful.

He was sure to be reprimanded upon his return, but at least people would know his name.