# From the Ashes



## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

A little something I came up with during the flight home. If it's responded too well I'll continue it.

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SHIPCOM Signature- ADY-243
Message Transmitting
All Ship+ in R+nge thi+ is _Royal Sovereign_ ma+day, rep+at mayday. Some+ne, an+one, please res+ond. Out.

Captain Justin "Jay" Archer looked up from the console. 

"Hit it." he said simply. The NAVCOM officer nodded and tapped a button. Sixteen hundred feet to stern, the Navigator closed her eyes, and the ship tore it's way into the warp.

"ETA sixteen seconds." said the NAVCOM. "Short jump."

Archer nodded. "Gun crews to stations, damage crews to braces. All hands to repel boarders, rig for close-in fighting."

"Aye, sir."

The _Pheonix_ exited the warp at a slow burn, pulling it's massive bulk from the Warp. 

"Sir, I've isolated approach vectors, four Ork Kroozer-class groups, make it one capital ship per group. We've got about twenty seconds."

"Ready Accelerator." ordered Archer.

"One's at 97%, the other got EMP'd by the jump. It's down and charging."

"Fire."

A single slug, the size of a small frieghter, impacted the leading vessel, a crude approximation of a cruiser. The ship imploded, vomiting debris into the void. The other vessels turned from the burning _Royal Sovereign_, taking up positions to fire.

"Bring us in close. Alert condition one, ready triage stations. Arm all broadside cannon and close-in defense. Prep to launch fighters."

"Aye aye, sir."

A klaxxon sounded. The _Phoenix_ turned, no mean feat for a ship it's size. The vessel was nearly twice the size of even the largest Kill Kroozer or even the Imperator-class battleships, built for massive recolonization in the wake of the Heresy. 

One hundred and twenty broadside guns fired from it's starboard side, raking the ships still firing. A dozen small shells impacted the _Phoenix_, sending blue flashes across it's hull as the shields held.

"Bring us around, get me Engineering."

The overhead whined.

"Captain, Engineering here."

"Howie, give me 150% please." said Archer.

"Aye, captain." replied the Chief Engineer.

The ship lurched forward, sending two dozen more shots far to her rear as the Orks missed.

"Hail the _Royal Sovereign_. Get me her captain."

The ship's comms crackled.

"This is Welard Knight, of the _Royal Sovereign_. Who am I speaking to?"

"Justin Archer, _Phoenix_. Get your shit together. I'm taking fire."

The _Royal Sovereign_ crept forward, it's engines fluctuating. Another Ork ship detonated as the _Phoenix_'s gunners found their mark.

"Accelerator Two ready, sir." said the GUNCOM officer.

"Fire." ordered Archer.

The shell passed through the first ship and struck the Ork Kill Kroozer in the stern, detonating it's fusion coil. Immolated pieces shredded the rest of the Ork ships, sending them tumbling away. 

"Confirm, all contacts splashed." said the modar officer. 

"Bring us to condition 5. Gun crews stand down. Bring us to 75% ahead, please."

The comms crackled, and Knight appeared on the screen in front of Archer.

"Thanks for the assist, _Phoenix_. I thought I'd toasted my last victory. What FLEETCOM are you with?"

"Segmentum Obscurus Auxiliary." replied Archer. "And you're welcome."

The comm went dead.

"How'd we do?" Archer asked his XO. The man, Daniel Presly, was as much the commander of the massive vessel as Archer was. Presly smiled and held up a dataslate.

"Only two casualties, neither serious. One misfire on gun 27, the other was caught in a shield flare. Minor damage to the starboard gun decks from shield fluctuations."

Archer nodded.

"Captain!" yelled the comms officer. "We've got a distress call coming in! The fleet's been hit en route to Cadia! One transport's already gone up!"

"Alright." said Archer. "Seal her up and prepare to jump."


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## Dessel_Ordo (Jul 28, 2008)

excellent work as normal Dirge, cant wait to see more!

on a side note, is that some Mando I spot in your sig?


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

It's true, _at'ika_. I had lots of time over in the Sandbox, so I brushed up on my _Mando'a_.


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## waltzmelancholy_07 (Sep 30, 2008)

welcome back Dirge:victory:... Nice work!...


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## Talonmaster Raptoris (Jul 5, 2008)

jebus this is good!!!!...... your descriptions of space battles are like none other, not even in published works! continue this or ill suffer a mental breakdown....


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Thanks everybody. It's nice to be back.
---------------------------------------------

Archer stepped down the short staircase leading to The Corridor, a massive maintenance shaft that ran the length of _Pheonix_. Most of the auxiliary crew and arms men lived in the spaces around it, and had set up shantytowns along the sides. A well-ordered pile of metal sheeting stood near the entrance, a sign reading _Eddie's_ over the door. Archer walked inside, pleased at their latest victory. He had the ship's corps of painters and repairmen add another four kill marks to _Phoenix_'s roll of honor. 

"Cap'n." said Eddie, leaning heavily on the bar. He had an augmetic arm that hissed and whirred as it cleaned a glass. Eddie had been a gunner until the day the gun took his arm off at the elbow during a misfire. He had taken the shell casing from the shot that injured him and hung it above the bar. He slid an ale across the bar.

"I heard the engines. Where're we off to now?"

Archer sipped the drink. "Cadia, apparently. Seems Abbadon's finally tired of waiting around. They're already calling it the 13th Black Crusade."

Eddie laughed. "I can't see it, sir. Abbadon got his arse handed to him durin' the Gothic War. No way'n the warp he's comin' back for more."

Archer shrugged. "Well, if he is, this old girl can take whatever he'll throw out from the Gate."

He patted the wall, feeling the reassuring thrum of _Phoenix_'s engines. Eddie nodded.

"That she will." he said.

A dozen crewmen walked into Eddie's, in various uniforms. The leading man sat next to Archer. 

"Captain, my wings are a little miffed we didn't get a piece of those greenies." said Sam Dawson, the leader of the Thunderbolt wings.

Archer smiled. "Blame the gun crews, Sam."

The flight leader chuckled and accepted the ale Eddie handed him. The bartender didn't actually charge anything for his ales, at least not to the crew. At one point _Phoenix_ had evacuated the colony world of Saskatch, and the colonists had complained to Archer about the exorbitant prices. 

Dawson yawned widely, showing the dozen patches on the back of his coat. Eleven were theaters of battle, from the Cadian Gate to Armageddon. The last one was a single round patch that read ADY-243 _Pheonix_, the ship's patch.

"I know the feeling." said Archer, nodding at the yawn. "Might want to get some sleep. We'll be in-system in twelve hours."

"I hate sleepin' in the warp." remarked Eddie. "Gives me nightmares."

Dawson nodded gravely. 

"Well, I better get down to R&D before we get into Cadia. Make sure Zeltis hasn't managed to summon a demon or something."

Archer set the empty mug down and left Eddie's Pub, walking down The Corridor to a freight elevator. He nudged past a pallet of shells and nodded to the loadmaster.

"Bottom floor, my good man." he said. 

The elevator deposited Archer at the very bottom of _Phoenix_'s hull, onto a glass-floored observation deck laden with technologies and random bits of flotsam. The glass floor was covered in heavy metal blast shields for the trip through the warp, and Doctor Andrew Zeltis sat fast asleep in a desk chair in the center of the room, next to a massive toolbench.

"Doctor." said Archer lightly. Zeltis woke with a start and grabbed Archer by the collar.

"Don't wake me up!" he said in a high-pitched voice, almost a whistle.

Archer smiled and pried the man's hand from his uniform. "Just came down to make sure you're not blowing us all up."

Zeltis thought about it for a moment, and then pulled a heavy set of magnifying goggles from the table and grabbed a pyramid-shaped object with a fat red button on the side.

"I made _this_ last night, in my sleep." he said, cackling. "I put a button on it. I wish to press it, but I'm not sure what will happen if I do, no. I used Quadrium, very unstable!"

Archer flinched. "Well, try to resist the urge."

"Erica!" yelled Zeltis, tossing the device into a metal wastebasket.

A young woman exited the room leading into the lab, carrying a stack of papers. 

"Yes, Dr. Zeltis?" she asked. 

"Did you find the report on Quantum science yet?" he asked.

"No, Doctor. But I did get your lunch." she said. She handed Zeltis a sandwich.

"Peanut butter, anchovies and marinara, sir?" asked the doctor, holding the food out to Archer.

"Um. I couldn't." said Archer. "Well, if you're good down here, I'll take my leave."

He took the pyramid shaped device from the trash, and walked back to the elevator.

"Toss this out the airlock." he said the arms man guarding the door. The man nodded and set it in the heavy room.

Unknown to all, as the device flew out of the _Phoenix_ in a hiss of compressed air, the button struck a spar on the ship's hull. A ghastly charge built around the device, and it vanished in an explosion of warp energy.


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## Talonmaster Raptoris (Jul 5, 2008)

amazing...


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

It's actually starting to get kind of boring here at home. I don't have anything to do! Maybe paint the kitchen or something tomorrow. I'm serious. I'm about to go out and split some wigs.
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[Unknown contact, jumped in just outside the killbox.]

[Get me name and designation, ASAP.]

[Uhh..._Defender_-class, sir. Colony ship.]

[Disposition?]

[Coming to bear, I see an Imperial FOF tag, sir. ADY-243, out of Amialdis.]

[Thank the Emperor! Hail them, get them onto the far port side, the Cobras are taking a hammering.]

[Aye aye, sir.]

Captain Archer put the SHIPCOM headset down, stepping back to his command chair.

_Ten thousand souls_. That was his crew. Lived or died, by HIS choices. He took a deep breath, and sat down, bringing up the TACNAV display. Dozens of red and green contacts swarmed above Cadia, a single yellow NAV marker showing a massive orbital defense platform in the center of the melee. 

"We're being hailed. Patching it through."

Archer leaned forward as a grizzled man appeared on screen.

"ADY-243, this is Cadia Up. You're just in time."

Archer nodded. "Our pleasure. Orders?"

"Take the port side of the station, Captain."

Archer nodded to the helmsman, who swung _Phoenix_ around the orbital dock.

"Bring us to alert one, flood the gun decks, and give me all ahead full. Link up with the Cobras."

"Aye, Captain."

Six Cobra-class Destroyers fought bitterly against two Despoiler battleships guarding a single Murder-class cruiser in low orbit. As Archer watched, one of the Cobras lit up and detonated, debris raining into the atmosphere.

"Come to new heading, two-zero-four, all ahead full. Ready Accelerator."

"Two-zero-four, aye sir."

The Mass Driver shell impacted the first Despoiler in the far stern, coming up underneath and gutting the Engineering section of the ship. The Cobras saw the weakness and fired their engines, cutting into the ship with well-aimed volleys. A second Destroyer was obliterated as the Despoiler's gunners tore it open, and the _Phoenix_'s lances detonated it's ammo magazines and blew it into spinning fragments.

"Brace for debris." said the modar op. Archer felt small thumps as massive chunks of armor pinged off _Phoenix_'s forward shields.

"What's that cruiser doing?" he asked. The op shook her head.

"I don't know sir."

"Captain! Torpedo teams reporting readiness."

"Fire all tubes, spread at fifty meters, long fuses."

"Aye."

Sixteen massive anti-ship missiles speared from _Phoenix_'s bow. The Despoiler turned into the missiles and opened fire with it's lances, destroying eight of them. The close-in defenses killed another two, but the remainder smashed into it's prow and detonated, turning the front of the ship to flaming wreckage. It spun wildly, thrusters trying to correct the spin, and a Mass Driver slug blew it apart.

The Murder-class fired, turning a Cobra to slag in an instant.

"Holy Imperator." said Archer. "What in the name of god was that?"

"Unknown, sir. Energy weapon of some kind."

"Fire."

Torpedoes and smart slugs flew towards the ship, and suddenly as they neared their target, the rockets spun off course.

"Damn. They've got countermeasures, sir."

"Are they engaged in ground activity, lieutenant?"

"Looks like, sir. I'm picking up a signal from the ground."

Archer bit his lip.

_Ten thousand souls._

"Howie, give me 175% on the engines." he said into the SHIPCOM.

"Sir, that'll only give us twenty seconds." said the Engineer.

"I know. 175, please."

"Your funeral, sir."

The COM went dead. Archer turned to the weapons con.

"What're the Drivers doing?"

"Down and charging. Those counters are messing with the magnets."

Archer felt the ship begin to lurch forward as the engines shifted into overdrive.

"Run them over, lieutenant."

The helmsman made the sign of the Aquila, and steered directly toward the Murder-class. Slugs and rockets impacted the forward shields, making Archer grip the armrests of his chair.

_Phoenix_ hit the Murder-class at high burn, smashing into the port side. The ship was pulped, crushed, and shredded by _Phoenix_'s blunt nose. The two shorn halves of the chaos cruiser fell into the atmosphere.

"We've got a transmission, sir." said the COMM op.

"Origin?"

"The planet. It's a Chaos code, sir."

"Hold steady, fire holding thrusters."

The ship soaked up the Chaos transmission, feeding it into a single dataspike built into Andrew Zeltis' dataslate deep in the ship's hull. The doctor looked in barely suppressed glee as he began to decipher the code, humming a cheery tune under his breath.


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## Ordo Xeno Commander (Jan 17, 2007)

awesome work dirge, more!


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## Benidem (May 13, 2008)

i like the doctor just the right kind of crazy


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Thanks. Dr. Zeltis is really fun to write.
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Archer sat down in his cabin, reaching for a gilded carafe full of whiskey. He poured two fingers into a glass and sat back, looking at the ceiling. Presly walked in, carrying a dataslate.

"Daniel." said Archer. He offered Presly a glass. The officer took it and poured himself a drink.

"Doc's finished with the translation." remarked the XO, handing Archer the slate. The captain threw back the liquor and picked up the small device.

"It's not the actual communique that's important." said Presly. "It's just a list of troop strengths. The ending is the interesting bit."

Archer read through it and started.

"What am I looking at?" he asked. Presly took a gulp of his own shot.

"Chaos communiques always end with a short sermon of their latest victory. This is something called a "Planet Killer"."

"That doesn't sound good."

"It's a _ship_."

Archer stopped dead.

"Excuse me?"

"A ship." repeated Presly. "And it's finished, judging by that slate." 

Archer sighed, dropping the slate onto the couch. He poured another shot.

"Always a challenge." he said. Presly nodded.

"It is, sir. But then again, even a Planet Killer won't put much of a dent in the Sector fleet."

"What about it, Presly? Is that how you always see it? The glass is half full?"

Presly smiled and swallowed the last of his drink, setting the glass on the table.

"They're shot glasses, sir. The glass is full or empty."

And he walked out, leaving Archer alone with his thoughts.

--------------------------------------------------

Sam Dawson patted the flank of Thunderhawk serial Six-Four, running his fingers along the screaming eagle that adorned it's side.

"You'll be great." he cooed to the jet. It made no reply. A noise made Dawson turn.

"I know I am." said Isabel Berns.

"And so modest about it too." he said. "Nice entrance, Izzy."

Izzy laughed and tucked her heavy bomber helmet under one arm. 

"Care for a spot at Eddie's?" she said. "I hear Franklin from gun 33's got a card pool going."

"Can't, I'm on fighter screen."

"Come on, Sam. There's nothing out here anymore to make a stab at a ship this size."

Dawson smiled. "Alright."

Eddie's was packed, as usual. In the center of the room, under a blood-stained shell casing hung from the ceiling, a group of men cheered as cards were thrown around a table. Sam took a glass from the bar and looked over Franklin's shoulder as he threw out a full hand of Emperors. 

A single figure entered the bar, and the room went quiet.

"What is this?!" roared a man in a commissar's greatcoat. He had a snarl on his face, and a peaked cap perched on his head.

"You men! Get out of here!" he yelled. The soldiers and gunners ran for their lives. Eddie spat into a glass and began to wipe it out with his shirt.

"Need something to drink, sir?" he asked, holding out the spit-in glass.

The commissar looked at him like Eddie was hell itself. He pulled the bolt pistol from his belt.

"Under subsection B-twel-" he began. A laspistol shot rang out, and everyone stopped dead.

"What's going on!?" roared Presly. The commissar turned.

"Did you know about this?" the man asked, growling.

"I did." replied Presly. "Don't interrupt. And put the gun down."

A group of armsmen in heavy carapace armor surrounded the commissar.

"Take Commissar Wolff to his quarters." said Presly. He sat at the table, accepting a clean glass from Eddie.

"Deal the cards, Franklin." he said lightly, sipping the beer.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Gonna take a trip to IL for a few days, so I won't be able to post.

Ta.


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## Iron Corsair (Nov 5, 2008)

Excellent as always, Dirge! Welcome back (A bit late.). So far so good, the story is awesome. Keep it up.


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## crabpuff (Aug 5, 2008)

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I get my fix.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

crabpuff said:


> I get my fix.


I can't help but feel I'm enabling something lol...

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"We've taken up a geostationary to Port St. Helena, sir."

"Good. Stop reactor, come port-side-to."

"Aye sir.... reactor... stopped."

A slight shudder ran through the ship as the massive vessel clamped onto Port St. Helena's far starboard side. 

"Gloves off, Daniel." said Archer. Presly pulled one of his leather gloves off and shook the captain's hand. 

"So, we get a spell in a stone frigate, boss?" asked Archer's captain-at-arms. She pulled the heavy rebreather helmet from her head, running a hand over the gaudy black-and-white checks painted over the helmet's surface. Her name was Cameron Savage, or "Cam".

"Excuse me?" asked Archer. He tilted at her words.

"Office duty. Filing papers and answering the comms. Lots of recaf breaks."

Archer chuckled. "A two-day supply stop, and we already want a break from the line."

Savage smiled, and replaced her helmet, stuffing the heavy combat shotgun she carried into a holster on her back. 

-------------------------------------------

Archer sat on a crate, watching the massive supply elevators ferry cargo to the _Phoenix_ with an unnerving precision. As he watched a massive pallet of Proteus missiles vanished into the starboard launcher bays, followed shortly thereafter by a dozen gargantuan tanks of promethium fuel for the fighters. Support shuttles from the ship itself flew from the bays, fetching smaller "luxury" cargoes like bac-sticks, tarot cards, and other pleasures. 

Zeltis was on top of a vast stack of crates being ferried by a Cargo-12 down The Corridor towards the freight elevator that led to his lab. He jumped off and waved the driver on.

"Captain?" asked the scientist. Archer looked up.

"I've been picking up some... readings. Since I translated that transmission. Almost like a chorus. No, an orchestra? Maybe. But it's strong. My instruments tell me it's coming from the Gates near Cadia. Did you ever have one of those night lights, Captain? Like that. It's bright, in the dark."

He walked away as if the conversation had never happened. Archer licked his lips. Savage and a team of armsmen in massively reinforced Stormtrooper armor stalked by, carting footlockers of munitions and shotgun shells. The captain held a lit bac-stick in her mouth, and her checkered helmet was clipped to her belt.

"Captain." she said, saluting him with the smoke. Archer nodded and the team moved off.

------------------------------------------------

Later that night, Archer and Presly sat in Archer's cabin, laughing over a bottle of Thracian whiskey. 

"D'you remember him?" roared Presly. Archer was crying with laughter.

"Yeah! Yeah, he used to get everyone's uniform jacket?"

"Oh, Emperor! Yeah, he used to pee a "E" on everyone's stuff? For Eaids?"

"For Emperor?"

"Oh, yeah. Eaids. Wow, I'd forgotten about him."

Dawson shouldered open the door with another bottle and a stack of cards. He sat down and began to deal them as Izzy walked in with him.

"Hey, the flyers." said Archer. He poured more drinks.

The two pilots toasted Archer and sipped. The door alarm dinged, and Savage kicked the door in, followed by Erica Knight, Zeltis' assistant.

The captain sat down, still smoking the bac-stick. She put her booted feet on the table and took a drink from Dawson's glass.

"So, gents." she said smoothly. "What's the game plan?"

Archer wiped his mouth and swept the cards off the table. He activated the holochart and a map blossomed in the center of the room. Port St. Helena and the _Phoenix_ were at the center, the Eye of Terror and Cadia at the farthest edge of the north. Great blue contacts marked the subsector fleets, while a mass of red poured from the Cadian Gate, splitting around Cadia.

"Well, the High Lords have declared this a Black Crusade. The Thirteenth. The Navy's already stretched to the breaking point, and the word of the "Planet Killer"'s already got HIGHCOM freaked. We're on our own, at least. No orders issued for ships of our tonnage. We're only commanded to hold our own and protect the major planetary lanes if we're in range of them."

Presly whistled. "Well, at least we're not getting stuffed by Sector then. We can take anything below Supercarrier class on our own, and with the bombers and fighters even that won't do much besides knock on the shields a bit."

Dawson nodded. "We got'yer back, Captain."

Archer looked at the ceiling. "She is kind of a big girl."

Erica sipped her own glass, a rare concession for the professor's apprentice. "Defender class, boss. Biggest self propelled ship ever built by Imperials."

It was true. _Phoenix_ was almost twice as long as the Emperor and Retribution class battleships, and nearly one and a half times the width. Painted grey gunmetal, she took up the entire port side dock of Port St. Helena by herself. A massive red-orange Phoenix insignia was painted on her prow, and two stripes of the same color were daubed on her flanks. _ADY-243 Phoenix_ was painted in cursive scrollwork on her bow. 

The intercomms chirped once, and Archer picked up the handset, listening with a rapt silence for a moment, and set the phone down.

Presly saw the look on the captain's face.

"What is it, sir?" he asked.

Archer ran a hand through his hair.

"It's been confirmed. Ereus is gone."

Everyone stopped dead.

"What do you mean, _gone[i/]?" asked Savage. 

"A trader stopped in-system fifteen minutes ago. An Iconoclast raider engaged it and it fled, but it was able to get pic-scans of the system. Ereus and all her people are dust and echoes."

"The Planet Killer....is real?" whispered Izzy.

"A contact almost twice our tonnage was recieved as it exited the warp. We've been ordered to alert and to rendevous with Sector fleet. We're going after it."

Dawson swallowed the last of the drink in a manner less then befitting of a liquor of it's vintage, and smiled.

"The Screamin' Eagles have got your six, boss. Like always."

--------------------------------------

The next day at approximately eleven hundred hours, Every single member of Phoenix's crew stood at parade rest in The Corridor. Archer stood on a podium, Presly next to him. 

"Crew of the Imperial vessel Phoenix." began Archer, speaking through every single microphone in the ship thanks to the mic built into his collar.

"We have been called upon to serve in a dangerous, deadly way. The High Lords have classified this as a Black Crusade, a massive, sweeping invasion of our systems by heretics, mutants, and monsters. They are led by a massive vessel known as the Planet Killer. They have said it is a rumour. I am here to tell you it is not."

An ugly murmur ran through the crowds.

"It holds the power to devastate entire systems, and is nearly three times the size of even a Retribution-class. That is why we are called. We are more heavily armed, armored, and motivated then even the stoutest Imperial Navy crew. But I would be mad to order you to do this."

Archer pointed down at their feet. Presly had walked the entire length of The Corridor that morning, dragging a roll of painting tape.

"On the deck, there is a line. Volunteers to starboard, those who value their own lives to port."

The crew waited an awful, long second, and Archer feared he'd lost them.

A shout went up, and a dozen people were shoved aside as Cameron Savage and a regiment of Imperial Stormtroopers pushed their way starboard. At her example, the Marauder wings and gun crews began to filter right. Dawson and the Thunderbolt wings. Then the command crews. The repair crews. Damage control. Eventually, the entire ship's compliment was standing on the starboard side, creating a credible list. Only Andrew Zeltis stood on the port side.

"Well, how are you, me, and Presly going to crew the ship if they're all leaving?" he asked. Erica Hall stepped across the line and grabbed him, dragging him right.

The crowds looked at him. Archer smiled. 

"I'm honored to have such a crew." he said. A cheer went up, and Sam Dawson hauled himself up onto the podium, slapping Archer on the back.

"I say we kick some ass, sir." he said.

"Alright. To stations! Make ready to cast off! We're going hunting for heretics!"

The crew split in a thousand ways, and the quest began._


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## crabpuff (Aug 5, 2008)

Literary Crack gotta love it. Best part this chapter

"Well, how are you, me, and Presly going to crew the ship if they're all leaving?" he asked. Erica Hall stepped across the line and grabbed him, dragging him right.


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## Ordo Xeno Commander (Jan 17, 2007)

Nice reference to the "Screamin Eagles" aka the 101st Airborne  haha. very well written Dirge.


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## dark angel (Jun 11, 2008)

that last bit was used on battlestar galactica's pentultimate episode but a good read nevertheless.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Really? I never watched the show. I just loved the "line in the sand" concept. Is _Galactica_ any good?


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## Ordo Xeno Commander (Jan 17, 2007)

I thought you would have been sick of sand by now Dirge haha


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## dark angel (Jun 11, 2008)

yeah galactica is really enjoyable you should check it out this reminded me a lot of it, id like to write a story like this any tips?


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## Talonmaster Raptoris (Jul 5, 2008)

hey, I just noticed the pee the E in the jacket was a direst take from saving prvate ryan. except it was v for veckio. Not that I care...just.....putting that out there.....
btw Awesome again!!!!


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

It is. That's one of my favorite movies and I was watching it as I updated the story lol.

Update tomorrow.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Well, I think you should know by now "tomorrow" means "by next week". lol
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Archer ran a hand through his hair.

"Contact Admiral Edwards. Tell him we're on-station nearing Battlegroup _Rostock_'s port side."

"Aye, sir."

Archer and Presly looked at each other over the holochart. The map blossomed between them, showing the massive bulk of the _Phoenix_ against the splatterpaint contacts of the rest of the Imperial fleet. For the briefest of seconds, an immensely tiny object appeared on the scope, almost too small for their instruments to even pick up. Archer looked at the spot and dismissed it as a hardward fault. _Phoenix_ was an old ship, and they were always the best, he knew, but faults happened. 

"This is Fleet Admiral Winslow. All capital ships respond."

Archer heard the captains signal in sequence. He listed his own ship last. Winslow recorded his own vessel, and the _Glorious Retribution_, a gold-plated Emperor-class battlecruiser, took position at the front of the fleet. Admiral Edwards' voice floated across the comms. 

"My soldiers. Sons and daughters of the Emperor's realms, we come here not for ourselves. We come here so our sons, our daughters, our families will have the protection they deserve. That they will receive. I thank you all. This is a fully volunteer fleet, designed for one purpose, to eliminate the Planet Killer and it's escort fleet. We are likely outnumbers. We are assuredly outgunned. But we have spirit, and the unshakable conviction that our fight, all of humanity's fight, will be determined here, and now. Rig for battle, captains. Draw in and run out the guns! Battle readiness and raise the colors!"

Behind Archer, a massive plaque was suddenly illuminated. A bronze engraving showing _Phoenix_ at the Battle of Traphelgar. The Imperial Fleet, outnumbered six to one, had broken the Ork lines and destroyed over ninety percent of the fleet. The action was later named after a famous naval engagement the Ancients' armies had fought on Terra. The ship had been broken, shattered almost beyond recognition. It had to be towed back to Misirah, it's port of call. The shiplayers determined it would be more economical to scrap her and rebuild her as twelve battleships. By the time Captain Gregs had figured out, the breakers were standing by. Legend told that the Captain and sixty-seven Thunderbolt and Lightning pilots had intervened, threatening to shoot down any of the salvage tugs that dared come near. The shipmasters heard about it, and within six minutes the _Phoenix_ was deemed savable. The rest was history. The chapter of it's history had earned the ship it's motto, _From the Ashes_, reflecting on the resurrection. 

Presly looked at the plaque with something approaching respect, and turned back to Archer.

"She's a good lass, captain." he said.

"Bit too old to be called "lass", I think." replied Archer.

Presly smiled. "She runs like new, she's young, captain. Young in spirit, old in mind."

Andrew Zeltis walked aimlessly onto the bridge, clutching a bottle of something in his hand.

"What is that?" asked Archer, immediately assessing him as the biggest risk in the room.

"It's tetrahydride polynomazine, with a dash of hydrogen potassiumizide mixed in. For that extra "kick" in the morning." Zeltis replied. He picked a mug of recaf from one of the SATCOM operators' hands and stirred the concoction into it. The drink glowed faintly as the doctor drank. He sighed.

"I should have used more flourihydride. Then it would have tasted a really pretty _purple_." he said.

"Tasted purple?" asked Presly, clearly amused. The doctor nodded.

"Yes. It's an experiment I've been working on, in addition to direct energy lance-to-power fields. I've actually made some modifications to the ship's-"

"You messed with my ship?" asked Archer, a dangerous edge in his voice.

"No. The tools did. I just turned them and taped random objects to the engineers' backs when they weren't looking. Either way, now we can get hit by energy weapons, and instead of draining the shields, we have a 99.762% shield vampirism rate! It actually _recharges_ the shields! Hard rounds are still a danger, but given the-" he began. Erica Hall appeared in the doorway with a dataslate, and pointedly motioned. Doctor Zeltis followed her out and into the freight elevator.

"Well, that was entertaining." said Presly. He turned back to the holomap. Archer was staring at it, unblinking.

"And it's about to get a lot less." he said. A mass of red contacts surrounded a hulk nearly twice the size of _Phoenix_.

"They're here."


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## Iron Corsair (Nov 5, 2008)

> Yeah, he used to pee a "E" on everyone's stuff? For Eaids?"


That was what some soldier did in WW2! I forget his name but he did something similar at night on people's beds.

Excellent part as always, Dirge.


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## waltzmelancholy_07 (Sep 30, 2008)

Amazingly don Dirge... As always:biggrin:...


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## deathbringer (Feb 19, 2009)

great stuff dirge
wish i could write like this
brilliant descriptions cant wait to read more


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

"Crew of the warhship _Phoenix_. Have a nice day in hell, people. Let's make it happen."

The Chaos line flashed into motion, small cruisers and Iconoclasts flitting forward to attack the Imperials. The _Fear of Ages_ flashed into steam as sixteen energy lances caught her dorsal shields and detonated them. 

"Bring us about, run out the guns. Haul on the main brace and bring us to course zero-four-two, ahead full."

"Zero-four-two, aye." said the helmsman. A quiver sounded in his voice as he realized their destination. The Planet Killer rose in their vision, menacing and red tinted.

"Approach vector isolated, captain. She's shielded but her weapons aren't charging." said Presly.

"Teach them the error of their ways, XO. Ready the heavy cannon and Accelerator."

_Phoenix_ tilted almost forty five degrees to starboard, swerving across the paths of two Iconoclasts in the process of turning a Cobra to slag. The cannons rang out, the gun crews jumping clear as they hurled building-sized projectiles. 

"Bring her to condition zero. Ahead one-third and ready the Lances."

A dozen impacts shook the ship as pieces of wreckage smashed off it's bow.

"Weapons are powering up, captain. Reading massive energy sigs off her bow."

"Full power to dorsal and starboard shields. Fire at will, all broadside and dorsal cannon teams."

"Fire at will aye, sir."

_Phoenix_ took a massive impact on her port bow, scorching the metal and pitting it like a plate dropped in acid. Archer fell as equipment sparked. Fires started on the bridge and damage control crews rushed in.

Archer stood, touching a cut on his forehead. "Damage check." he said. 

"25% to the forward port side, sir. Fires in sections four, seven, and nine. Casualty estimate two hundred seventy-four killed or wounded."

"Bring us to starboard side-on, don't let them hit us again. Where's the nearest planet?"

"Madrasa, sir. Seventy-six klicks off our port."

"Bring us in."

The Planet Killer's captain, drunk with slaughter, began to chase the ship. _Phoenix_ swerved lightly, sailing into Madrasa's orbit. The Chaos vessel smashed against the denser air and stopped dead, her avionics desperately trying to avoid a crash. The engines flared wildly, but they could only hold it in orbit.

"She's jammed captain."

"What's our sitrep?"

"Altitude six-plus... we're in the atmosphere. Hull temp, you don't want to know."

"Open all hatches. Extend all flaps and drag fins. Bring us around."

"Planet Killer's turning, captain. Reading a massive buildup."

"They're going to fire on Madrasa. Ready engines, course nine-zero-six, ahead flank speed. Give me 150%."

"Sir?" asked the Helmsman. "That will put us directly in the line of fire."

"I know." said Archer.

The ship lurched forward, coming under the Planet Killer as Madrasa trembled beneath the leviathans fighting in low orbit. If a space battle was like a knight's duel, an orbital was like a street fight. Both ships hammered each other at point-blank range, the heavy cannon smashing their shields to nothing and rendering the hulls molten slag. 

"Sir! Weapons spike detected! The Killer's firing!" screamed a rating.

A yellow burst of energy nearly a third as wide as _Phoenix_ lanced toward the ship.

Archer calmly pressed a button hastily taped to the console. A series of makeshift circuit breakers around the bridge activated. The shields were running on vampirism power. The breaker behind Archer sparked.

"Damn it!" he screamed. He tried to force the two halves together. The machine sparked again and a series of red runes lit up his display. The breaker was fused. 

He turned, suddenly aware.

_Ten thousand souls._

"Impact in three seconds, sir." said the Ops Officer. One of the few who weren't praying for deliverance.

Archer turned to Savage. The pair shared a look for a second, and Archer grabbed the heavy combat shotgun the captain carried, thankful for the thick metal stock instead of the wooden type Savage held such disdain for. Captain Justin Archer turned and jammed the weapon between the two halves of the breaker just as the Planet Killer struck the ADY-243 _Phoenix_ on the nose. The shields flared white, as bright as anything anyone on either side had seen. Far below, fifty square miles of Madrasa was turned to lava and ash by the heat released. When the echoes faded, the captain of the Planet Killer became afraid. _Phoenix_, battered but unharmed, limped from the smoke. It's hull was rent in a dozen places. It was venting oxygen at a prodigious rate. Four thousand crew were dead. But it was _not destroyed._

Presly stood at Archer's command chair, the captain lay behind him, inert, the weapon still clutched in his hands. The energy had killed him.

"Fire Accelerator." said Presly.

A shell the size of a small freighter impaced the Planet Killer and blew the interior compartments of the bow section to shreds. The ship spun wildly, and it's power came back on-line following the Killer's firing.

"They're firing again!" yelled the Ops.

"We're not going to survive that. Prepare to abandon." said Presly.

Far below, Dr. Andrew Zeltis lifted a pyramid-shaped object in his hands and pressed the button.

------------------------------

A single pyramid-shaped object, nearly six centimeters across, exited the Warp moving over sixteen thousand klicks per second. It struck the Planet Killer on the bridgecastle and detonated in a massive release of energy that was felt by psykers across the Imperium. The ship was destroyed in an instant, flecks of metal and shreds of flesh smacking against _Phoenix_'s hull in a grotesque rain.

"Brace for debris." said the modar op, remarkably calm. The crew stood stupefied for a moment, then began to cheer wildly. Presly turned to Savage, and the captain nodded, the gaudy checks on her armor stained with the blood of wounded crewmembers. 

"Crew of the warship _Phoenix_." said Presly. "Captain Archer is dead, but he took with him the Planet Killer of Chaos. For the Emperor!"

A second cheer was more subdued, as the bridge crew took in the damage done to _Phoenix_ and the loss of their captain. 

Presly gulped. "Casualty detail to the bridge."

--------------------------------
FIVE HOURS LATER

The entire crew stood in the Corridor again, this time fewer in number, more somber. Sixteen honor guard led by Captain Savage strode down the length of the ship, carrying Archer's body in a steel coffin.

"Captain on deck!" bellowed Presly. He stood to the side, and the crew saluted. The nearest touched their hands to the casket, muttering thanks and congratulations, or goodbyes. Dawson strode up to the coffin, and without a word detached the 97th Fighter Wing patch from his coat, placing it on the lid of the coffin. A tear threatened to form in his eye and he walked back into the crowd. 

Savage's team placed the coffin in an airlock, and Presly spoke.

"Captain departing deck. Crew, salute!"

Six thousand, five hundred, and twenty-seven Navy crew and a little under a thousand Kasrkin Guard rose as one and saluted. Captain Archer's body was swept into space by the escaping air.

A man in deep robes strode across the Corridor, led by a rating.

"Inquisitor Volk." he said calmly. "Captain Presly?"

"Executive Officer Presly." corrected Presly.

The inquisitor handed him a set of brass pips. "Not anymore."

Presly took the pips and put them in his pocket. "What do you want?"

Volk shrugged. "I want knowledge. How did you beat a ship twice your tonnage?"

Zeltis pushed to the front of the line, and held up a pyramid shaped device.

"Quadrium bomb! Warp capable and filled to the brim with C-76 grade Quadrium 9! HIGHLY UNSTABLE!" he shouted. 

The inquisitor blinked slowly.

"Let's walk and talk." he said.
------------------------------
EPILOGUE

Six months after the Battle of Madrasa, the _Phoenix_ was fully repaired, and set off to support troops on Armageddon under Captain Daniel Presly. The Inquisition made a formal statement telling the Planet Killer had been killed by a lucky strike from the forward Accelerator, but credited the kill to the Cobras, saying a torpedo detonation had finished it off. The Madrasans built a monument to the action in Archer Square, the capital's new city center. 

Dr. Andrew Zeltis is not listed anywhere on Imperial Records after the Battle Of Madrasa, at which time he is listed as Combat Support on the ADY-243 _Phoenix_. Coincidentally, Dr. Andrew Sitlez, currently works in Inquisitorial Research and Development with his assistant, Erica Hall.


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