“Good hunting, Macharius!” The voice on the bridge comm-net speakers was proud and confident, with a slight mocking edge to it. The familiar words of Battlefleet Gothic’s customary greeting between vessels sounded strange too, framed in the inhuman voice of an eldar. Both Semper and Ulanti were grudgingly impressed; Craftmaster Lileathon’s spoken Gothic was nearly flawless, and the haughty eldar commander had clearly learned much about the Imperial Navy and its customs since they had last encountered her and her ship.
“Good enough, Vual’en Sho,” answered Semper. “When we first met, we were mostly enemies, when we parted, we were mostly allies.”
“What are we now, you wonder?” Again, that slight mocking tone to the eldar’s voice. “This time we bring a gift with us, Macharius. The gift of mael dannan for the servants of the one you call the Despoiler.”
Ulanti looked at his captain, puzzled. “Mael dannan?”
“Total and merciless extermination,” smiled Semper, as the eldar ships opened fire.
A cruiser at the head of the retreating Chaos fleet was blown to pieces, struck multiple times by the withering, relentless fire from the eldar vessels’ pulsar lance armaments. Seconds later, more hits registered all along the front length of the Chaos formation. Some returned fire, their gunners desperately seeking targets amongst the elusive, fast-moving eldar ships. Others manoeuvred in panic, seeking another escape route, their course taking them back towards the guns of the waiting Imperial fleet.
Both fleets, human and eldar, with the Chaos fleet trapped between them, opened fire. The Battle of Gethsemane would rage for days yet, with elements from both fleets hunting the remnants of the Chaos formation through the system, and there would be fierce losses on all sides, but the final outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt.
Mael dannan. Total and merciless extermination of Warmaster Baal-Hierophant Lokkis Vanama and his entire fleet.
A new chapter in the Gothic War had begun.
Scanning and basic proofing
by Anakwanar Sek,
formatting and additional proofing
by Red Dwarf and Undead.
[Battlefleet Gothic 02] - Shadow Point Page 30