"Arthur still has things to do, just wait a moment."
Romulus replied in a low voice, his eyes still fixed on the chaotic battlefield outside the viewport. His fingers unconsciously tapped the edge of the command console, making faint "tap-tap" sounds as he physically tracked the passage of time.
In the brief engagement following their transition out of the Warp, the first wave of the fleet swiftly broke away from the skirmishing Eldar and Chaos forces. Although the fleet's formation was slightly scattered, it still maintained its basic combat sequence.
In the distant starry sky, the streamlined silhouettes of Eldar warships intertwined with the twisted forms of Chaos vessels. Energy beams and artillery shells carved countless blinding trajectories across the void.
"Check the ship's status and confirm the casualties from the first round of engagement."
Romulus's voice broke the brief silence on the bridge.
A bridge officer quickly operated his control panel, data streams scrolling rapidly before his eyes. A moment later, he looked up and swiftly reported:
"6.23 percent of components are damaged, but the hull structure remains intact. However, the defensive steel plates in sector R309 have been breached and require immediate repairs."
Romulus nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the battlefield beyond the viewport.
"What about communications with the other ships?"
By now, the fleet had truly completed its disengagement. The viewport's blast shutters slowly opened, and through the observation glass, the chaotic battlefield behind them could be seen clearly.
The Eldar warships darted through the starry sky like ghosts, while the Chaos vessels emanated an unsettling, dark radiance, like monsters crawling out of an abyss.
Romulus furrowed his brows even tighter.
The Iron Warriors' fleet seemed to be communicating via Daemonhosts. The entire fleet's movements appeared extraordinarily agile, as if every ship was connected by some invisible force.
In contrast, the Imperium's fleet appeared clumsy and sluggish.
"The communication devices are being jammed by psychic interference, but the auspex is still functioning normally."
Captain Aurora's voice came from the side. She was intently observing the auspex, her slender fingers sliding rapidly across the control panel to adjust the ship's course, steering it closer to the core of the first fleet.
The atmosphere on the bridge was somewhat oppressive, the silence broken only by the humming of the instruments and the occasional sounding of alarms.
The vox-caster system was still usable, meaning internal ship communications were not an issue. However, the ship-to-ship comms emitted nothing but a constant stream of piercing static, as if some unknown entity was mocking their powerlessness.
Romulus turned his gaze toward Rameses.
The latter was leaning against the control console with his arms crossed, a trace of helplessness on his face.
"Don't look at me. The frequencies keep changing. If you want to keep up, you need an AI, but you know how the Imperium feels about that."
His tone carried a hint of amusement.
"I knew it."
Romulus sighed. This was not the first time he had encountered such a situation.
The Imperium's communication systems were always easily jammed by the Eldar and Chaos forces, making their technology seem incredibly fragile before these enemies.
The surrounding military officers seemed to have long grown accustomed to this.
In most cases, limited by the influence of the Warp and the inefficiency of information transfer, these ships basically judged their next course of action based on the evolving state of the battle.
Although the Imperium was massive in scale, on a battlefield like this, delayed information often meant greater sacrifices.
Rameses was full of curiosity regarding the methods of the Eldar Farseers, an investigative gleam flashing in his eyes.
He turned his head to look at Captain Aurora, his tone laced with a mix of doubt and interest:
"Is fighting the Eldar always like this?"
Captain Aurora tilted her head, pondering for a moment before answering:
"Aside from Eldar Corsairs lacking a Farseer and the Dark Eldar who have abandoned psychic powers, in the vast majority of cases, our communications remain completely blockaded."
Her voice carried a terrifying sense of calm and composure, as if she were recounting something perfectly ordinary.
She paused, seemingly recalling past battles she had experienced, before continuing:
"Craftworld Eldar rely heavily on psychic abilities in combat, and they are indeed capable of using those powers to shape various advantageous conditions on the battlefield."
Captain Aurora had served Archmagos Cawl for over a century. Not only did she bear the marks of rejuvenat treatments, but she had also undergone extensive mechanical augmentations. She was highly experienced and knew the Eldar's methods of warfare inside and out.
It could only be said that they truly lived up to their reputation as a warrior race engineered by the Old Ones sixty million years ago to combat the Necrons. Their systematic application of psychic powers against their enemies was undeniably masterful.
Rameses listened in a trance, a flash of envy and longing passing through his eyes.
"Damn... I want to learn how to do that."
He muttered under his breath.
Just then, Romulus's voice broke the brief silence:
"Use astropathic communication."
Hearing this, an officer showed a trace of hesitation and softly warned:
"My Lord, the enemy has Farseers. If our Astropaths are intercepted by them, the consequences could be catastrophic."
"Do not fear, use it."
Rameses's voice rang out immediately after, carrying a reassuring confidence, as if everything was perfectly under control.
Aurora's gaze swept over the floating heads of the Howling Banshees on the deck. Without hesitation, she quickly signaled the Astropath to initiate astropathic communication.
The Astropath closed his eyes, gently pressing his hands against his temples. His brows furrowed slightly as he focused his mind. A moment later, his voice was broadcasted through the psychic network:
"This is the Dawnlight. All ships, report your status!"
Soon, the responses rolled in one by one via the astropathic relay.
"Eagle Crown acknowledges. The ship has sustained fourteen percent damage, crew casualties are..."
The reports from each vessel were swift and clear. As the data was compiled, the fleet's command structure became much more orderly. Under unified direction, the first wave quickly pivoted to rendezvous with the newly transitioned second wave, forming a multi-pronged pincer movement that began to compress the Eldar ships' maneuvering space.
Sitting before the command console, Romulus swiftly issued new orders:
"Focus energy weapons on the Eldar, and use kinetic weapons against the Chaos Traitors."
As soon as his voice fell, the officers on the bridge sprang into action. Indicator lights blinked incessantly across the control panels as the weapon systems rapidly charged.
Finally, they had the luxury of thrashing both sides at once.
Right at that moment, the various Imperial fleet commanders noticed that the Iron Warriors' fleet was visibly slowing down. The previously agile warships now seemed bound by some invisible force, their movements turning stiff and lumbering.
Romulus's brow smoothed out slightly, a glint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
'So what if your command system has zero latency? I just have to rip your command system apart, and that solves the problem.'
"I got the data."
Arthur's voice emerged from the shadows behind the command throne. He held a data-slate in his hand and tossed it straight to Romulus.
"The Battle Barge in the A2 Combat Zone needs to be boarded. There's a General Cannon on board."
Hearing this, Rameses raised an eyebrow, a surprised look crossing his face. "A General Cannon? Doesn't Cawl have one too?"
His tone carried a hint of confusion. After all, since establishing their technological exchange, the cooperation between the Dawn Wings and Archmagos Cawl had been quite sincere.
The Dawn Wings provided a series of biological experimental data and offered Cawl a certain degree of database access, while Cawl was equally generous in sharing a significant amount of technology.
Romulus caught the data-slate, scanned it quickly, and said:
"This is Relic Technology. A Grand General Cannon."
Sweeping his gaze over the Invincible Iron Guards assisting with command, Romulus continued to explain:
"The one Perturabo used to bombard the Gates of Terra. It was destroyed by The Great Khan, though I have no idea why it was preserved."
He paused for a moment and added:
"When I say 'destroyed,' it wasn't completely obliterated. It just lost its firing capabilities. It can still be repaired."
"One of the two the Lion gave him?"
Rameses's expression instantly became strained, barely holding back a laugh, and he voiced it without any hesitation.
"..."
While coordinating the fleet, Romulus glanced around and noticed the expressions of the Invincible Iron Guards had also become quite subtle, as if caught in a dilemma between maintaining their composure and completely breaking down.
Then he nodded, his tone remaining calm. "One of the two."
The surrounding Invincible Iron Guards looked at one another, an indescribable awkwardness permeating the air.
A Loyal Primarch providing a Traitor Legion with two Grand General Cannons to bombard the Gates of Terra—no matter how you looked at it, it sounded like a dark humor joke.
Dracus realized that of the three leaders of Imperium Secundus, aside from Lord Sanguinius, the other two were truly capable of pulling off absurd stunts.
"You could only call it a bizarre misunderstanding."
Romulus spoke up:
"Although the great master of the First Legion remained on the sidelines at the onset of the Heresy, in order to gain support in the future election for Warmaster, he was tricked by Perturabo into handing over two Grand General Cannons used to assault Terra. And after losing contact with Terra, he participated in the founding of Imperium Secundus—"
He deliberately dragged out his tone.
"But the Lion is loyal. There is no doubt about that."
Arthur chimed in out of nowhere, delivering the punchline to the joke.
"It's just that the Primarchs are also human. They have to rely on the current situation as a reference to make their own judgments. They make mistakes, and they have their own goals to pursue."
"Yes, my Lord."
Dracus immediately reined in his strained expression and nodded earnestly in response.
The Invincible Iron Guards were all veterans who had lived through the 30th Millennium. Most of them had been present during the founding of Imperium Secundus. Lord Guilliman and Lord Lion's double act was enough to break anyone's composure when looking back on it.
Back when the Primarchs were ambushed by Curze with explosives, it was Dantioch who mounted a rescue, teleporting the Primarchs to Sotha. The memory of them being scolded so thoroughly by Internal Affairs Manager Lady Youton that they didn't dare utter a peep was still vivid in their minds today.
Facing these true veterans of the 30k era, the Transmigrators had nothing to shy away from when discussing these blasphemous secrets.
Furthermore, joking about these topics helped deepen mutual understanding and eased the anxieties of these veteran soldiers.
After all, this group of Transmigrators was more or less considered the embodiment of The Emperor's will. If they didn't take these matters seriously, it meant these issues weren't actually issues at all.