HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
I meant DDos-ing, the name just slipped my mind for a moment.
Sterbelicht - One Sacrifice At A Time Against The Galaxy (40K)
- Thread starter HeroCooky
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412.M42 - The Warp Screamed
HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
The tirade has continued for nearly seven hours already, with even the super-human vocal cords of the opposing and wretched lackey of the Imperium slowly losing their strength after that supposed 'Chapter Master Amadeus Chyropheles' had begun and continued the customary exchange of insults before a battle. If it hadn't been against a Corpse-Worshipping Pest like the 'Chapter Master' was, then the various expletives and insults would have brought even a Daemonette to blushing at the sheer vulgarity and imagination found within.
In fact, the one chained to the Captain's Throne was blushing...and doing other things in sheer excitement.
In contrast, Amadel Bryarwound was busy taking notes, quite enthralled by the sheer rage emanating from the fleet of ships (which were a mix of at least three distinct styles, he noted. One Imperial, one which favored geometric angles and sandy colors, with the last favoring white and black colors over straight edges sweeping across their ships with orb-like structures along some points. Quite fascinating, in all honesty. He couldn't wait to get some of the crew to interrogate them about that! Er...where was he? Ah, yes. Rage from the fleet!) currently barreling toward them, little of their make known, and what was known was known by the simple fact that they had looked at them with their augurs and sensors.
"-AND I WILL RIP OUT HURONS SKIN AND TURN IT INTO A SHITTY FUCKING UGLY PIECE OF HAT AS A DELIBERATE INSULT TO EVERY HAT IN THE GALAXY!" Continued the screaming, and Amadel perked up with a blink as he heard that name.
"Huron?" He muttered, not noticing that the giggling Horror he had bound to his helmet some decades ago on a whim had changed his vox to transmit his words to the enemy. "But that fool has been dead for three centuries, isn't he?"
Utter silence and the sounds of a disappointed Daemonette followed his muttering. He looked up from his musings to find some of the other Corsairs looking at him, alongside the Captain looking rather annoyed. Not good.
"What." It wasn't a question. It was a demand of information spoken with such finality that Amadel felt compelled to speak, despite the effort he had placed in constructing wards against just such magics and abilities.
"Yeah, Huron Blackheart? That fool was slain shortly before we arrived here. Master Garlon Souleater leads us now," he added the last part after a moment of hesitation, honestly curious how the mad Space Marine would react.
"...do you think this matters to me? Do You Think. This. MATTERS TO ME?!" He did, in fact, react quite violently to that information. Fascinating! "I WILL STILL SLAY EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU, TAKE EVERY SKULL FROM YOUR MISBEGOTTEN HEADS, CRUSH THEM INTO A FINE POWDER," one of the Khornate-aligned Corsairs bellowed insults after a second where he had perked up, mortally insulted at hearing someone disrespect skulls like that. "SANCTIFY THE ASHES, SMELT THEM INTO STAINED GLASS PANES, AND THEN CREATE LANTERNS FOR MY FUCKING SHIPS WHERE I'LL HAVE THEM SANCTIFIED AGAIN SO THAT I WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING WHERE THE CORPSES OF YOU DISHONORABLE TRAITOR BASTARD SONS OF A MANGY-" and the tirades continued. Fascinating how the man could scream!
The Warp Screamed.
Ships Emerged, one by one, until a fleet appeared within Gathin, the distinct shapes of Imperial ships materializing with the blaze of engines igniting and the light of the star hitting their bulks. Imperious and regal, these titanic ships, fourteen Destroyers, nine Frigates, and five Light Cruisers, were headed by the imposing shape of a Mechanicus Gothic Cruiser, its two Lance Batteries glinting with constrained hatred for the impure, the Machine Spirit within its Lance Turret could barely be brought under control by the prayers and rites of its attending priests, and the large Nova Cannon atop its head was death incarnate upon the foes it sought to reap. It was a deadly force, one regal and eager to beat back Ruin once again.
It was the quickest possible force that could be ripped from its moorings in the month after the attack was known, gathered with speed that left several parts of several ships damaged from the hasty race to re-take or liberate Gathin Major.
And standing in opposition were the forces of Chaos...and the ships in service to an unknown Xeno Menace.
Ten Destroyers, eleven Frigates, four Light Cruisers, and one Slaughter-Class Cruiser, noted as the 'Litany of Damnation' by the records, on the side of Chaos...and another fleet racing against it. By sheer providence, both the fleet of the Imperium and that subservient to the Xenos' would arrive at the same time to do battle against the Heretics.
As for their fleet, two Battle Cruiser-weight Xeno Vessels stood as their spearhead, with five Light Cruisers following (though they, and especially two of them, hung noticeably back), along with twelve Frigates and six Destroyers. Two of those ships seemed to be troop carriers. Yet eight of those Frigates were distinctly Imperial in design, causing some sensor serfs to pause in confusion before scanning the ships again.
The (rather self-proclaimed and hoping the ascension to the rank would be authorized after her sect rejoined the wider Mechanicum) Magos Domina T-A A2B/G3B silently observed the fleets and their varying strengths, coming to a single conclusion: Victory was possible, yet would cost her the entire fleet to achieve.
Moments passed as she calculated the possible reason for the fleets of the Xenos and Traitor Imperials to race against each other before she received a report regarding the vox broadcasts of the Xeno Traitor fleet.
More moments passed as she analyzed the contents and concluded: a Space Marine Chapter had allied with the Xeno Traitors to rip out the Chaos Infestation, likely intending to use them and their ships as ablative armor in the coming fight. Cooperation was possible with that element; thus, authority could be established over the Xenos Traitors, even by tertiary means.
Calculations commenced, and the results were clear: Chaos was the Arch-Enemy. All other foes could be used to fight against it, especially if they were intended to be struck down after the fact. Even if that fact would come at a later date.
And so, an offer was sent to the Space Marine and Xeno Traitor Fleets;
-Neon would accept a temporary cease-fire between their policies to exterminate the local Chaos Presence.
-No Neon, Space Marine, or Xeno Traitor ship would fire upon each other until the local Void and Planetary Forces were fully exterminated.
-The Xeno Traitor Ships would be allowed to leave unmolested, provided they departed by the decade's end and did not commit overt instances of looting or sabotage upon Gathin Major and the local Neon Void Assets.
With that, it was all over but the waiting—both to see if they would accept and for the fleets to meet.
Do you accept the terms?
(6-Hour Moratorium)
[] Yes.
(You fight a 2v1 Void Battle with Neon against Chaos, help them for, at most, eight years to reclaim Gathin Major, and perform no overt looting or sabotage.)
[] Yes, but (Write-In)
(See the above, but make secret alterations to the deal on your side that Neon won't know about.)
[] No.
(You fight a 1v1v1 Void Battle against the Chaos and Neon Fleet.)
In fact, the one chained to the Captain's Throne was blushing...and doing other things in sheer excitement.
In contrast, Amadel Bryarwound was busy taking notes, quite enthralled by the sheer rage emanating from the fleet of ships (which were a mix of at least three distinct styles, he noted. One Imperial, one which favored geometric angles and sandy colors, with the last favoring white and black colors over straight edges sweeping across their ships with orb-like structures along some points. Quite fascinating, in all honesty. He couldn't wait to get some of the crew to interrogate them about that! Er...where was he? Ah, yes. Rage from the fleet!) currently barreling toward them, little of their make known, and what was known was known by the simple fact that they had looked at them with their augurs and sensors.
"-AND I WILL RIP OUT HURONS SKIN AND TURN IT INTO A SHITTY FUCKING UGLY PIECE OF HAT AS A DELIBERATE INSULT TO EVERY HAT IN THE GALAXY!" Continued the screaming, and Amadel perked up with a blink as he heard that name.
"Huron?" He muttered, not noticing that the giggling Horror he had bound to his helmet some decades ago on a whim had changed his vox to transmit his words to the enemy. "But that fool has been dead for three centuries, isn't he?"
Utter silence and the sounds of a disappointed Daemonette followed his muttering. He looked up from his musings to find some of the other Corsairs looking at him, alongside the Captain looking rather annoyed. Not good.
"What." It wasn't a question. It was a demand of information spoken with such finality that Amadel felt compelled to speak, despite the effort he had placed in constructing wards against just such magics and abilities.
"Yeah, Huron Blackheart? That fool was slain shortly before we arrived here. Master Garlon Souleater leads us now," he added the last part after a moment of hesitation, honestly curious how the mad Space Marine would react.
"...do you think this matters to me? Do You Think. This. MATTERS TO ME?!" He did, in fact, react quite violently to that information. Fascinating! "I WILL STILL SLAY EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU, TAKE EVERY SKULL FROM YOUR MISBEGOTTEN HEADS, CRUSH THEM INTO A FINE POWDER," one of the Khornate-aligned Corsairs bellowed insults after a second where he had perked up, mortally insulted at hearing someone disrespect skulls like that. "SANCTIFY THE ASHES, SMELT THEM INTO STAINED GLASS PANES, AND THEN CREATE LANTERNS FOR MY FUCKING SHIPS WHERE I'LL HAVE THEM SANCTIFIED AGAIN SO THAT I WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING WHERE THE CORPSES OF YOU DISHONORABLE TRAITOR BASTARD SONS OF A MANGY-" and the tirades continued. Fascinating how the man could scream!
The Warp Screamed.
Ships Emerged, one by one, until a fleet appeared within Gathin, the distinct shapes of Imperial ships materializing with the blaze of engines igniting and the light of the star hitting their bulks. Imperious and regal, these titanic ships, fourteen Destroyers, nine Frigates, and five Light Cruisers, were headed by the imposing shape of a Mechanicus Gothic Cruiser, its two Lance Batteries glinting with constrained hatred for the impure, the Machine Spirit within its Lance Turret could barely be brought under control by the prayers and rites of its attending priests, and the large Nova Cannon atop its head was death incarnate upon the foes it sought to reap. It was a deadly force, one regal and eager to beat back Ruin once again.
It was the quickest possible force that could be ripped from its moorings in the month after the attack was known, gathered with speed that left several parts of several ships damaged from the hasty race to re-take or liberate Gathin Major.
And standing in opposition were the forces of Chaos...and the ships in service to an unknown Xeno Menace.
Ten Destroyers, eleven Frigates, four Light Cruisers, and one Slaughter-Class Cruiser, noted as the 'Litany of Damnation' by the records, on the side of Chaos...and another fleet racing against it. By sheer providence, both the fleet of the Imperium and that subservient to the Xenos' would arrive at the same time to do battle against the Heretics.
As for their fleet, two Battle Cruiser-weight Xeno Vessels stood as their spearhead, with five Light Cruisers following (though they, and especially two of them, hung noticeably back), along with twelve Frigates and six Destroyers. Two of those ships seemed to be troop carriers. Yet eight of those Frigates were distinctly Imperial in design, causing some sensor serfs to pause in confusion before scanning the ships again.
The (rather self-proclaimed and hoping the ascension to the rank would be authorized after her sect rejoined the wider Mechanicum) Magos Domina T-A A2B/G3B silently observed the fleets and their varying strengths, coming to a single conclusion: Victory was possible, yet would cost her the entire fleet to achieve.
Moments passed as she calculated the possible reason for the fleets of the Xenos and Traitor Imperials to race against each other before she received a report regarding the vox broadcasts of the Xeno Traitor fleet.
More moments passed as she analyzed the contents and concluded: a Space Marine Chapter had allied with the Xeno Traitors to rip out the Chaos Infestation, likely intending to use them and their ships as ablative armor in the coming fight. Cooperation was possible with that element; thus, authority could be established over the Xenos Traitors, even by tertiary means.
Calculations commenced, and the results were clear: Chaos was the Arch-Enemy. All other foes could be used to fight against it, especially if they were intended to be struck down after the fact. Even if that fact would come at a later date.
And so, an offer was sent to the Space Marine and Xeno Traitor Fleets;
-Neon would accept a temporary cease-fire between their policies to exterminate the local Chaos Presence.
-No Neon, Space Marine, or Xeno Traitor ship would fire upon each other until the local Void and Planetary Forces were fully exterminated.
-The Xeno Traitor Ships would be allowed to leave unmolested, provided they departed by the decade's end and did not commit overt instances of looting or sabotage upon Gathin Major and the local Neon Void Assets.
With that, it was all over but the waiting—both to see if they would accept and for the fleets to meet.
Do you accept the terms?
(6-Hour Moratorium)
[] Yes.
(You fight a 2v1 Void Battle with Neon against Chaos, help them for, at most, eight years to reclaim Gathin Major, and perform no overt looting or sabotage.)
[] Yes, but (Write-In)
(See the above, but make secret alterations to the deal on your side that Neon won't know about.)
[] No.
(You fight a 1v1v1 Void Battle against the Chaos and Neon Fleet.)
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
... Is that flagship something we can loot? Let me check the Records real quick...
EDIT: Hoo boy, that's the one, yeah.
[] Yes, but (Write-In)
--[] Those Slaughter-class Cruisers are supposed to have good engines, right? (Try to capture that, a reasonably intact sample that can be sanctified would be absolutely worth our time here, and it's not like the Imperials will want something like this. Call it a trophy if you want. We are the ones with Space Marines being brought to the table here.)
--[] At the end of the day, we're Here to Kill Chaos, not seize clay. Reducing our losses while still getting the job done is just good sense. Any actual benefits are secondary at best.
The Scartix-Coil is insanely good--so good that Chaos bent over backwards to make sure they had a monopoly on it. It's also not one of the Chaos Ships that are just Inherently Evil or Cursed, Chaos had to use actual psyops and then bomb the one place that knew how to make them with their flipped ship to make sure the Imperium couldn't have it.
EDIT: Hoo boy, that's the one, yeah.
[] Yes, but (Write-In)
--[] Those Slaughter-class Cruisers are supposed to have good engines, right? (Try to capture that, a reasonably intact sample that can be sanctified would be absolutely worth our time here, and it's not like the Imperials will want something like this. Call it a trophy if you want. We are the ones with Space Marines being brought to the table here.)
--[] At the end of the day, we're Here to Kill Chaos, not seize clay. Reducing our losses while still getting the job done is just good sense. Any actual benefits are secondary at best.
The Scartix-Coil is insanely good--so good that Chaos bent over backwards to make sure they had a monopoly on it. It's also not one of the Chaos Ships that are just Inherently Evil or Cursed, Chaos had to use actual psyops and then bomb the one place that knew how to make them with their flipped ship to make sure the Imperium couldn't have it.
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Please I beg you let us do it.
Also, could we ask for people who want to go with us out of their own free will to be allowed to? Imperium is known for being trigger happy and with magos in charge I wouldn't be surprised if people count as infrastructure
- Pronouns
- Zack
.....I think that 1 was mineNooo, someone removed their 1 from the Maps post. D:
My increasing numbers!
- Location
- United Kingdom
Good news! They explicitly said no looting Gathin or local Neon assets. The Chaos fleet is fair game.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Yep. This is just our intentions I think @HeroCooky ?
An intention to loot stuff like the Slaughter-class for all that juicy Archaeotech. As long as it's not a Daemonship or something, I don't think it'll be out of our experience to clean out and then reverse engineer for new Components and whatnot, right? A Slaughter derivative for our mainline Cruiser would be delicious.
Again, the Slaughter-class is one of the handful of Chaos Ships that there's actually nothing wrong with it outside of what's done by aftermarket modificatoins. The prototype was explicitly taken through psyops and then the schematics actively destroyed to deny it to the Imperium. And it's such a good fucking ship guys. The Scartix Coil makes it only slightly slower than a stock Cobra in tactical combat, and given that's the Imperium's stanndard issue torpedo destroyer....
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@HeroCooky Can we ask the imperium for clarification what counts as "Gathin Major and the local Neon Void Assets." I am mainly hoping that they will slip and allow us to get some folks who are innocent out of there before the purges start (screened for chaos corruption and killed/purified if there is any found but there will be people there who would risk running away with us than wait for Imperial purges)
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- Location
- Poland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I am for the truce. Reduces our losses, and we'll need the ships to swat down the non-Huron pirate menace.
Also, it just feels right? Actual cooperation, even if it's just a ceasefire with an enemy, is something rare in 40K.
Oh, and the rant of sanctifying their remains is a good excuse to loot Chaos (but not Chaos Chaos) Stuff.
Also... THE DAY OF 5 HAS COME. SPREAD THE HOLY NUMBER IN THE THREAD, FOR STAR CHILD!
Also, it just feels right? Actual cooperation, even if it's just a ceasefire with an enemy, is something rare in 40K.
Oh, and the rant of sanctifying their remains is a good excuse to loot Chaos (but not Chaos Chaos) Stuff.
Also... THE DAY OF 5 HAS COME. SPREAD THE HOLY NUMBER IN THE THREAD, FOR STAR CHILD!
HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
YOU!
No overt looting of Gathin Major, but Chaos is free game, yes.
You see that planet? That their shit. No takey.
You do know that this has never been called out as their entirety, right? This is a distant side-show for them.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
YOU!
No overt looting of Gathin Major, but Chaos is free game, yes.
You see that planet? That their shit. No takey.
You do know that this has never been called out as their entirety, right? This is a distant side-show for them.
I imagine our experts and the Choirs we've got are on the ball enough that we don't need to micro, anything that can be sanctified and looted will be, and anything that can't will be properly disposed of?
It's hardly our first rodeo in these regards after all.
- Location
- ?????????
So...we stealing quietly then or mostly from Chaos or both?
Time to go into reader mode and give the story posts the 5s they deserve!
I think seeing all this, we should definitely do a temporary truce, I don't think we'd come out of this in a 3-way fight with the ships we got, not without serious casualties. Definitely need to build up our navy next turn.
- Location
- Poland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Join me on the five-fold path! May the motive force drive you ever onward!
... Just don't remove festive likes, if you are the only one who deposited one. Don't want a repeat of the... *whispers* Map incident.
God I am so tempted to just shoot them after the fight, so we can loot the planet. This is the sum total of what they could scratch together fast. So muuuuuch looooot.
Please be trash people and fire first so we can kill you after the fight and take your shit. I wanted to loot the armoury planet soooo badly.
Please be trash people and fire first so we can kill you after the fight and take your shit. I wanted to loot the armoury planet soooo badly.
so . . . can we tell the imperials that we're gonna conduct a ritual that sends every soul that dies on the battle, Chaos included, directly to the emperor?
i want to tell the Neons that don't pray enough to the God-Emperor/Omnissiah and that we had to pick up the slack cause their lazy bums, and that they should go repent when they meet the emperor
i want to tell the Neons that don't pray enough to the God-Emperor/Omnissiah and that we had to pick up the slack cause their lazy bums, and that they should go repent when they meet the emperor
[] Yes, but (Write-In)
-[] if somebody who isn't corrupted by chaos wants hitch a ride with us, look the other way when they sneak in on our ships or even sneak them ourselves we should have spare uniforms...
-[] if somebody who isn't corrupted by chaos wants hitch a ride with us, look the other way when they sneak in on our ships or even sneak them ourselves we should have spare uniforms...
It's not out of the question that once the fight is done, The imperial forces expects the Lamenters to help them once they turn on us, given her thinking on the matter. As an admech Magos, the chance of honour preventing such being reduced because some magos go full on Logic to the point of stupid.
If she thinks that the lamenters are fighting with us solely to facilitate the death of the chaos forces, She likely thinks (and with most chapters would be correct in thinking) That the lamenters would help them once she turns her guns on us.
An enemy of our enemy is still our enemy, and never show your back to an enemy.
(and part of me hopes she tries and we can steal Gathins shit)
If she thinks that the lamenters are fighting with us solely to facilitate the death of the chaos forces, She likely thinks (and with most chapters would be correct in thinking) That the lamenters would help them once she turns her guns on us.
An enemy of our enemy is still our enemy, and never show your back to an enemy.
(and part of me hopes she tries and we can steal Gathins shit)
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Anyway, 4 Chaos Light Cruisers. The only known Chaos Light Cruiser that isn't basically a Daemonship (The Pestilaan Light Cruiser) is the Hellbringer, which is a general purpose planetary assault ship. It's equipped with Bombardment Cannons and a wing of strike craft. Optimized for planetary siege, but can still more-or-less operate in naval battle, it's just not their expertise. They have a single wing of Strike Craft per ship. They're effectively the leaders of smash and grab operations, kind of like a bigger Taurus that moves slower but has more strike craft on board and multi-use cannons.
Shouldn't be a match for our strike craft wings though. The Libra is very good, and I don't think they've got enough Space Marines to put one in every one of their own strike craft, especially when we've got the Lamenters screaming in for vengeance. Of course, there is one problem.
EDIT: Did a quick review, and yeah, Chaos skimps on armor so they can field more and slightly faster strike craft, but it makes them extremely explodey so they tend to die easier than comparable fighters. The Thules should eat them for breakfast.
The god damn Nova Cannon.
Now, good news, in Lore, the Nova Cannon isn't something you can basically fire freely without consequences, and the schematics to produce more is just not available outside of fully sanctioned Forge Worlds. Every shell they fire is one less they'll have for later.
That is the extent of the Good News.
The Bad News is that the Nova Cannon is basically a hard counter to just about everyone in the game. It's a cannon so destructive that a single shell from it can erase entire squadrons of escorts, entire battlespaces of strike craft, and take an approaching torpedo storm with it just for good measure. Like "Eldar in favorable territory and willing to cheese", it's a tactic that has no answer in the setting, save that "Nova Cannons are rare and the shells are extraordinarily difficult to acquire if you don't have a Forge World with the right schematic."
The fact Neon has even one of these fuckers is something we need to take into account in the future, because a Nova Cannon is just a hard counter to our entire doctrine. Unless they've been nerfed dramatically from tabletop and lore, there's just no answer to these things except Sheer Mass to absorb the blast and getting in close where they literally cannot be fired. Which requires you to take hits on the way in. It means seizing the Slaughter-class and reverse engineering as much of it as we can (And then subsequently pushing for VI 10 as soon as reasonably practical) is of the utmost importance, because we need something that can rush in and beat Nova Cannon equipped ships to death with before they can bombard us into submission.
But yeah, Chaos has some good toys. Even a Hellbringer would be useful to capture to give us some extra spacelift even if we don't just melt the whole thing down. We might get some useful loot off of the Astral Claws too that we can repurpose down the line. And there's also their escorts which are generally not exceptional but are still free mass.
And of course, we might get a chance to liberate slaves, which we're all for as a matter of course.
God damnit though.
Fucking Chaos, every time.
[] Yes, but (Write-In)
--[] Those Slaughter-class Cruisers are supposed to have good engines, right? (Try to capture that, a reasonably intact sample that can be sanctified would be absolutely worth our time here, and it's not like the Imperials will want something like this. Call it a trophy if you want. We are the ones with Space Marines being brought to the table here.)
--[] Any slaves we can liberate are probably best in our hands too, it's not like the Imperium will care. The point is, we're here to Kill Chaos, not to get some clay, anything beyond that is bonus. Loot anything that Chaos brought with them that they haven't nailed down, burn anything that can't be sanctified, and have the rest to study or otherwise put to work on a Righteous Cause.
--[] Finally, remember Outsider Policy. Remember that the balance of power changes once Chaos is on the back foot, be ready to withdraw at a moment's notice. There's nothing forcing them to stick to the deal except their own honor after all. Cooperation is all fine and dandy today against a greater threat, but trust needs to be earned. Don't commit anything that can't be pulled out quickly if the winds and the rains shift.
Revised this a bit to clarify what we're aiming for and a reminder that "We're cooperating, we're not besties. Stay on guard and be ready for the Deal to be Altered by them if they feel they're in too commanding a position."
Shouldn't be a match for our strike craft wings though. The Libra is very good, and I don't think they've got enough Space Marines to put one in every one of their own strike craft, especially when we've got the Lamenters screaming in for vengeance. Of course, there is one problem.
EDIT: Did a quick review, and yeah, Chaos skimps on armor so they can field more and slightly faster strike craft, but it makes them extremely explodey so they tend to die easier than comparable fighters. The Thules should eat them for breakfast.
The god damn Nova Cannon.
Now, good news, in Lore, the Nova Cannon isn't something you can basically fire freely without consequences, and the schematics to produce more is just not available outside of fully sanctioned Forge Worlds. Every shell they fire is one less they'll have for later.
That is the extent of the Good News.
The Bad News is that the Nova Cannon is basically a hard counter to just about everyone in the game. It's a cannon so destructive that a single shell from it can erase entire squadrons of escorts, entire battlespaces of strike craft, and take an approaching torpedo storm with it just for good measure. Like "Eldar in favorable territory and willing to cheese", it's a tactic that has no answer in the setting, save that "Nova Cannons are rare and the shells are extraordinarily difficult to acquire if you don't have a Forge World with the right schematic."
The fact Neon has even one of these fuckers is something we need to take into account in the future, because a Nova Cannon is just a hard counter to our entire doctrine. Unless they've been nerfed dramatically from tabletop and lore, there's just no answer to these things except Sheer Mass to absorb the blast and getting in close where they literally cannot be fired. Which requires you to take hits on the way in. It means seizing the Slaughter-class and reverse engineering as much of it as we can (And then subsequently pushing for VI 10 as soon as reasonably practical) is of the utmost importance, because we need something that can rush in and beat Nova Cannon equipped ships to death with before they can bombard us into submission.
But yeah, Chaos has some good toys. Even a Hellbringer would be useful to capture to give us some extra spacelift even if we don't just melt the whole thing down. We might get some useful loot off of the Astral Claws too that we can repurpose down the line. And there's also their escorts which are generally not exceptional but are still free mass.
And of course, we might get a chance to liberate slaves, which we're all for as a matter of course.
God damnit though.
Fucking Chaos, every time.
[] Yes, but (Write-In)
--[] Those Slaughter-class Cruisers are supposed to have good engines, right? (Try to capture that, a reasonably intact sample that can be sanctified would be absolutely worth our time here, and it's not like the Imperials will want something like this. Call it a trophy if you want. We are the ones with Space Marines being brought to the table here.)
--[] Any slaves we can liberate are probably best in our hands too, it's not like the Imperium will care. The point is, we're here to Kill Chaos, not to get some clay, anything beyond that is bonus. Loot anything that Chaos brought with them that they haven't nailed down, burn anything that can't be sanctified, and have the rest to study or otherwise put to work on a Righteous Cause.
--[] Finally, remember Outsider Policy. Remember that the balance of power changes once Chaos is on the back foot, be ready to withdraw at a moment's notice. There's nothing forcing them to stick to the deal except their own honor after all. Cooperation is all fine and dandy today against a greater threat, but trust needs to be earned. Don't commit anything that can't be pulled out quickly if the winds and the rains shift.
Revised this a bit to clarify what we're aiming for and a reminder that "We're cooperating, we're not besties. Stay on guard and be ready for the Deal to be Altered by them if they feel they're in too commanding a position."
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