‘Nem­etus here.’ His words were terse, every syllable strained. ‘Heavily engaged.’

‘Just fight and listen, Nem­etus,’ said the captain. There was a change in his tone, a fluidity Praxa­medes had not heard for many months. Confidence, he realised. ‘We have a new plan. A second necron fleet has arrived and we cannot prevent them making planetfall. Our objective can no longer be the defence of Orestes.’

‘Disheartening,’ grunted Nem­etus.

‘There is still a goal we can strive for. The threat posed by the necrons is something unseen by the authorities of the Throne. For nine years, we have laboured greatly against heretics and secessionists, but never thought that the warp itself might be turned against us in a way even more devastating than the Cicatrix Maledictum. The Indomitus Crusade advances into a danger they do not expect and will not detect until it is too late. We need to get word back to the lord pri­march. This soul-drain is far greater than one system, or even two systems. Only the might of the battle group – perhaps the whole crusade – will be enough to thwart the necrons’ ambition.’

‘But such forces must be in place before the necrons arrive, ahead of the warp effect,’ said Praxa­medes. ‘As we have discovered, reinforcing a system once attacked is all but impossible. Reclaiming one is probably beyond question.’

‘Exactly. The Imperium must be prepared for the necrons’ expansion. The only good that can come of what has occurred here is that warning. We must break the Ithraca’s Vengeance out of Orestes and back to Imperial space, even if it costs us everything else in the system.’

‘Lieutenant, we have an Orestean shuttle requesting docking security clearance,’ announced one of the vox-officers.

‘The passengers are from me,’ said the captain, overhearing the exchange.

‘Permission granted,’ Praxa­medes told the vox-operator. He returned his thoughts to the mission. ‘We have to get as far from the necrons as possible if we are to have any chance of breaking through to warp space. I don’t think we can do it.’

‘Not all of the necrons. I have confirmed with Fedualis that the soul-drain effect has a focal point. That rear-echelon ship? It is a weapon, but not like anything we were expecting.’

‘Destroy the ship, escape the system,’ said Praxa­medes. ‘Simple.’

‘Not so simple. The Ithraca’s Vengeance is the only warp-capable ship in the system. We cannot risk the warp engines being damaged in the attack. The system defence ships are not powerful enough to take out the necron fleet. They will provide a screen and distraction for you to break out of orbit. Your ship has to get as far away as needed and translate.’