Planet Chiruuk, Anye System, Great House Shaizen, Hegemony of Free Peoples (formerly)The shattered debris of thousands of warships hung in high orbit above the war-torn planet. Joining the wrecked Hegemony and Imperial ships were tens of thousands of frozen corpses floating in space alongside. Most had been torn to pieces or burnt to a crisp from all kinds of weapons fire. Some were frozen solid as they choked to death.Regardless of how they met their end, it was no doubt incredibly painful.Space around the planet’s port beacon flashed and warped as part of the Corvus Republic teleported in. Alongside their ships were a few dozen Einherjar warships - mostly cruisers and heavy frigates. All of them flew down towards the planet once the entirety of them had finished porting in.

Back on the Yggdrasil, a few dozen officers and analysts were abuzz at their terminals. They all pored through various data on their screens and discussed their findings with each other eagerly. The tacticians by their sides formed their own notes and added their findings to the pool of information.In the very center of the small room was a low platform with a floor-to-ceiling tacmap on it. Displayed on the tacmap was Dendrus IV. Or rather, the void that was Dendrus IV which was covered in mirror satellites. Various reports scrolled along the tacmap’s holographic edges, which High Admirals Anali and Halbrect read with great interest.“Can we verify that Godeater’s antigrav field is still active?” asked Halbrecht. “It’d be great if we didn’t have to contend with it at

The all-black Einherjar cruiser set itself down on a wide, grassy flatland that served as a makeshift landing pad surrounded by wide slate walkways. The ship’s extensive side ramps slid out and lowered to the ground even as its belt armor opened up and slid to the side. Once all was set, its bulkhead doors slid open beneath and revealed the throngs of people waiting inside.Among the first to head out were members of the CRCD, though they were less in a ‘work’ mode and more in a ‘sightseeing’ mode. Or at least something that sat somewhere in between. They went out and scouted the immediate area for a few minutes.Once they were satisfied, they beckoned the thousands of people still inside the ship’s hold. Those people shrugged off any trepidation they had, stepped out in small groups, went down the ramps, and headed towards t

Cheers erupted all across the bridge as the assault fleet’s attack on Godeater continued. Although it was only at a quarter of their original intent, it was more than enough to rip through hundreds of its many thousands of mirrors.Their sheer destructiveness left the planet’s outer satellite layer scarred and splintered all across the surface. It almost seemed like a vast egg whose shell had been cracked and broken. Despite all the damage they had done, it was still a fraction of the entirety of the stations. Although that fact certainly dampened their spirits, it wasn’t enough to completely snuff their hopes outright.“Maintain the barrage!” Anali commanded. “Empty out every disc we’ve got! Do not

Raijin faded back as the rest of the council continued their arguments. Many certainly wanted them to push forward despite the darkness, while the others simply wanted to disappear into it.No-one wanted to die, of course. But for some, the struggle was already insurmountable.She herself didn’t know which way to go. At first she believed they could weather Godeater, and survive between its shadows. But now? Now she wondered if Yggdrasil was the only thing left to them. Maybe they should all be preparing for that reality.As she quietly thought to herself, an alert came into her DI - someone was activating one of the devastator hangar bays. When she brought up the ship’s tags, immediately saw that it was Thanatos.Raijin left behind a semi-autonomous construc