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Warp Rift

Issue 24 Horizon

The Battlefleet Gothic Netzine

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F h Nx Phg H

Warp Rt s no endorsed, nor does endorse, Games Workshop, and s no an oical publcaon of Games Workshop. Any words, phrases or mages areused whou permsson and no challenge s nended as a resul of such a usage, ncludng he use of hese words, phrases and mages whou he appropraesymbols of copyrgh. Addonally, hese pages ncludng conen, desgn and mages are copyrgh (excep where copyrgh should nfrnge oher suchrghs). Lcensed names, mages and logos are copyrgh her respecve companes or auhors. No par of hese pages may be borrowed or reproduced, and noarcles or rules should be consdered oical n any way.

P g h .Dw h w , :

www.40..k/gg/

D Tk W R h wg :W R F

R h W R Bg w x h:W R Bg

W R I TwF M / J 2009

+++ Submissions +++

A ypes o arce are desperaey needed, o keep s pubcaon ave. In some cases,

submsson ncudes ncuson on e web se a: www.epc40k.co.uk, or roug www.

accawargames.ne. Pease ncude a noe w your submsson you woud ke s

caried. Submsson va e-ma mpes approva or pubcaon.

Send your submissions to:

orzon@epc40k.co.uk

or

warpr@epc40k.co.uk

S :

Davde@epc40k.co.uk

+++ Warp Rift Publication Team +++

Roy (Horzon) Amkreuz Vod Saker II

Ian (Cybersadow) Wacer n e Dark

Ray Be Admray

Reg Sener Tyrand War Veeran

Davde Kraz Ferrar Warmaser

Jack Wang Magcan

Credits:Cover Pcure Jack Wang

Addona Grapcs & Pcures: Poenx-06, Egpod-bogspo, Jack

Wang, Roy Amkreuz, Mecmaser, Lord Cronos

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+++ W R Bg +++

You can ceck ou our bog a e oowngocaon:

p://www.payers.accawargames.ne/k-

vew_bog.pp?bogId=10

+++ W R F +++

Check out the Warp Rift forum at:

http://www.tacticalwargames.net/forums/index.

cgi?act=SF;f=89

+ Og T +

Wecome,

And inay I can announce e new ocaon oSpecas Games:p://www.sg.accawargames.ne/

And e orum:p://www.sg.accawargames.ne/orum/

Hopeuy we w see an access o e od daavery soon bu a seems o be a rea probem.

W Warp R I can brng you anoer os ogrea arces. he Hg Admray g ves us a vewon orpedoes we Reg Sener res o cary

some pons on s smuanuous movemen andcomba sysem.Warp R saf members Reg and Ray areresponsbe or e Encycopeda secon, akngabou Necrons, WoT and escors.

In e Vod Saker secon we ave e ddenscenaro rom e Projec Dsan Darkness -revva - ruese. I e a good me o pubsas e irs suppemen o e Projec, caed heAr o Command s beng geared owards a ae

summer reease.

And a speca anks o Rodrgo Barbera(GoComp 2005 converson wnner) or maknge wonderu markers n e Forge avaabe.Nex ssue even more markers!

a your servce,Horzon

I w C:

Encyclopedia Gothica

Necron essay 4WoT - or sandard games 6

Heavy escors 8

Showcase

Baelee Lmane 9

High Admirality

Torpedoes 13

Tactical Command

A: Smua nuous movemen 14

Officers Mess

A Tyrand War Caper 10 p.1 15

Void Stalker

Fang Down 32

The ForgeOrdnance markers p.1 34

The CLOSING PAGE

Fre Everyng 38p://poenx-06.devanar.com/gaery/

Edito

rial

+++ GhC 2009 +++GothiComp 2009 is up an running. You have untill july

31 to enter your submissions to this online painting

competition.

Here is the email adress for your submissions:

comps@tacticalwargames.net

Looking forward to see all the glorious entries! For a

full article on GothiComp check out Warp Rift 23.

Horizon

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hica N BFG

By Reg Steiner

Answerng e queson: Wa do you nkabou s a wak n a mneied or everybody.

However, avng been asked, I w r y o evenuaymake a pon. Frs, some background, as I budaround my deas.

Sarng w e Bae Fee Goc magazne#2, everyone ncudng myse waned o ry saen lee or sze. Everyone wans a oug as nasorce o game w, waever game. he Necronsooked nasy, as nroduced. Bu our group wasunabe o ge our ands on modes. Loca soresad no neres n an unk nown produc o aempo se, avng been suck w unpopuar newreeases beore s. We decded o bud our own.I ad wren some con, descrbng raer moresmpsc sp desgns, a our gang waned o useas a es medum or Necron lees. he same asrue can cover a o o opons we ad o consder.

he Necron lees were speedy bu o basa woodand Syrooam, w an eye oward makng cruserszed vesses near e sze o Impera crusers, andbaesps neary e same as Impera baesps,and so on. he bae saons we creaed were

unke anyng n any source maera rom GW.hey dd ep o ampy e resung suaon,owever.Very sory, no one wsed o conend agansNecron sps or lees. Even wou eoo-poweru bae saons ncuded. hecombnaon o weapons, deense, and speed coudno be overcome. Psycc aacks, cung Necronopponens cances o reurn aacks, couped

w ayers o crca damage rom swarmso and run aacks, added a mos unwecome

dmenson o e games. Wo wans o ake parn games were one payer as no cance a a?We were a back o our Edar, Ork, Impera, andCaos lees very soon. he Necron modes webu never et e box.

Wen e Armada book came ou, we quckyound were some weapons ad been dropped romNecron sps, and a coupe o oer mnor canges.Speed, o escors, was uncanged. A 50cm moveeac pase, ey ad no ear o Impera ordnance,wc pods aong a a mere 30cm per pase.

Necron Escors jus buzz around a ny assau boasa mg emnae em. So ayers o crca ss pe on any Necron opponens. W a edebae abou oo poweru Nova Cannon, ande resung aemps o resrc Nova cannonuse, and oer ordnance use as we, wa meanss ere o couner Necron abes? A Necronescor a conducs and run aacks as a ceared. he Necron vesses n e Armada book surned of payers n our group. You coud brngNecrons o a game sesson, and everyone woud

admre e pan work, bu nobody s gong gve aNecron payer a game.

Too many negaves added up. Aerna ng urnsamped e dspary, w no way o respond oe damage eaped ono ones orces, because sn your urn ye.I dd ak wo eows no a game or wo, usngunmoded rues. ha s, no Impera resrcons

on Nova cannon numbers, and e oicaaernave o guessng ranges. Aso, no resrcons

on carr ers n pay. Argumens abou armsraces os ou o e dea a empres adap orde. Meanng a waever was necessary woudbe sen o bae suc a dangerous enemy as eNecron proved o be.

Ater severa games beween ose wo (I ad oreeree - my uck w Nova cannons cursed me.),e resus were as predced. A o more Imperarepower ad o be broug n, or e Imperapayer o gan a vcory over e Necron. he abyo pe on e crca s w mpuny, rom and run aacks, remaned a game spoer.

In anoer essay, I od o s groups pracadesre o board a nd ake possesson or enemy sps.he boardng acons versus and run rues, Idrew up, grew ou o coecve dssasacon we very concep o and run aacks, as ounedn BFG.he as sraw was e dsengagemen rues.Everyone ese aces desrucon. he Necronmerey sa away, unmpeded.

he na judgmen o ou group was a e Necronlee was no wor purcasng. Too poweru , aswren. We dd no ws o wase ard o comeby cas or a lee oer payers reuse o compeeagans.

So ere s e probem. Even I see no use n payngagans a Necron lee. he cance o success s oosm or any enjoymen.

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A s eads o e queson: How woud I brnge Necron vesses no e game?Assumng a e orgna ru es are used, wououse rues governng Nova guns and ordnance,some re-desgn o e Necron lee s needed. I

esae o ge no re-desgn, bu o ge e Necronsps ou o e box and no games, ngs canbe et as s.

Frs, op speed or Necron escors soud be 40cm.Personay, I ee s s oo as s, bu maknga race dsnc, and no jus re-ased, rewordedImpera weapon ypes and sp ypes, requressrecng payaby jus a e.

Second, drop e H-and-Run aby or an

escor cass sp. I gng or possesson o esp s beyond BFG gamers wngness, en gves escor a nasy orpedo s ye mass-drver aack.Or drop s y pe aogeer.he pora aack rom e arges Necron spsoud reman, bu make a Boardng Acon,no a woe seres o -and-run aacks (5 ?!?).hs Boardng Acon woud s be resrcedo aacks on enemy sps w ess an 6 pons

remanng.

hrd, Psycc aacks. W a e psyccaacks and deenses a over e 40k gamngandscape, wy s s one ndeensbe? he

command ceck par s nsuicen. he reerenceo a ordnance beng desroyed s nerpreedo be a e me, even e sepucer s n useagans anoer sp. I woud drop e reerenceo e sepucer, aogeer. Or desgn a deensesps can brng o e bae. Every race aspsycc aack aby. Some aemps o use Orkwerd boys n BFG aed e es o payaby, aswe. Easer o drop e woe psycc aack dearom BFG, says I.

Four, make Dsengagng more cosy or Necronpayers. I s a as resor because o penaes,careu pannng and escape a jus e rgmomen w no wn games or e Necron gamer.A rea bae w rea osses rom desrucon musbe rsked. A careu sudy o e vcory ponsand condons w sow ow curren payers oNecron lees can ge n e rs ur n o damage one enemy, and ade ou beore any opponen can

reurn re, and s ave a Necron vcory. hescenaro condons need be me, no jus vcorypons rom an eary , and dsengagemen o wngames. O course no a scenaros can be won sway, bu an neresng number o Necron payersknow wc ones o pay. Make e dsengagemenrue coser or e sake o e over-a gamecommuny.

W ese canges, e nus and bos o usng eNecron lee w be easer or everyone o dgesand use. And game agans.I ave o re-sae agan a e Nova cannon andcarrers o ordnance need o ave e arcaresrcons removed aogeer. I a Necron leepayer wans o acuay aceve some goa oeran soong up e enemy lee, en e gauneo some eary s mus be run, and woudsengagng w e rs damage sufered.Edar and Dark Edar payers aready ave emeans o gve a good g, and w e abovecanges, even a beer cance o crusng someNecron pyramds. W repower repared andresored o e Impera payers, and so a greaercance n mos scenaros, esaon o ake onNecron lees soud ade. Ork payers may evenreran rom ram aacks ony, and ry oer wayso ay e guns on Necron sps. Coud appen.

I sayed away rom nkerng w e weaponsaacks pars o e Necron lees, because e

above canges soud remove e mos rransrom Necron games, and deang w a o odeady repower s supposed o be par o ecaenge.

Or e e Necron ade back o seep or anoermon years.

Reg.

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Heo, s been a we snce Ive graced ese pdpages, many due o my que eay gamng

acves ak ng up my nvenon me.

I woud consder myse que experenced ne word o abe op gamng ws ownng asaggerng amoun o dferen games. Over eas coupe years Ive acuay been payng sadgames n e opes o nspraon or my everdsan Warran o Trade (WoT) sde projec. WoTs a more compcaed verson o BFG prmarydesgned or sma engagemens o ony a andu o sps n an RPG sye smar o Inqusoror Warammer Ques. Sady my nkerng asn

presened se as a uy lesed ou rue se yeas e rues became ar oo cuered and ook aroo ong o pay w. However many ouse ruescan be soen rom e WoT ormuae o be usedn sandard BFG, ncudng an addona soongand ordnance pase and embarrassngy compexboardng rues.

Rg nroducon ou o e way, ono e goodsuf! (Rues are n acs).

Additional Sooting Pase

A e end o eac soong pase e oer playeras an addonal soong pase. All weaponsrengs are alved roundng up n your urn androundng down n your opponens.

hs ouse rue bascay akes e edge of eperson wo ook e rs urn. hs does unbaance

scenaros were e rs urn gves a desgnedadvanage and so may no be suabe or use n

s crcumsance. Aso sps a ave Locked-onbecome reay empng arges o orce a brace. hequeerness o no penay o soong or a sp as boarded s soved. he Edar Move Soo Moverues acuay become bearabe w ese rues buey are oo rage (or jus pan ard o use).

Extended Ordnance Pase

In addon o e normal rules you may launcyour ordnance n your par o e enemes ordnance pase. Noe: you may sll only reload n e

begnnng o your urn.

hs s jus a smpe exenson o e addonasoong pase rue se. hs works we wensavng your orpedoes or aack crat or a coserange so, opeuy ater your opponen asexpended s gers (or jus asn auncedany). Sneakng n a bomber wave en reoadngand dong agan beore e sp as even movedmg seem broken bu s s very sm ar o owyou can pay your ordnance now, so n erms o

pon vaue I woudn re over .Aoug exremey unkey s possbe oly roug orpedoes youve jus aunced, ornsance some cobras wen on AAF ater auncngn e as ordnance pase, n s crcumsanceaow e orpedoes o mss you.

Boarding (for use wit te additional sootingpase)

Declarng a Boardng AconEer player may declare boardng a e end o emovemen pase w a arge n base conac. Touse boardng dce you mus ave declared boardng.No sps a ave declared boardng may ire n esoong pase bu ey may launc ordnance. I s

possble no o use boardng dce wle beng boardedby no declarng a realaory boardng acon soa you may sll soo n e soong pase. heBoardng acon akes place a e begnnng o eEnd Pase beore any oer acons.

TurresBeore you ave rolled any ofensve boardng dcea deendng player can use s urres. Roll a D6

or eac urre commed o e boardng acon,eac 4+ removes an enemy boardng dce (beores rolled). Noe: you can only use massed urres e sp oferng s bonus s also n s boardngacon and as a leas one o s urres dedcaedo e boardng acon.

Boardng DceBo players may aack w boardng dce o up oal er remanng s roundng up. Smply rollese dce, eac 4+ you ave rolled causes damagewc may be saved by deensve boardng dce. Foreac successul roll, even saved, roll a D6 on a rollo a 6 you ave caused a H and Run aack.

You may use your boardng dce deensvely o saveEncyc

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By Ray Bell

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agans damage. Roll or eac o your deensveboardng dce, on a 4+ a s saved. he player wonaed e boardng acon declares ow manyboardng dce e s usng ofensvely irs and n ecase o a mulple boardng acon wc sps oaack.

Boardng modiers

Double boardng value only allows you o re-rollyour boardng dce. Also al boardng value meansyou mus re-roll successul boardng dce.

Flee specic boardng modiers are sll applcable,e.g. +1 modier or beng caos wll mean you aackor deend on a 3+.

As a remnder ese are e Flee specic boardngmodiers:Caos: +1Caos Space Marnes: +2Dark Eldar: +1Orks: +1Space Marnes: +2Tau mus re-roll successul boardng dce because oer al boardng value.*Tyrands ge a +2 Boardng modier and re-rollsbecause o er double boardng value.

All specal orders excep Brace or Impac cause a -1modier.Brace or mpac ofers no save n boardng bu nomodier, so can be advanageous o swc o BFI

already on anoer specal order. You may aemps a e begnnng o a boardng acon.I a sp as blas markers n conac sufers roma -1 modier.I a sp s crppled sufers rom a -1 modier.

hese rues are bascay a ransaon rom WoTexcep a n WoT ere are no lee based modersyou smpy ge a dferen number o boardng dce

per e.g. Caos ge 1 boardng dce or every 3s and Impera ge 1 or every 4 s.

Additional Boarding Rules

SoongSoong a sps n a boardng acon s only possbleater a successul leadersp es on 3D6. Trea e

arge as ordnance or purposes o g unnery weapons(ar rg column) and lances (ng on a 6+). hsmay seem almos ponless bu e addon o aBlas Marker canges e efecveness o a boardngacon and may desroy ordnance. he irng playermay coose were on e base e blas marker s

placed so doesn ave o be conac w bosps.

OrdnanceOrdnance may aack any sp or ordnance markern a boardng acon as normal, or may be used oasss n e boardng acon as ollows:Fgers can be used o suppress urres wenboardng. Smply reduce e urre value by as many

iger markers e boardng player as commed,removng em ater e acon. he deender canremove one enemy boardng dce or eac o s

iger markers n e boardng acon. Roll a D6 asusual o see e deeaed boardng aemp resulsn a loss o a on a 6.Bombers may aack as normal and may no be soa by urres unless e deendng player wses o

orgo usng em n e boardng acon. Noe: ebombers aack runs wll sll be afeced by eurres.

Assaul Boas may be used as normal and juslke bombers may no be so a by urres unlesse deendng player wses o orgo usng emn e boardng acon. Assaul boas may nseadbe used n a more meanngul way by addng 1 oany boardng dce roll ater ey ave been rolled

ncludng deensve rolls. You may use more anone assaul boa on one dce. Noe: I you ddn needo use assaul boas n e boardng acon ey wllsll be removed rom play ater e boardng acons resolved.Torpedoes (Includng boardng orpedoes) ac asnormal and may no be so a by urres unless edeendng player wses o orgo usng em n e

boardng acon. he Boardng player may o coursesoo a e orpedoes e wses.

Teleporer a acksTeleporer aacks may be used as normal, or aganse vessel beng boarded even as more s andeven s selds are up! Jus lke assaul boas youcan use a eleporer aack o add 1 o any boardngdce roll ater ey ave been rolled. You can use aeleporer aack and an assaul boa on e samedce.

Ive separaed ese rues rom e basc boardngrues as aoug no compcaed ey reaycuer e rues or casua payers.

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Introduction:Durng gamng, our group ound a ose races

a coud ave arge numbers o assau boasorced everyone ese away rom usng escors. Wyboer? Every assau boa aunced coud akeou a muc more expensve escor, durng saack, excep wen a 1 was roed. Any crca desroys an escor, remember. Addng anoerurre o an escor ed game baance e oerway, we e, ater a coupe o res.Ener e Smoerman Formua. I cacuaed ae rea reason a sp desgner woud wan a bggervesse, woud be because more guns were waned.So. I cacuaed a eg (8) pons, added o

an escors cos, woud add one pon o u (HPons now = 2), and wo more weapons baeres.(Exampe: Sword Escor now = 6 WBs).A 40 pon escor now cosng 48 pons, asan exampe, aso makes or more careu orceseecons.Our game group dscovered a an escor coudnow be aacked by assau boas, and onydamaged, no desroyed auomacay. Bomberswere suddeny useu agan. To use Heavy Escors,we made ese rues.

Rule One: A escors o a gven ype, mus bee same. Exampe: Sword cass escors are madeHeavy Escors. A Sword cass escors on eabe, or n e game, can ony be o e eavyype, and pad or as suc. Fresorm cass escorswere no made eavy, and so reman as gven n eruebook.Our group decded a s opon was easer

en makng every mode n a game Heavyauomaca y. Payers s ave opons or norma

or eavy, or a mx, w dferen casses. We asoknow ow easy conuson ses n durng a ogame. Even e owner o e orces coud/woudge conused, some Sword cass a re Heavy andoers on e abe were no.

Rule Two: A ypes o rgaes can be so moded,bu no desroyer ypes. hese reman one pono damage vesses. A bgger desroyer woud jusbe a rgae, s w one u pon. We ee ae desroyer ype vesse s jus o sma o add woWBs, even w more srucure added. Severa

races ave ypes a do no end emseves obecomng Heavy Escors. However, a races aveone or more ypes o escor a bene greay.

Rule hree: Heavy Escors are no crusers! HeavyEscors reduced o zero pons merey eave wobas markers bend. Exposve Crca Hs onyremove e Heavy Escor, agan pacng wo basmarkers, w e ony efecs beng norma basmarker efecs. Oer Crca Hs pay e same,excep: Frgae ype vesses normay ave a

around Weapons Baeres, even Heavy Escors.So. Any crca a afecs Weapons Baeres- Fron, Sde, or Dorsa - afecs a Heavy EscorWBs.Payers coud, by common agreemen, ry usngcruser exposve crcas, bu we nd e gamesge bogged down oo muc, w no rea bene oanyone.

Rule Four: Payers mus dscuss usng HeavyEscor rues, beore coosng sps or a scenaro.

A Escor ypes made Heavy, mus be denedo opponens beore sp pacemen begns, a esar o a game. hey ave bgger energy sgnaures,ater a.

Rule Five: Heavy Escors are reaed n everyoer way, ke every oer escor. Moves, urns,squadrons, comba, and ec. are no canged.

Conclusion: Our gamng group ked s opon,or Heavy Escors, rg rom e sar. Assauboas u o sucde mnded warrors were ony

annoyng agan, and no so poweru a a cyszed warsp coud be desroyed so easy.Aso, we ave ound a a screen o escors suseu agan. Eac eavy escor rng on a waveo ncomng ordnance, ncreases e cances o awoe wave, or waves, beng desroyed. Our groupkes gunnery games, no ordnance domnaedgames o waves o bombers and assau boas,decdng every game oucome. We a s empoyCarrers, bu as jus one more oo n e box oaccs, no as e ony acc. We ave a payed n

oer groups were ouse rues med e numbero Carrers. Bu we decded a se-mng,because Carrer efecveness was reduced, noemnaed, s a beer way o go.Try s dea o Heavy Escors n some games.You w nd a escors don ave o be et ne box, anymore. Have Fun !! May e moenragmens o your enemes e sky !!

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B LSome vessels of the Imperial Navy in the Limante sector by Bryan McMahon

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Hgh A : T

HighAdm

iralit

yLauncng orpedoes can be que a cumsy aar and

embarrassngly s no covered n enoug deal n erule book. So n e absence o prned rules le megve you a quck rule addendum.

Wen launcng orpedoes e marker mus end smovemen n wc ever arc was launced romand s urermos edge a e lm o s speed rome sps sem.For ease o play I would move e marker s ulldsance o begn w o ensure s nal poson anden use an dencal marker o conrm s arges. I

s possble o aack arges ou o arc due o ordnanceaackng wen s a base raer an a sem ande ac a some o e marker may be overlapngor some o s move wc canny players wll explo.here s also a werd momen were e orpedomarker could ouc an enemy n base conac bun e oppose arc, n e spr o e game yousouldn allow s aack.

Here are some more orpedo relaed clarcaons:

Wen reducng a orpedo marker e cenre musalways be n e same pon. Wen urnng orpedoes urn rom e cenre o

e marker. You canno spl orpedoes. Wen launcng a combned salvo rom a squadron

e salvo mus be n ALL o e sps appropraerng arcs and s urermos edge a e lm os speed rom e ures sps sem.

I would also lke o advse e use o sr4 wde markersw dce markng e sreng. hs makes e useo orpedoes ar less assle.

- Ray Bell

I agree w Ray on mos o s orpedo deas savee use o a sreng 4 marker. I dsncly rememberAndy Cambers sayng a e ad all o do over,ed use a sreng 2 marker and smply ndcae e

sreng w dce. Gven e relave scale and edsoron e markers creae, I nk sreng 2 (or 3a e mos) s e way o go.I would also sress e measuremen s rom semouwards, no base edge. ha old cesnu keepspoppng up and makes large base sps essenallyave longer range orps.

- Bob Henderson

In he forums some quesons arose abou orpedoes. Manly abou some hngs whch are no adressed n he rulebook. Here s he vew from Ray Bell and BobHendrson.

On e smaller orpedo marker dea: a wle agoI red usng e wo small nanry bases romwarammer, ese work prey well (avng a squarebase also elps wen urnng). Bu I guess wereup o Bob only e smaller 2cm base would be aworwle prospec...? I would denely encourageoers o use e nanry bases as orp markers even jus e 2cm one.

- Ray Bell

I you noce a buggng rule ssue wc cannobe claried or players smply no agree upon eexplanaon o a rule you can mal Warp R t aHorzon@epc40k.co.uk and we wll ry o cach youan almos oical answer.

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S w S Mv

In Warp R 19 we presened you some alernaverules o play Bale lee Goc: Smuaneous

Movemen and Comba.

In e communy varous payers adaped esecanges o e rues and apprecang em verymuc. he rues are nended o ake away e efeco wo goes irs and/or wo soos irs. Makngmovemen appenng a e same me and combaresoved a e same me, creang a more lu,nuve and reasc game low.

Ocourse, sncre ese rues were new somequesons sprang or. Reg Sener opes o dea

w em n e oowng arce. In e near uurewe ope o presen an arce on ow e Edar workwn ese rues.

goa s o sp e move n wo, and mporany,aso gve e aacked vesses a cance a deendng

emseves w man gun sysems. W a goan mnd, e Smuaneous Move/Comba Rueswere mean o ncorporae a orms o weaponssysems as near o e orgna rues as possbe.

he probem n e curren verson o eSmuaneous Rues (n Warp Rt 19) s epacemen o e second move o ordnance on eorder o pay. An exremey abbrevaed urn sepoune soud cear s up.

Eac Payer:

A. Pace orders, ro or speca orders.B. Move sps as per ordersC. Comba

1. Fre a any ordnance n range (Launced nprevous urns) w any man weapons coseno do so. Appy damage now.

2. Fre on any enemy sps w any remanngunred man weapons. Appy damage.

3. Launc any new ordnance. Resove any resung

aack s new ordnance moves no. Appydamage.

4. Move any ordnance s n pay, auncedprevousy (second and subsequen moves), andresove any aacks, and damage s apped now.

D. End Pase

*** Remember, bo payers ire guns and resoveordnance aacks ogeer, and bo payers appy

damage ater eac comba sep s compeed.

he pacemen o e re order s o aow caposps o re on ncomng orpedoes and oeraackers, as we as s aow e newy auncedordnance a cance a nercepon. In aernangurns, s s wa occurs wen new ordnance saunced, and en prevousy aunced ordnancewas aowed o move ater.

My na aemps a organzng e seps ne Warp Rt arce caused e conuson. Forwc I apoogze. Our acua pay was ar enougremoved rom my wrng e arce, a I mxed

up e sequence. hs soud ake care o wa snended, and acua pay.

hanks o everyone or wrng, and ryng eSmuaneous Rues.

Reg.

TACT

ICALC

OMMA

ND By Reg Steiner

1. Moving Ordinance.

he goa o e r ues was o ave wo moves, makngordnance a separae and unque weapon sysem.Move once, bu 60cm, n a urn jus made eordnance anoer knd o gun, n reay. So e

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o some ong ago bae agans sp desgns Pen dd no recognze. he door spaong an nvsbe seam, and pared o eer sde soundessy.

he way was ned on e rg w marnes n moed green armor,and on e et w more o e we and panum armored marnes ke oseescorng Pen. here mus be a undred o eac, Pen oug. As Pen wakedbeween e rows o marnes, se saw o eer sde groups and e knos oque a ew peope. Nava ocers, marne ocers, Impera nanry ocers, anda mx o governmen bg sos rom dferen admnsrave oces. Neary asopped waever ey were dong and sared a Pen pass by. Aead, a dark buecuran ung jus beyond e end o e rows o marnes. I appeared o wa na ary arge box saped space n e mdde o s aneroom u o dgnares.he same dark bue maera ormed a pyramda canopy a made e srucureover weny ee g.

he crewman escor reaced e curan and began o moon or Pen oener ere. here was a gap were wo curans overapped, jus wde enoug omake a passage one person wde beween e was o bue. Pen urned no enarrow ane beween was o bue, and ater a ew paces, urned no e muedg o e encosure. And sopped n er racks.

Lynx? Lynx! Sandng n e mdde o e encosure, w er ands oner ps, rownng rg a Pen!

I seem o reca you were requeny ardy reurnng rom a pane.

Lynx saed n a m dy severe one o voce.Lynx? Wa s s? I oug we ad been bansed. Now ere you

are, acng as I jus reurned rom one o your errands. Pen managed o burou, w no oo muc o a rown o er own.

A. Yes. ha. Lynx began. We ave been reca ed. Or moreaccuraey, you ave been.

Lynx urned a e o one sde and drew Pens aenon o e assembylankng Lynx.hese peope desre very muc o mee w you, on a maer o grea urgency.

A T WCh 10 - P 1 2

O Nw EBy Reg Steiner

I.______Pen eaned over o see beer. Her sea n e engneers poson, bend

e pos sea, ddn ave as good a vew ou e sues ron vew por, as dde po, bu Pen was ony a passenger on s Impera sue. Se ad beensummoned rom er work w e Msis, as e Empre caed e broeroodo warrors, n s remoe Norern secon o e gaaxy.

I ad been reen years snce Pen ad as seen one o e enormousdreadnaugs o Ears Frs Fee. Pen releced a a o ad appened nreen years. Pen ad rsen o a poson o eadersp n e erarcy o Msimary afa rs. No jus because o er connecons w a poweru amy,roug Aor and Uor, bu because e Msis are, by necessy, a warrorpeope, and od e ges eseem or proven capabe igers and eaders.Ater so many years, Pen ad oug a e Empre ad orgoen er, and osome degree, e Msi egons. No so. he sue was jus now enerng ecavernous andng bay o e dreadnaug, o dever Pen o an Impera FrsFee Admra.

Years ago, Pen woud ave been rgened a e prospec. Now se wascurous, a e concerned, and even a e annoyed. No one knew wa smeeng was a abou. hey ony knew a e admra waned Impera agenPendragon broug o s sp rg now!

Pen oowed e agaed crewman down e ramp o e wang squado marne escors. he enre squad e n bend Pen, and er wo bodyguards,and e crewman messenger wo ceary desred o run e woe way. We ne t o e upper eves, Pen e e amar vbraons. he vesse was gengunder way. Pen se er jaw. Was se o be orn rom e e se ad bu overe as reen years so caousy? As e assemby quck sepped down ebroad a, bend e urryng crewman, Pen e e re rse and bud weac sep.

A grea bas door a as bocked er way. Decoraed w a depcon

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Lynx amos sounded amused. Soud I bre my ormer assocae, or woudyou preer o begn e proceedngs?

A sor, raer round, oder man sepped beween wo o e peope woad been n ron o m.

I ws o ge rg o e maer a as gaered us a ogeer,ereore I sa begn. Addona background normaon can be brougo g ater a. he oder mans voce was srong and deep, s appearancenowsandng. Pen noced e oder mans eyes were gray w lecks o god,

and made Pen ee as ere was ron o w bend ose eyes.Inqusor Foss, s s my ormer ade and agen, wom I caed Pen.Lynx added ormay. Pen, ese Inqusors, saf and mary eaders requreyour ep. No one ese w do. Pease noe a you canno be ordered o ake ons msson, waever ey may ws o say o e conrary.

Yes, yes. We know your eengs on s maer Lynx. Foss sad, esame sem-severe, a busness one n s voce as Lynx neary aways ad. Agen Pen, s ? Pease ake noe o s recordng. Foss gesured oward an ade bye comm consoe Pen recognzed so we.

Above everyones ead, an enormous ba o g appeared, as e oowas u o sac. Foowed by a momen o uer back, en a swr o g as emage a as sabzed on e requency.

Pen gasped. here was Longoo. Frownng and growng as eobvousy srugged w e conros or e communcaon gear. Bend mwere severa umans n nava jumpers, and a man n a Capans unorm, a oner knees, and waced over by more Orks odng bg axes w sparks on eedges. Longoo suddeny peered srag ou o e oo a e assemby, sarge, ugy, green ace sowng more scars, and s cn as mea paes rveedaround , bu s no doub Longoo.

Arr - Hu! Go you! Longoo barked ou o e oo projecon.Now you uman ngs goa sen Longoo. Longoo g osa red asken.Now I e ya. Human se. Agen or Em-per. Made dea w Longoo osawsng moons ago. Longoo ep. K redbugs and bue-ee buggers.

Longoo make war. Losa wsng moons o war. Ho-Kay! Har! NowLongoo Boodang ake many baes, many sars now Orky! Redbugs andrends see Orky Longoo, see Redbugs run! Good war! Har! Har! No goodpar now. Orky ind od sars, od panes, od was and g pars bnkngke sars. Srange darkn sps rom nowere. No unny oys bnk urr.. Orkyburn. Sps burn. Srong Orky owers burn. A Orks burn! Arr.. Hu! Nowuman se mee Longoo. Come soon, ur Longoo go ook-en and smas-en uman se agen see Longoo. You know Longoo keep word beore, nowkeep wa say now! G se. G now! Longoo urned s back, and poned

a inger a e umans on er knees. You! Pusy uman w pury buons!Wa now? he capan rased s ead and sad Pus e one as gowngred o end e message W a grow, Longoo made a moon and e oovansed.

Lynx ad edged er way coser o Pen we Longoo raned a eroom u o peope.

How abou I pck up on e ra so ar? Lynx asked, ookng a Foss.Foss responded w a nod, and oded s arms over s mdde. he ook o

mpaence on a e oer aces was unmsakabe.Lynx urned o Pen. I s wdey known roug ou e secors o egaaxy, were e Ork caed Longoo Boodang operaed, umans were ogve Ork orces a wde margn. Mos commanders knew wy. ha an InqusorLynx ad goaded ese Orks no war w e Tyrand nvaders. Human leesencounered by ese Orks were even gnored, o e surprse o a concerned.Longoos lees grew ever arger, as more and more greenskns rom acorners o e gaaxy converged, o swe Longoos armes beyond anyngseen by umans beore. Longoo wen ookng or roube. Any Ork spy aencounered Tyrand bo-consrucs, or spes, or major Tyrand eemens, caedo Longoo. Longoo ound peny o roube. Snce ese uge armes andlees were movng beow e gaacc core, and ever deeper no e gaacc core,

Impera neres was margna. Impera neress n e ower gaacc core aveong been os o e rampages o barbarans, corsars, praes, and manacaarmes o Orks. And, o course, e Tyrand nvaders. Impera monorng oe deep gaacc core s neary nonexsen. Longoo wen beyond Imperaabes o rack m, os n e energy swep gaacc cener. Mos o umanysad good rddance. Bu. A sor we ago, Ork lees came bong ou oose regons, scaered, and acng earu o some pursu. Inerceps o Orkmessages were more garbed an ever. hen Longoo burs ou o non-spacew a very arge lee, bu many were damaged bady enoug a ey became asecond lee, oowng Longoo, bu unabe o keep up. has wen Longoobegan cang or uman se, wc was oug o be me. I was broug ou

o reremen. We red o conac Longoo, bu e ook one ook a me andowed, growed, and inay made undersood a I was no e uman ewaned. Lynx sopped speakng ong enoug o scan e aces o e assembedmporan peope. None o ese peope know wa you wen roug, yearsago, we deang w ose green mad ngs we ca Orks.

Even so, agen Pen, s e person or e job Foss sad, mpaeny.Waever unpeasanness may ave been necessary en, s no requred now.We

Pen suddeny sepped up o Inqusor Foss, er compexon dark, er

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angry eyes narrowed.Unpeasanness? Pen snapped. Orks dea rom reacery, es, nsus,

and aemped murder o er oss and oer negoaors aempng o dea wem. hs s ow ey dea w eac oer, and any oer race a aemps orea w em. he Empre as ad ewer successu negaons w Orks anI ave ingers on one and, n cenures! Pens voce ad owered n regserand voume un se was neary growng. Because I was successu once, younk you can jus snap your ingers and I jus jump n agan? Everyone coud

see Pen was g as a coed sprng. he ar on e neck o Foss sood up, as eeaned sgy back, nsncvey ensng agans e expeced bow.Lsen o me Pen, Lynx sad, gy pacng a and on Pens rg wrs.

No one s snappng er ingers. I sad you canno be made o ake up s ask,bu we ave o ask.

Excuse e nerrupon, Inqusor Foss, An ade rom near a consoesad, bu s message s very mporan abou agen Pendragon.

Foss made a moon, and e ade came orward and anded a smadspay un o Foss.

Hmm.. Foss sad ater a momen. I seems a e Msi mary smobzng n s enrey. Woud seem a our agen ere s aso a very mporanperson n e mary and governmen or ose peope we ave been cang

Msis. hey are sayng a we are kdnappng s mporan person, snce weare ryng o eave s sysem wou any aemp o announce our nenons.And a oa mary response s ow kdnappngs ave aways been dea w.Foss sopped, and added s sare o everyone eses ookng a Pen. A wckedook was on Pens ace, as was e ook on e aces o e wo bodyguards nowcosey lankng Pen. Anyone woud nk a ireig woud erup any second.

Le me ave a word or wo w e Msi eadersp. Lynx sad a eoo oudy. I nk ey remember deang w me n e pas. hey soudbe avorabe memores.

I soud jon you, Pen sad, cody. ere may be some queson as omy saey.

We can sop or urn back now, Foss sad irmy, a e gaaxy s ndanger o wdespread war because o s Ork Longoo.

Longoo s ony makng demonsraons, a e momen, Lynxanswered jus as irmy, e as no sacked any uman words ye. He even ea cruser and s crew go ater e go of a message. he as ng I odLongoo was a I woud brng Pen, or a eas ge er on a comm se wm.

Pen urned o Lynx. We need o ge word o e Msi eadersp, anden I need e deas on wa s gong on.

Agreed. Lynx answered.Foss urned o e eaders o umanys mary orces gaered around

m. I nk we soud pan or e wors. Assembe e lees we dscussed, ae pace we decded. Someng es me none o s s gong o be easy.

Amos mmedaey, became que nosy, as a dozen peope pu ed ousma comm ses, or sepped up o one o e arger sendng uns, and vocednsrucons o s or er subordnaes o ge er orces movng.

Foss sood a e back rom e row o equpmen and busy peope. He

was wacng Lynx and Pen ak o a la monor screen e coud no see. Atera ew mnues, Pen and Lynx waked up o Inqusor Foss, oowed by e oerswo ad aso insed reayng nsrucons.

Pen sared n irs. I ave assured e eadersp o e broerooda I am n no mmedae danger, and a I w be n requen conac o aayany concerns abou my saus.

I woud seem, Lynx added, a my ormer ade as proven o be awarror and eader among ose peope. And so won a roe n er governmen.I woud be we we a woud remember my ormer ade s now e equvaeno a Fee Admra, and a Secor Governor, smuaneousy.

Foss ooked unmpressed, bu oers ooked a eac oer and back a Pen,sared a avng so msjudged e e uman emae n pan space armor.

I don wan o be boered w es, Pen sad irmy, ony addressme as Pen. Pen sopped o urn er ead and ook a e peope around er, enconnued. I s me o come ou o e dark, pu s woe maer n e openor a o undersand wa e suaon reay s. I sugges we connue s overa mea, I ave mssed wo meas aready, because o s summons. Les a becear eaded and no dsraced by mssed meas.

ha s a mos wory suggeson. Lynx broke n, we Fosss mouung open. here s a o o cac up on. And I know any ng abou InqusorFoss, e aways as a we socked arder, as we as a cabne u o srong drnka rvas an Impera paace.

Yes, es cam ngs down a b over a mea. Foss added, s iss on s

ps.he coecon o peope began o ex e encosure, and make er way

oward a arge bas door n e drecon o e sps bow.Was e dea o e en? Pen asked Lynx, n ow ones, we

oowng e res o e peope oowng Foss.We, Inqusor Foss ad a dferen dea o ow e proceedngs woud

go. Lynx reped, aso n ow ones. He was expecng an Impera Navy ensgn.No a ard igng warror eader a woud back m up a sep n ron oeveryone assembed. Foss s no known or oroug omework, and o course,

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e Empre as a very sma ie concernng e nner workngs o e Msis.Sma wonder. Pen nodded, he Impera bureaucracy esm as

everyone beevng a ose poor msguded, os, mss-i, uman sous nese secors o e gaaxy are benea noce. he barbarous ouer reaces odmore neres. Pen paused a momen, pu a and on Lynxs ower arm. Lynx,wa o you? I ave a o o quesons abou ow you ave ared, as we as owyou came o be ere.

Were amos o e banque a, Lynx reped, s speakng n

ow voume. A more u sory w ave o come aer. So I ins your irsqueson. Foss kes e mued efecs rom beng surrounded by ck apesres,and kes s comors. He aso kes o use ony porabe vd gear. He can se upand ear down very qucky, and be somewere ese w a s communcaongear, we some peope woud s be packng up er k. Foss preers o es agens do e ron ne suf, bu wen urgen, dangerous maers reaenwords, or even e greaer Empre, e s an Inqusor. To underesmae mwoud be mos unwse.

I woud never judge any Inqusor o be anyng bu an InqusorPen sad, serousy.

he group around nqusor Foss enered and spread ou around a acrce o abes, acng ye more comm gear and oograpc dspay equpmen.

he res o e dnng aces ad a been ceared back o make room. Pennoed as se sa nex o Lynx, a marnes oowed em n, and ses o ourwen o eac ex. Two marnes wen roug, and wo more urned and soodw er back o e now cosed exs. No one w be comng n or gong ou, seems.

Foss sood a e cener o e a crce o abes.I ave ordered oodsufs broug n, Foss sad, oudy enoug o be

eard over e commoon o peope seang emseves. and we ave wasedenoug me. I w requre you a o pay cose aenon. In parcuar, agen Penand Inqusor Lynx.

A uge oograp o e gaaxy, seen edge on, wnked no exsence

above everyones ead. I go caed no an nvesgaon o srange appenngsnear e gaacc cener. Foss began, s voce beng ampied w a srangeresonance, I was o ake e pace o Inqusor Mayamao, wo ad beenrepored ked, aong w everyone ese, a s base. he aacker was anundenied sp, o a coniguraon never repored beore. Wen I arrved, envesgaon o e desroyed base ad been compeed. he concusons aresued rom a nvesgaon were a e Edar race ad been responsbe.he ac a e moon e observaon base ad been sed upon was neary cun wo, made a concuson obvous. Foss sopped speakng as e oo o e

gaaxy suddeny sted, and e observaon pon rapdy lew no e gaacccener, causng e couds o sars o ly ou o e vew, un a snge bnary sar,and aendan panes were cenered n e vew. In e Yamaguc sar cuser,s Suragao ree. he sars n s cuser, and n Suragao ree, are very od. hepanes around a bnary sysem ave ong snce sopped beng geoogcayacve. Amos dead sars surrounded by dead panes. Ye Mayamoo was ereo nvesgae srange appenngs. hngs ke rade sps, warsps, and scousps rom severa dferen races dsappearng, or beng ound reduced o scrap

around s pace. One o e panes w a breaabe amospere as enormous,bocks neos and pars so od a any oer sgn o cvzaon as ongdecayed no obvon. I ever any cvzaon was presen. A vew o a panessurace suddeny ied e ar over everyones ead. Large, dark sapes ieda gray sky. Mayamoo made a seres o recordngs a weren desroyed. Onone o ese, a sp appeared o unamar desgn. Foss sopped speakng as avew o a panes rm ied e boom o e oo projecon. Everyone wacedas ragged edged sreaks o energy rose rom e pane, nerseced, creang aanasc gare a ied e projecon, and made Pen od er and n rono er eyes or a momen. he gare vansed, and ere was a sp. Bg, evenwou oer crat around o measure agans. Anguar, cunky, an eongaeddark sape ke nong ever repored o e Empre. Suddeny, e rear our

o e vesse gowed bue and qucky spread over e enre souee, becomnga pae ue o green, bu remanng bue on e back poron. hs served ogg e anges and sapes o e bocky ng as began o move. Pen sawa s seemed o be ow e enormous back ng was propeed. he spurned oward, and rockeed a, e monor probe akng e vdeo. In ony amomen, e back sape grew uge un boed ou e vew, en.. Bzz! Nomore vdeo.

ha sp purposeuy sepped on e probe, Foss began agan, buMayamoo ad e presence o mnd o ave dorman backup probes nearby.Wac.

he vdeo was back, above everyones ead, ing e room s me.

he back sape became a movng sreak o pae bue-green urng owarde wn red suns. Pen guessed a e vdeo was beng payed back a a gspeed, because e sp arrved over one o e suns n ony momens. he vewswced o a dferen perspecve, and en zoomed coser. Pen and Lynx bogasped n unson w a sudden rumbe o conused voces. he ugy back ngwas now wreaed n swrs o lame. he pae green energy around e sp adbecome a green oow ube o energy exendng o e red sun cose beow, andied w lame rom e sun, was beng pued o e back vesse. he swrso lame around e sp appeared o be drawn no e backness a was e

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vesses ouer se, as e ng was crated ou o a back oe, swaowng evene g. A brg sreak o green suddeny swung oward e vew, and e oowen back.

Pease! Foss caed over e rsng voces, hs s ony e irs par,and e res s every b as mporan as wa as socked you! Pease od yourcommens and quesons!

A new vew appeared, and e room e que. Once agan e roomwas ied w e gaaxy o sars, and rapdy zoomed oward e cener o egaacc cuser. hs me a arge number o movng specs o g ied e cenero e vew, and or a we as a ey were, as e source o e vew kep pacew e movng gs.

Pen noced sadows movng among e sadows a made up e owera o e room. A sadow moved oward er, and a arge paer o seasonedrce appeared on e abe n ron o Pen. Foowed by a saow urn o seamnggravy. Sandard Navy are. Rce grew we n e waer anks. A suppemen ovegeabe and anma proen n a sauce was e norma are aboard sps. Pendscovered a er mou was waerng n ancpaon. Pen ganced up o seea ere was e cange n e vew, and qucky spooned a ump o rce anda ade o gravy no e bow n ron o er, and ooked up agan jus n meo see e vew was cangng rapdy. he sudden onse o many voces n an

unnegbe murmur concded w e vew ocusng on an enanced accadspay. Pen qucky ganced a Lynx, wo merey sa, cross-armed and see-eyed, and en back up a e acca vew. No more o scky green ned, backsps, bu an Ork war lee!

Yes, as rg, Fosss enanced voce cu above e nose, esemaers are reaed, as you w soon see. Because o e non-voen conacbeween ceran Ork vesses and Impera agens, we ave managed o ge spyprobes aaced o some Ork sps. I somemes nk e Orks know e probesare ere, bu don care. Some o e daa vews w go by qucky, avng beeneded, bu you wac cosey, muc o wy we are ere w be made cear.

Pen waced as e war lee moved aser an soud ave no

orb around a raer arge, dead ookng word. Sure enoug, e spy probesensors dspayed on e vew a e word was an od dead rock. Excep. Anenergy source on e pane. he armoncs emanang rom a source wereconusng. Even a sar dd no generae ose knds o radaon. he vdeobnked o a new perspecve as Ork andng crat gouged bazng ras owarde surace beow. In momens e oo bnked agan, so a now a coudsee groups o Ork warrors pourng ou o er vesses and oward dsan darksapes o garganuan pars and anguar zgguras. Pen sensed Lynx movng,and yes, Lynx was eanng orward, and wsperng, heyre ganng enrance?

Bu ow? Pen dd no azard an answer, bu ooked back a e oo. Orkswere descendng ramped openngs, a e base o a coupe o e arges seppedpyramds, o dsappear woesae. he oo mus be comng rom one o eandng crat, because e vew dd no oow e green sknned os down. hewoe room suddeny became muc brger as e oo skewed over and up oa vew o a gan par, e op o wc ad sared gowng. he brgnessncreased un a pae green crack o gnng sp of no space. he oo vewskewed ye agan back o wacng e arge openngs a ad swaowed upe Ork warrors a e beore. he vew seed and ocused jus n me o seeOrks spng back ou o e dark openngs, o run a ranc pace back owarde wang andng crat. Now everyone n e room eaned orward, and evenPen muered, Wa n e..? Svery meac orms, carr yng rods a gowedscky green, oowed e as o e Orks leeng e pyramds. Woever wasoperang e spy probe, zoomed n on e s emergng svery orms. Penoug ey ooked ke some parody o Edar warrors. Lke a mea skeeon oEdar. he sku saped eads o e ngs parcuary made Pen nk so. herewas even a any uman ook o e skeeon orms o e advancng ngs.As ey advanced rapdy ater e Orks, a e peope n e room coud seea ese newcomers were odng ormaon, and even pon and ire e rodngs, n unson. he sreaks o green g a sruck an Ork caused a Ork

o evaporae n a coud o seam or smoke. Even e armor on e Ork dssovedno a swr o vapor. he advancng nes o mea ngs sedom mssed weney poned er rods. Some Orks urned and ired dferen knds o weaponsback a er ormenors. Mos jus caused an green sparks o appear wereasers and projeces sruck e sny devs. Pen dd noce a severa asersor projeces sruck one o e ngs a e same me, e, ony o evaporaeno a wsp o smoke and sparks.

he mad das or e andng crat carred many o e Orks no epresumed saey o armored us. Landng crat, and smaer warsps, tedof. Pen noed a no a e survvng Orks ad made aboard a vesse, beorea e vesses boed up oward space. In ony momens, every as greenskn on

e pane was evaporaed. he vew n e oo was dreced back oward epane, as e Ork war crat led. A par o bos o g lased pas e vew. heoo bnked as anoer probe ook over. Now a arge par o e Ork lee wasn e vew, w e pane aong e boom o e projecon. A par o brg,green ned, sreaks cu no e assembed Ork sps, and a par o Ork cruserslew apar, as ey ad been gass and sruck by a ammer. Pen eard Lynxmuer someng abou seds, bu coudn ake er eyes away rom e sceneo carnage unodng.

he Ork crat were pany burnng u engnes, and ryng o scaer, as

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we as ire er own weapons back oward e pane. Pen coud see e mpacson e panes surace a around, as we as dead on, e source o e greenbeams. Ony Ork baesps survved a rom e surace, smaer crat smpylew apar. A on a baesp caused a specacuar g sow, bu dd no seemo sow e mgy crat, or sow e weapons irng. Pen guessed a some kndo damage mus be resung, bu e mgy sze and armor o e bg warspsmasked e rea arm done.

Very rapdy e scene pued away rom e pane, as e scaerng Orkwar sps opened e dsance. he vew on e oo was s back oward epane. he green bos rom e pane beow ceased, ony o be repaced by reeseady pars o g a suddeny anned apar and someow creaed a swrngmaesrom o gray g and sparks beween em. Ater ony a momen o wang,a grea back sape, edged w scnang pae green energy, emerged rom emaesrom beween e beams o g. hen anoer and anoer. We Penand e oer assembed eaders o umanys war macne waced, sunned,sp ater sp emerged un a lee o amos ry sps were pursung erereang Ork vesses. A eas weny were smaer vesses, bu ke e bg ones,ey were oddy anguar and cunky ookng. No seek, w curves peasng oe eye, bu more ke lyng zgguras, assembed ou o gan bocks, a angesand srag nes. he ony oer objec o noce was e pars. One, or wo, or

ree o ese pars exended rom e ron o e smaer odd ookng sps, arg anges, so a ey ooked ke some knd o bg anenna. Excep a eacad a gobe o brgy posed mea a e end, wc sparked w pae sckygreen sparks. he arges vesses ad raer more o ese sats sckng ou arg anges aong e eng o e crat, bu ow many was ard o e, snceey were aaced a around e sp, and so some were dden rom vew.

he ry back sps anned ou n a swa saped ke a scye. Newbos o green energy sreaked ater e Ork sps ryng o ge away. Ony nowese were lases o green energy comng rom eac o e gobes o mea,rom eac sp. Very many more an wo beams o desrucon ased ouand spased n a pyroecnc dspay agans e seds and us o Ork space

vesses. Pen ook noe a ese weapons mus no be as poweru as e panedeenses ad been. A snge dd no saer a argeed sp. Raer, a snge appeared o pay avoc w a sps power, or oer sysems. Bu snce mupes were neary aways scored on a argeed Ork sp, Pen knew a bes guesseswere key o be wrong.

hen, ree arge Ork bae crusers urned as one and argeed earges o e pursung back sps. hs back sp was no ater em, bu wascasng one o e arges Ork baesps, wc aso urned jus enoug o exposee grea urres down e eng o e baesp. A our Ork sps ired as

one, e beams rom e Ork bae crusers cung no e sab sdes o eback sp. More beams rom e baesp searng e bow secons. Impacsrom nvsbe projeces creang grea lares aong e enre back u. hescnang green energy a wrapped ese srange vesses seemed o absorb as punsmen. And worse, o Pens mnd, were damage coud be seen on eu, qucky appeared o be bendng and smoong away e damage unony smoo back sabs remaned. Pen ad seen Tyrand sps ea njures, buno so as. Tyrand sps were known o be vng ngs, bu Pen e down ner bones a ere was nong ave abou ese ngs, ey e ke grea codengnes o desrucon, n Pens ear o ears, and Pen ad earned o rus ereengs. he Ork crusers connued o acceerae a e back sp, wc neerurned or canged speed. I dd ire more o e green bass a e Ork baesp,wc caused peces o ly of, and e amospere wn o gne, venng lamesroug e oes made, no space. he baesp was arge enoug a sucdamage was no crca, bu muc more o e same woud be.

he Ork sps poured a connuous sream o ses no er enemy,wo ony ired a e baesp, un e Ork bae crusers were very cose oe back sp. Now e reay uge, sor range guns e Orks were amous or,voeyed and undered pon bank no e back buk, wreang n gous andswrs o ire and smoke. No sasied, e Ork crusers connued o acceerae

oward er opponen, and smased u on no e back uk, obscurng an urer grea swrs o ire and smoke. Pen waced as e grea back ngwas e ony ng o emerge rom e desrucon. Ony now ere were greagases aong e sdes o e lyng zggura, a radaed a brg pae green grom wn. he gases dd no seem o be cosng up. And e bg back ngurned. Back oward e pane.

he oo vew pued back, o sow a wder vew o e appenngs. MosOrk sps were eer desroyed, or ad azarded e jump no non-space wes cose o a gravy we. Pen coud see a ony e one back sp ad beenurned back. he Ork sp a ad e spy probe mus ave naed non-space,because e oo burred and en vansed.

here s s more normaon o brng o g, Foss saed no eque room, bu e us ea and drnk, and e some o wa weve seen snk n.he room became que nosy as everyone began o ak a once. he gs arounde room brgened.

Pen, wy aren you eang? Lynx asked, avng noced Pen sarngdown a e ood n ron o er. I oug you were ungry.

I waed oo ong, Pen reped sady, s as grown cod, and does noook very appezng. Aso, a s s seang my appee. Jus ke every oerdeangs Ive ad w Inqusors, normaon s eaped on me very as abou

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evens I know nong abou. My irs queson s s unanswered. Lynx, canyou e me wa s gong on ere? hs v deo rom spy probes dd no ep.

I sar w wa I know, Lynx sared, soundng somewa grm,and I know a s s no e irs me a ose mea orrors ave sown up.Esewere n e gaaxy ere ave been encouners w em. Wy InqusorFoss s makng ke ese ngs are new o e Empre s a puzze o me.

I ave never seen or eard abou ese ngs. Pen nerjeced. Is as or my benei?

hs meeng s or your benei, bu e breing s no. Lynx reped.here s a o o concern a e Orks may be abou o expode across e gaaxy,w umany as e arge.

I pcked up on a eary on, Pen reped, moonng o a seward obrng more ood. I aso pcked up on e, u, androds?, beng bend a o o econcern. Waever ose mea ngs are.

hose mea ngs are caed by some; Necros, by paneary nanry;NecMecs, and Orks ca em; Sknny Bs, aong w e usua srngs ounlaerng nsus. here s a rumor gong around a e Necros weaponssea your sou, your e-orce, e-energy, or waever you wan o ca , andmprson wn one o ose androd ngs. An unoy bendng o macnespr and e spr rom vng ngs n a mea monsrosy. Ye one more

ngmare e gaaxy rows a us. Hump!You do no sound as you beeve wa you say. Pen sad no e

momen o sence, Wa am I o beeve?Years ago, a o o years ago, an Impera survey eam ound some uge

monos. Lynx began agan, Wa was dferen s me was a one o eeam eaders remembered revewng records o smar inds. Snce no way coudbe ound no e enormous zgguras, and no energy emssons were deeced,ey gave up n rusraon. A excep one. ha eow wen back and sared odg roug mounans o ancen records. Ater years o work, s suspcons wereurned o acs. here ad been many o ese indngs, a over e gaaxy. hadecades and cenures passed beween ese indngs eped o bury any neres

rom e Impera admnsraon. O, and e ac a a ese indngs wereon remoe, barren, dead words orbng dyng suns kep neres mnma as we.ha exceen eow a dd a a researc dd one more exceen ng. Hemapped a e indngs rom pas cenures, as we as e presen, ono a sngemap o e gaaxy. Because umany as ad e neres n e gaaxys core, ae bes rea esae beng n e spra arms, amos nong s known abou avas regon o eerna caos. One or more words n e gaaxys core avng moreo ese megas s no surprse o me. We.. Lynx paused as a seward passedby, eavng a sma gass urn ied w a pae red qud. Lynx poured erse

some, and connued. We, a ese rva encouners w dead megason dead words dd no sr any neres un abou a undred years ago. Moreencouners were repored w ese back zgguras, ony now energy emssonswere deeced. Expedons o known ocaons o oer megas ound aese oo were generang energy emssons, were ey ad been oay eessand wou a race o energy oupu, beore. Severa researc eams were senou o ry o deermne wa was gong on. One eam red o orce enry noone o e bgges zgguras w weapons. he ony survvors were e crew oa rgae a ad been escorng e researc sp. hey ony survved becauseey ad been reconnoerng e ouer edges o e sar sysem. hey dd brngback a record o wa appened. hese mea apparons suddeny appeared andvaporzed every sou. A oe n space appeared, and lyng zgguras popped ouand dsnegraed e Impera sps n orb. he e rgae was eer oo araway or was oo sma, or bo. he lyng zgguras urned and dsappeared backno e oe n space. Incdenay, e oe dd no read ke our jumps no non-space, or warp space, or ke anyng anyone as seen beore. Indcaons wereo remendous energy a was prmorda n makeup. Lynx paused and ookedno Pens eyes. Pen ad no eaen a be or moved we Lynx spoke, ony saredno Lynxs ace, w a bank expresson on Pens ace.

I remember someng, Pen sad weaky, I was s a junor euenan,

beore I was caed o your servce. We ound a back pyramd on a rogue moonnear e gaacc cener. he moon was orbng a runed cnder o a pane,around a pae sar. he asro-exper we ad sad e sar ad e caracerscso avng ad more panes, no jus e one backened cunk a remaned. Amysery a was never answered. Wa ad appened ere? Wy was e moonargey unouced by waever ad runed e panes around a sun? I neveroug abou ose ngs un now. Pen Looked a Lynx quzzcay, Andyouve known abou ese ngs or many years?

Amos snce I became an emssary or e Emperor. Lynx answeredserousy, hese creaures ave been regarded as vng macnes, even ersps are oug o ave a vng negence wn e macnery. You soud

know a ey were never regarded as a rea o e Empre, beore. hosesrange vesses woud dsappear aser an ey appeared, and say gone or ongenoug a ey woud be oug o as myca. Lynx sopped ong enoug osowy urn er ead eac way and make sure ey were no beng scrunzed byanyone, en connued n a very ow voce. Ony now ey are no eavng. hereare lees o ese dark sar kers assembng a dferen pars o e gaaxy. Onesuc gaerng, near e ower edge o e gaaxys core, s our desnaon. I woudsay abou nne sp days rave. he same area as your rend, Longoo.

I eard Inqusor Foss say a we were o mee oer uns. Pen sad,

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eanng oward Lynx and speakng soty, Wa knd o operaon s s? Arewe auncng a mary campagn, or a recon msson? Were do e Orks i n,and were do I i n or a maer?

You i n w e Orks, Lynx responded, amos wsperng, andey are e irs eg o s operaon. he Empre s gaerng or war agansa new enemy. Wa w so many Tyrand orces igng eac oer, ey seemconaned or now. Que a ew Impera sps are beng assembed a dferenpaces, o oppose any sar ker lees a may move agans Impera odngs.Your msson w be o urn e Orks away rom radng Impera space. As orme, I beeve I am o be reurned o e care o e Cenuron marnes.

Don ey k now ow muc ep you can be n s? Pen asked quey,I ave eard o some o e ngs you and ose marnes ave done.

hen you ave kep beer rack o e Empre, en e Empre as oyou. Lynx sad, somewa ouder, I ad no dea a you ad worked your wayno a eadersp poson.

We, you aready knew a e Msis socey was bu around warigng, and e regard ey ed or warrors. Pen sad, My assocaon wAor and Uor ddn ur, eer. My successes agans e enemes oe Empre, and e Msis, vaued me o near e op o e Msi maryerarcy, and so, near e op o er governmen as we. I ave you o ank

or a. he ranng and experence I ad as your servan made a possbe.Your abes made possbe. Lynx sad serousy, I beeve you woud

ave been abe o go ar n any servce you ound yourse n. I jus go o youirs.

In any case, ank you. Pen sad.Lynx jus ooked a Pen or a momen, en proceeded o ea, ookng os

n oug. Pen oowed Lynxs exampe and sared n eang, bu connued owac a around er. here was que a o gong on around Foss. Some o emary ocers were speakng n raer eaed and anmaed ason o eacoer and Foss. Appareny ere was s some debae as o wa o do. Fosswas jus eaned back, no speakng, bu senng o e debang ocers. Pen

decded o ea raer quck y, seeng a sewards were aready cearng away eoer abes. hs sp ad a scedue o keep. Pen pu er u aenon no ermea.

Pen ad jus insed, wen se became aware o someone sandngbend er. Pen urned o see a young euenan odng ou a message pad. Penook and nodded. Wou a word, e young woman urned and eaded oran ex door. Pen ccked on e screen and read. Her eyes wdened as se read.

Wa n lamng gaaxes s s? Pen asked, none oo soty. Ha eavaabe Msi lee s assembed and en roue o e coordnaes? And a e

remander s assembng o oow? Pen sopped readng and ooked a Lynx.ha woud be my au. Lynx sad, eanng back. I nk a ose

orces wang or you w gve you a sronger and o pay. I know ow eEmpre somemes kes o buy peope o ge wa wans. I used o myse.he Empre w do more askng, ess eng, you ave a navy backng you up.I ave aso seen o a Nova Marnes w brng a avaabe orces o suppore Cenuron Marnes.

hose wo broeroods, w er supporng lees, make up que aorce, Pen sad, ookng ard a Lynx. and I suppose e Msi lees are expecedo ep you?

No me. Lynx answered, raer quey agan, I am no an Inqusor.I ad e Msi lees sen o e meeng pace o suppor you, Pen. I ave noexpecaons beyond a. I you wan o board a Msi sp and eave as soon aswe arrve, so be . I mg ask o go w you.

You do no suppor s operaon? Wy? Pen asked.Jus en Foss sood up, aso odng a message pad. We ave o make a

sde rp. e announced, odng up e message pad, he Emperor as orderedme o a near sysem, wc s, accordng o my navgaors, aready bend us. Wew a go rom ere o our assgned acon saons. hs sp w come abouand a back no norma space n ess an an our. Foss mooned o Lynx

and Pen, You wo w pease oow me. Inqusor Foss urned and sared oeave.

I w e you more, Pen. Bu aer. Lynx sad, barey above a wsper.Pen ony nodded. he wo women were avng o scrambe o cac Foss.

He was deiney n a urry, so muc so a e wo ad no caug up w Fosswen e ook a t. Lynx ed e way o anoer t car, appareny knowngwere Foss was eaded. No o s comm gear saon, was a a Pen knew.Sory e wo women were agan wn sg o Foss, as e rounded a a openbas door. Pen knew were se was now. Impera sp desgns were prey muce same, wen came o desgnng a igng brdge rom wc o command aigng sp. Pen enered o see a Foss ad a separae room, o e rear o e

man brdge, and sgy above e command deck, bu open enoug o see andear a a wen on rougou e brdge secon. Pen and Lynx joned Fossjus as e was seang mse and srappng n. Pen and Lynx urred o ake apar o oerwse unused seas, and oowed Fosss ead by srappng n.

None o soon. he enre sp groaned, as e sp wsed around nsdenon-space. Energy ieds around e sp red o compensae or e momenumand resung G orces e cange n drecon creaed, owever, some o oseorces aways eaked roug. Pen e e weg ncrease as e momenumpued a er, we e sps engnes sraned o cange e drecon o rave.

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Foss announced a everyone soud say srapped n, s sp woud bedeceerang back o norma space veoces very soon.

Pen e as se was once agan an observer. Se ad no saus aboards sp, waever se may ave been among e broerood o survvors caedMsis. Pen coud see a Lynx was uy absorbed w wacng and senng,snce se ad no apparen saus eer.

Bg acca oo projecons began cckng on, norma space was onymomens away seemed. Pen e a sma anger growng n er agan. Anymean Inqusor was nvoved, ngs appen n a urry. Deceeraon pued a Pen,even as eac o e prevousy empy dspays came o e w daa and dspays.Pen noed a ey were back n norma space n ar ess an an our.

Inqusor Foss pu up a gganc dspay. Pen e as se were sandngn ron o a grea wndow, ookng ou no space. Pen aso e as se were anew euenan agan, n awe o everyng se sees. here, n e wndow onospace, was a grea lee o sps. Many o em seemed gan copes o e oyszed vesses surroundng em. Pen knew wa Edar sps ooked ke, esewere ndeed Edar vesses, bu never ad Pen seen e grea baesps now inge vew. Or so many o any knd. here were dozens o every ype assembedere. A o o irepower. Amed a wo? Pen wondered. Pen dd noce asevera o e smaer warsps urned oward, and moved o nercep, e bg

uman warsp a ad so suddeny appeared among em.Now someng boered Pen. he bg vew connued o od on a vew

o e Edar lee, bu many o e smaer dspays around e brdge sowedEdar aces. Pen coud ony ear an peces o waever was beng sad, back andor. As n answer, ex began scrong across e boom o e bg dspayabove Pen. Pen eaned back. How very dferen Foss was rom Lynx. Lynx woudbe rg n e oreron o any negoaons, or any maer needng aenonw oer races. Bu, ere was Foss, eanng back, wacng and senng, andappareny speakng no a sma voce ransmer ony rarey. he ex on escreen od Pen a a very mporan Edar was comng aboard o speak we uman Inqusor on maers o grave urgency. Pen dd ear Foss say a

s mporan person was o jon Foss on e brdge o s sp. Pen knew aFoss connued o ook a Lynx and Pen rom me o me, bu oerwse e wowomen mg jus as we be nvsbe, no one ese even ook noce o e wowomen.

Pen decded now was e me o ook over e Edar vesses a e morecosey. he graceu nes o eac curve were que peasng o e eye, even wenose curves were nerruped by e many buges a conaned weapons mouns.he grea wngs a gaered e energy o e sun, even a grea dsances, madee vesses ook as ey soud be some grea swmmng ng, or lyng ng,

wn a panes amospere, no ou among e sars. Pen caug movemen ouo e corner o er eye, and ooked up a e edge o e projecon. More Edarsps arrvng! hey s ad an Edar ook abou em, bu ey were o dferenconiguraons. hs coud ony mean a anoer segmen o e Edar race adjoned waever operaon was brewng. he Edar race ad dvded se nomany segmens, some were amy or can orened, oers based on wa wordor words ey came rom, and some were oose assocaons a barey i edescrpon o buccaneer. And o course, ere were e rgdy deined pas oe warrors. Pens eyes narrowed as se reazed a n e dsance ere wereaready wo oer groups represened, on op o e one jus arrvng, and e onea surrounded e uman warsp. Pen ad no doub n er mnd now. heenre Edar race was muserng or war. Pen ound erse rememberng wenEdar ad oug Tyrand ose many years ago, and e errbe weapons Penad seen used en. A cod c suddeny raced roug Pen.

I nk you mus be nkng e same as I. Lynx sad, n a voce so owa Pen barey eard er.

I was jus wonderng, Pen reped, equay soty, ow many aces snew war as.

Maybe you are nkng someng ese. Go on. Lynx asked.A o o peces o s puzze are ing ogeer aready. Pen near

wspered, Humans, Orks, and now varous acons o e Edar are gaernger war-lees. hose orrd Tyrand creaures dd no generae so muc orcemobzaon, s qucky. An negence breing I ad some days ago speedou ow arge Ork orces were gaerng ou ere, as we as Impera nava orcesgaerng oppose em. Now I ind mos o e Msi lees are beng assembed,and very nearby ere are Edar orces gaerng, e ke o wc umany asnever seen. Pen eaned coser o Lynx, I aven seen e enemy orces a o ss o bae, ave I?

Yes. You ave. Lynx reay was wsperng now, hose sar kers arewa as se ngs n moon. You, and maybe I, are jus a sde maer. You,because some n e Empre beeve you can once agan urn e Ork caed

Longoo away rom aackng uman words. I, because o my assocaon wyou, and e Cenuron marnes.You sad sar kers agan wen you spoke o e enemy. Pen sad,

Wy?Because ey are e ker o sars. Lynx reped. her sps someow

park very near a sar and spon of e energy and carged parces a makeup e surace o a sar, someow.

A sar s a very bg pace, Pen sad, s n a guarded wsper, oses ao o energy and carged parces no space every momen exss. How does

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osng a e more k a sar?hey ake away a o o energy, Lynx sounded very serous, and, some

nk, ey ave been dong or mons o years.O. Pen wspered, as se urned er ead o see wa was causng e

sudden acvy on e command brdge. Even Foss was up and wakng acrosse brdge oward an enrance Pen coud no see.

Foss was no que ou o sg, wen e was me. A very od ookngEdar mae came no vew, and ed up bo ands, pams ou a md-ces, ne radona greeng or umans, Pen knew. Pen aso knew a ere was aseparae greeng or oers o er own race, and some races were no greeeda a. he ong war beween Orks and Edar was we known, o even ow rankservors among e uman words.

Pen aso saw a ere were our more Edar, quey keepng back.None were wearng any knd o warror gear. Pen red o ook e ive vsorsover more cosey, se ad never seen any Edar dressed n lowng, oose ing,mucoored robes beore.

I ave ony seen Edar o s ar once beore. Lynx sad quey. Onceagan answerng Pens queson beore coud be asked. hey are e mosreasured o a er race.

he od one urned suddeny, and sared up a e women.

A! Here you are! he od ones voce was careuy moduaed, as eapproaced e wo women n er sde room. Foss dd no oow, bu dd ookvexed. I was jus eng Mser Foss ere a I was ookng or a parcuaruman represenave. And ere you are! he very wo I ave eard so mucabou. Two paces rom e women, e sopped and bowed w a lours o srg and. I am known, o e ew umans wo know me, as Yamu. And Iave been ookng or you.

he wo women ooked a eac oer, and back o Yamu. Wom do youseek? Lynx asked.

Wy bo o you. Yamu reped. Very many o our peope are verymuc n your deb, and so I was sen o ind you bo, possbe, and repay some

o a deb.I you are reerrng o e ep e Empre broug o your peope adozen years ago, Lynx sood as se spoke, ere s no deb. Your peopeswarrors ave asssed e Imperum many mes ese pas years, agans severao our enemes. Many o our peope owe er ves o e ep o e Edar.

Wa you say s pary rue. Yamu sad very serousy, However, ebooks o e Edar are no ye baanced, and may never be.

How w one o your ar repay a deb o warrors? Foss broke n,hose wo women ave been gven asks by e Emperor, mse. I don ave

e power o se em on anoer pa.Yamu urned o Foss. Inqusor Foss. Forgve me. I am no excudng

you rom wa I ave broug. Bu we need o see my gts, ere s muc I woudave ese wo women be par o.

Pease orgve e nruson, Pen sad n a sma voce, I ave neverseen, or eard o your ar. Is ere me or me o earn o s? Pen ad sood,and was jus bend Lynxs rg souder.

Lynx urned o Pen w a sme. Bu beore se coud answer, Yamusvoce rose. My ear s wounded, a you ave been kep rom e knowedgeo my sks. Yamu was smng. I mus demonsrae my ar n answer o yourmssng knowedge.

Foss groaned ou oud, en spoke, I mus wonder we ave so mucme, a so many quesons can be answered.

he unverse s movng. Yamu reped, And soon we mus a becaug n e de and currens o ose movemens. Across s gaaxy evarous peopes gaer er mg or war. Bo agans eac oer and o opposee rea a ese sar kers ave broug. As Yamu sad sar kers, egesured an open and oward Lynx. My apoogy aso, bu your mnd s so v vda we coudn ep bu know e name you ave gven s ancen enemy.Yamu sad. Bu pease. We mus away. Your Emperor dvered you ere so a

my journey o ind you woud be ess. W a sweep o s arm and sg bow,Yamu et no coce, e women sepped down and made or e ex door.

he our oer Edar, a ad remaned soc e woe me, cameorward o make an avenue or e women, and Foss, o oow. Pen caug agmpse, roug e swr o coaks, a ese oers dd ndeed wear armor.he mea mes a bo emed a poweru ied and woud delec a meabade became vsbe or ony an nsan, bu ong enoug or Pen o recognze.

Pen and Lynx were me as e door opened by our more Edar, wowore er armor and igng masks. hese ed e e processon down eaway.

Yamu s a Bard. Lynx wspered o Pen. More an a Bard as we,e s a vng sory o s peope. Yamu s aso known o be e eader oe Harequns, e Wardancers, as we as eader o e a ose a makenormaon, and eneranmen er ar. He s aso one o a very ew a cancommand any acon o e Edar, a any me.

Yamus voce came rom bend e wo women. How succncy youoversae my mporance. I am no a eader o my peope, ke your Emperor. Buknowedge s power, and I ave muc knowedge.

Lynx ony urned er ead and smed a e sme back a Yamu.

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Here we are, Yamu sad smpy, as e group rounded a corner, ss se or us o rave o my sp. A gray smmer, bordered w e sparks,exacy ied e corrdor. he Edar a e ead sepped o one sde, and urnedo lank e enrance.

A beamer? Pen asked, no movng oward e srange pora .A gaeway. Yamu reped. Nong ke wa e green ones use. I s

que sae.Lynx sged, soundng amos mpaen, and sepped no e grayness,

and dsappeared. Pen esaed a momen, urnng o ook a Foss and Yamu,en waked beween e lankng Edar and no e gray nong.

II._____he cod darkness o space. Home. he Hve mnd o e Tyrands ad

ong memores o e endess dark. he boomess cod. Long sumber beweencusers o sar sysems, or beween gaaxes. A e e pars a make up eHve Mnd are sensory npu or e Mnd. A e mndess e creaures, ebg Tyrand warrors, and even e grea vesses a py e ways beween sars,carryng e esser creaures, a are pars o e Mnd.

Bu now.A e sensory npus are oo muc. he grea lee o vng vesses,

a make up e greaer par o e odes Hve Mnd, arge and sma, are bengsaggered by s new par o e gaaxy.

he Hve Mnd waked many paways o relecon, a e weanayzng e ere and now, seekng e bes roue o new conquess, and meodsneeded or e ve o eed.

hs par o e Tyrand race was e orgna nvader. hs par o eTyrand nvason was no so arge, as wen irs arrved n s par o e gaaxy.Bu, e memores o ong, ong ago were s nac. he Mnd recaedas ar back as s awakenng, bu was no ere. here were no memores oencounerng e cener buge o a gaaxy beore. Rva Tyrand ness ad keps parcuar swarm o Tyrands away. hs Hve mnd remembered beng

drven arer and arer ou oward e edge o e od gaaxy o s br, andinay ou aogeer, ou no e empness beween gaaxes were e ve wassupposed o de. Bu ved. And remembered.

Bu s was very srange. A very srong psycc presence woud brelyorgnae somewere near s cenra buge o s gaaxy. And, w no rvaTyrand ness guardng s pace, s me, s swarm o Tyrands waned oind a presence. hs srong psycc source mg be one o, or e one, srongorce o w organzng enemy orces. Enemy orces a are ryng o pus eTyrands back no e empy deepness beween gaaxes. he Hve mnd knew

mus ind s source o roube, and emnae . hs gaaxy s popuaed wmany creaures, races o nkng ngs. I a e creaures ook o unngTyrands, nsead o igng, and weakenng, eac oer, en e many epars a ad once been e grea Tyrand nvason lee, woud be drven ou,or desroyed. he Hve Mnd sensed ere was a gudng presence ou ere,somewere.

Bu ow coud a srong psycc gudng presence be ere?he urer no e gaacc buge e Hve lee raveed, e more

perpexng.Caos. Too muc caos. he ve encounered words a ad been

cas of, w no e gvng sun o orb. Creaures rom e ve lee red o indrozen e under ce, preserved rom wen s word ad a sun. Bu no. hesepanes ad been scorced, seared, and based beore ured no s desny asa rogue. I ever ere ad been e a a. he Hve Mnd waced, roug esensory aces o e mons o mnons a made up e Mnd. Caos.

Words were smased. Words s beng born were orn asunder byrogue suns earng roug e paneary sysems. he losam and jesam etbend unerrngy ound any words s orbng e sun sysem, and oberaedany cance or e on e young words no irs orn apar.

Suns were smased. Rogue suns woud sreak no a sysem and be

drawn no a sar. Bgger or smaer made no dference. Any panes amg ave orbed a e rg dsance or e o ake od, dd no survve, even e paren sun dd.

And ere aso suns ded. Some expoded no grea couds. And w somuc caos, ose remnans were soon gaered up by oer suns. Some o esars ere dd no bow up, bu soud ave. Here e Hve ound were suns adwered n a srange way. hese dark suns were e wors rogues. here werevery many, appareny. And many o ese were e ones o cause so muc armo surroundng sar sysems. her gravy spoke o avng been once uge sars,bu e nucear reacons a are a sar ad a bu sopped. And now s greaeavy mass woud ear roug sar sysems, yankng panes ou o orb. Or

cras no sar sysems, gobbng up panes on s dark journey o cras no eyoung sar. A ese ngs, and oer orms o desrucon, were appenng aaround e ve as red o journey oward e gaacc core.

To earn o ese errbe evens, e ve was payng a prce. Hvesps were dyng. Radaon burss, cosons w objecs oo as o avod,and sacricng e sma saves o nvesgae e was on any words, was aaddng up o a rsk greaer an e ve coud aford. Especay e backgroundradaon. hs par o e gaaxy was ck, compared o e res o e gaaxy,w gas and dus and rocky bs o desroyed, or paray ormed, words. And

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g. I was never dark ere. Even on e darkes sde o some rock o a pane, was as a brg moon was relecng g brgy, ere are so many sars, socose.

he Hve mnd ad earned enoug. hs was no pace or any vngbomass o survve or ong. And ngs ony became worse as e cener o egaacc buge came nearer. Waever srong orce o psycc w emanaed romere, ad ound a way o survve were nong ese coud.

he Hve Mnd urned s many mnons around, oward e soresdsance away rom a s radaon and caos.

A e creaures a make up e ve lee urned, and urred owarde eedng grounds known o be wang ou beyond. ha was wen e psyccbeacon agan e myrad creaures wo coud sense .

hs me e Hve Mnd was abe o precsey ix on a course o oow.No coser o e cener, bu back e way ey were now eadng. he HveMnd knew ad ony o oow s new eadng and ey woud surey ind sbeacon o psycc power, no maer a swced on and of. he Hve woudbe ere wen nex a power sowed se.

III.____Pen ooked around n dsbee. Se was sandng on a panes surace,

no on e deck o an Edar sp. hen se noced e sadows. Lynx wassandng n ron o Pen, bu ony as a sadow, someow mergng as a sadowwn a a Edar n ornae bae armor. Pen ooked down oward er mdde,and yes se was a sadow oo.

Pease orgve my ncompee descrpon o our desnaon. Yamusad rom bend Pen. We are nsde e evens a I ws o narrae or you.

Pen scanned er surroundngs more orougy. Bue sky. Couds. Greaa, wsed green and brown runks a merged ogeer and wsed awayagan as ey reaced no e sky, endng n a green and yeow canopy. hoserees ooked very muc ke e bean pans grown n sps gardens or ood.Bu. hree undred oo a saks. hen ere was e lowers. Everywere.

And Pen coud sme em.How s s done? Pen sad, barey above a wsper. How can a oosme?

An ars canno gve away rade secres. Yamu sad smpy.Pens mnd began o ocus, now a sock was wearng of. Deas and

mpressons looded er mnd. hey were on some knd o careuy ended awn,surrounded by e ow domes and a spres o e Edar own. And. A o oEdar. A o wc were ookng up, up oward e sun. Pen noed a Lynx wasaso ookng up a s panes sar. Pen ooked up, and was no bnded by e

sun, as se was sure se soud ave been. As Pen sared, occurred o Pen ae sar seemed o be geng dmmer, bu o course, a s mpossbe.

hs s e irs record o my peope, and er irs meeng wose you caed sar kers a momen ago. Yamu sad soemny. hs was aprosperous word were our peope ad been a peace or many years.

A srange, percng noe carred on e ar rom e arges coecon ospres. A e Edar vsbe, warrors and no, ran eadong oward e sound.An aarm Pen guessed. Even oug Pen ad no moved a sep, e sadow oerse sayed w e armored Edar se ad appeared wn. Pen woud seeroug an Edars eyes, waever was a Yamu waned o sow em.

My ar s soryeer, eneraner, dancer, soran, and keeper oknowedge possessed by my race over e ages. Yamu began agan, hepopuaon o s word as jus earned ere s a danger. Mos beeve musbe some sor o aack on er word.

he eyes roug wc Pen was seeng rapdy crossed e open ground.Descended a spra ramp no a vas cavern, suppored by g coumns sapedke Edar eroes. here beore Pens eyes was a row o Edar vesses. Warsps.Pen ad never seen e energy coecng sas oded beore. Even so. Pen adnever seen suc arge warsps beow ground beore, eer. he Edar Pen wasw sepped on a we dsc, broug up s (er?) wrs, and w a ew det inger

movemens on e wrs conro, e dsc lew oward e arges sp, carrynge warror. In momens, Pen was g above e arges sp, and zppng downoward e bow. he dsc anded nex o a arge buge on e upper bow. Anopenng appeared and e warror enered. A weapons urre. An opaque mageappeared above some conros, as oer Edar ook posons around e conroroom. As Pen waced, e symbos around e conros burred and becamesymbos a Pen undersood. More magc, Pen oug.

Eac o you ave been sarng e perspecve o one o my peope oong ago. I cose wa perspecve you woud ave based on wa I knew oeac o you. Yamu sad. hese mages are rom a me beore umans wereamong e sars, beore e green ur-u, Orks pagued e sars. Races gone and

orgoen, ved w e Edar or masery o e sars. My peope were a ergreaes. Very many o my peope on very many words. Our race eared nonga coud be ound among e sars.

We Yamu aked, e eegan war vesse ted, urned, and uredou o e cavern, ou no e sky. By e me Yamu insed speakng, sarswere ing Pens vew screen. Pen waced as e Edar adjused e vew backoward e pane ey were eavng n suc a urry. Le gowng specks weresreakng away rom e pane, oowng ater e warsp Pen was on. he vewzoomed coser. A o o Edar war-crat o many descrpons were organzng

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emseves, even as ey cased ater s ead sp. he vew spun around.he panes sun.Peraps a o you canno see, as ye, were s sp o war s akng

you. Yamus voce sounded ar away, econg, as rom e cavern ey ad juset. Aead o us s e sun a nurures e words around . Look cose, andyou w see wa awas my peope.

Pen ooked ard a er vew o e sar Yamu wsed em o see.hankuy, e Edar wose eyes Pen was sarng, waned o see oo, and evew suddeny ied w e rm o a sun. O course. hey were ere. Lespras o lame. More an a undred n s vew o abou a en o e sunssurace. And ere, back specs, undersdes gowng redy. Pen knew wa eywere.

You umans are abou o dare e nsane. Yamu sounded even ureraway. You woud do we o see ow we ared, so ong ago, wen we dared ocaenge ose wo woud k e g.

he projecon Pen was wacng sted qucky, irs et, en rg.Hundreds o Edar sps were on saon on eer sde, a urng oward esun.

We caed o em. Yamus voce was posvey weak. We red everyorm o energy ransmsson, every orm o vsbe codes o lasng gs, we

even red o ire a sar canon near one o e back vesses. A we go was s nrepy.

Pen waced as one o e back zgguras, or suc ey were, urnedsuddeny and rockeed oward e approacng Edar. Wa ooked ke crmsongnng, arced oward one o e smaer Edar sps. Pen agan ad empresson a e e sp n e dspays was made o gass, and suddenysruck w a ammer. he Edar sp expoded n jagged ragmens andsparks.

he remanng evens w pass more qucky. Yamu was sayng, svoce sronger now, hese evens are one o many sores a we e o ong ago.A. Ye, Inqusor Foss as no me or sores. So. You w no experence e

ours, e days, passng w ese evens, so peraps ese ngs w ranspreoo qucky. We w see.From er vanage pon n a weapons moun on e bows o a bg warsp,

Pen coud see bo e projecon a e Edar was usng o gude er weapons,and wac e reay ou a vew por. And yes, ngs began o ranspre veryqucky.

he Edar reaced very qucky o e oss o one o er number. A sormo energy weapons, parce weapons, and msses smoered e one zggura.Pen oug a e energy weapons seemed o do nong a a, bu even so,

appeared cunks were broken of e back ng. Cracks appeared n andeaked pae green g. A spder web o cracks appeared a over e zggura,and n a maesrom o swrng pae green sparks o energy and back cunks, came apar. I ooked o Pen as e green sparks ae e back cunks becausen a momen ere were no ragmens o mark e desrucon.

he Edar sps swep on.From around e noceaby dmmer sar, undreds, maybe ousands o

e bocky saped back ngs gaered. Beween e sun and e approacnglee o eegan Edar vesses, e zgguras ormed no nes, eac new ne bendand above e ne o vesses aead. Un a recanguar coumn was ormed.hen e back ngs rapdy cosed e dsance, and ore no e Edar lee.

Pen e e brea cac n er roa. he Edar ired irs. Bu, snceeac ired a s oppose sp, ere was no concenraon o weapons agansone enemy, as agans e irs back sp. Pen saw no resu. Edar weaponswere s skppng of e posed back ngs. Wen eac o e squared andbocky ngs sen green beams, or crmson bos a e Edar, sma Edar spsexpoded, and smoke poured ou o oes made n arge Edar vesses. Lne aterne o e back sps sen crmson gnng a e Edar lee, and en ecoumn o zgguras powed roug wa was et o e Edar sps.

he ew Edar sps o survve, dd so by no beng argeed. he sp

a ed Pens sadow se ad no been . Pen was momenary curous wys weapon moun Pen was w ad never ired. Oer weapons rom s spad ired. No maer, very muc was appenng. Pen saw e vew was now apanoramc a ook n e coumn o dark sps, as we as many o e scaeredEdar. Aready, many o e survvors were reormng, bu some Edar spspursued e dark ones. Pens sp was one o e pursuers. In a sor me waspan o Pen a e back sps were pung away, a e Edar were unabe ocac er enemy. Pen ooked around. here was no way e ew Edar sps npursu coud ope o even damage er enemy, muc ess desroy em.

he dark vesses wen srag o e word a e Edar ad comerom.

Imagery came very quck now.he coumn o back sps began o an ou. Someow, a pae greenncandescence appeared n ron o, and beow, e an o back zgguras, rapdysurroundng e pane. A back sape, bgger an e bgges o e enemylee appeared ou o e green gow. We Pen waced, e ng cangedsape. Becomng, wa was aer descrbed o Pen as a sepped pyramd, anddescendng o e panes surace. he remanng back sps made Pen nkse was seeng ngs a ony mad peope see n er dreams. A number o earges sps aso cange sape no sepped pyramds , we oers canged no

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wa soud be a back ower, or acua zggura budng, we s n space, andno aaced o e ground. As n answer o Pens dsbee, ese budngsbegan o descend roug e amospere, oundaon irs. he many gowsand sreaks o descendng back ngs et no doub a every par o e panewas o be vsed by ese ngs.

Pens vew was suddeny narrowed. he Edar warror igure er sadowad become par o, suddeny depared e weapons conro room Pen ad beenusng, o wac unodng evens. In amos a bur, e Edar warror passedroug as, rooms, and passages. Endng up n a aunc bay. Obvousy sobecause o e sma iger and iger-bomber crat Pen recognzed as smar oose ses seen beore. Pen wondered or a momen a e ac a se recognzeddesgns a mus be ousands o years od, and s n use by e Edar.

he warror, oowed by anoer, qucky enered a iger crat, andseaed wn e conro modue.

Pens vew o ousde evens was resored. he iger qucky enered epanes amospere, aong w more an r y oer crat aunced rom ebaesp.

As e surace o e pane came no vew, e amar ace o war aPen knew so we, was spreadng across e and.

From eac o e now anded back pyramds and zgguras, a pae green

gow marked an openng n e base, rom wc an unendng sream o sveryorms emerged. he vew magnied un Pen coud make ou ndvdua iguresbeer. Pen oug ey ooked ke macnes. Some ad wo arms and egs,w a dea mask or a ead. Oers ooked ke mpossbe bugs. S oersooked ke a bendng o e irs wo. A ypes ad a snge commonay -ey desroyed every vng ng. Grass. Fowers. Sma wnged ngs n ear. And every Edar, weer leeng o igng. Targeed and desroyed soorougy a no even ases were et. Ony based and backened ground.Were ese macne creaures sepped, everyng wered and was gone.Waever e pae green ncandescen bass sruck, even ear and sone lewno ragmens, and dsappeared n a green spray o sparks. Lvng ngs were

sredded n obvous agony, no eavng even ases o mark er passng.he orror ad Pen mesmerzed, as e e iger se was seeng rom,lew coser. he svery dea ngs were spreadng ou rom e bases o eback pyramds and zgguras. Bu no n any knd o mary ormaon. Jusspreadng ou. To pursue ndvdua ngs o k.

Some Edar oug back. No a e warrors ad gone no space.Somemes e weapons e Edar used made a eng on e macne ngs.I woud a, and n a momen, evaporae n a gray ms. Pen coud see a ase svery ngs advanced, ere was none o e losam and jesam usua o a

bae. No bodes. No dscarded weapons. No broken ngs. Ony a scorcedempness. Barren.

Now someng ese came no vew, as e iger crat lew on. Maryookng ormaons. Tanks. Amospere lyers. Weapons paorms overngjus of e ground. And rank ater rank o nanry. Eegan Edar armor sonen e g o e wan and pae sun. Pendans and banners luered rom aores o ances a sparked w god sparks. Pen recaed ose ances. Wene Tyrands ad aacked Edar srong pons, ey ran up agans ese ances.One ouc o a mb and e Tyrand warror, or oer save creaure, woud jerk voeny away. hrus no e mdde o a warror, and woud wcand sudder, and be suddeny lung backward no e aces o oer advancngTyrands. he energy coursng roug ose ances was poweru and deady.Pen oug a e woe popuaon o e own bend em mus be ormedup no ranks, ou ere.

Pens vew once agan swung around as e space iger crced over eEdar regmens beow. he mea abomnaons were ormng no squares andrecanges o mary ormaons now as we. Pen recognzed e sgns o a sngew, a snge maevoen mnd, n e way ese ngs suddeny ben emseveso e new ask. Pen coud see oer Edar lyng crat gaerng abou e igercrat se was wacng rom. Some o e mea nsec ookng ngs appeared

o be que abe o ly, bu were gnorng e Edar lyers a passed. Pens igerovered over e Edar ormaons, somewa bend e eadng ormaons. Agood vew.

Ses and msses, puses and sreaks, o eavy ar ery, and eavy energycanon, lew rom e Edar oward e nvader o er word. he ormaons odu svery orms sood, no advancng. hen, e ar over e enemy ormaonsied w a crsscrossng web o pae green sreaks o weapons ire. Amos ae ses and msses were nerceped over e enemys ranks. he ew a goroug were neary nsgnican, e damage was so sma o e enemy. Manyo e energy bass seemed o skp of e mea ngs, mpoen.

he Edar were arrayed n a ong, saow U ne, w e varous ypes

o nanry, anks, and war-wakers aernang down e ne. he ouer ends oe bae ne were orward o e cener ormaon, and made up o ose g,as warrors mos keen o grappe er enemes. On some sgna, e enreEdar mass o war macnes and warrors advanced, s irng every weapon acoud.

he Necro warrors were ormed up no a grea, ong, H sape. heong sdes beng made up o e svery mockeres o e Edar nanry, a acnge advancng Edar os. he sor bar n e cener o e H, Pen coud seea was enrey a coumn o wa coud ony be caed anks, a acng e

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ncomng sorm o weapons ire. Pen noed a s coumn dvded e ongnes