As the sub-light engines hummed to life, the silver fleet vanished rapidly from the flank of the Roskora family's formation. Gravimetric sensors operated at high capacity, ceaselessly scanning the Lightless Realm for the coordinates of hidden worlds.
Deprived of direct visual observation, Axion was forced to regulate the fleet's velocity. Relying on the approximate planetary coordinates provided by Vormay, Axion continuously calibrated the heading, steering the fleet clear of all potential civilian shipping lanes.
The Heavy Assault Cruisers acted as the fleet's arrowhead, punching through the void at the vanguard, followed closely by the massive hull of the industrial vessel. Trailing them were Axion's flagship, the Pectaro, and two HG-class carriers. The entire fleet resembled a stray bolt, streaking through space in a linear trajectory at 0.1c.
Beyond the restricted navigation and anomalous Warp energies, the Lightless Realm offered few environmental hazards. Neither plasma storms nor sudden particle bursts were common in this region where planets were spread thin, granting Axion the luxury of charging headlong toward the outer reaches.
For Imperial vessels or civilian merchantmen, waypoint coordinates were sacred. All such ships traveled at sub-light speeds in realspace, decelerating at recognized local waypoints to adjust their headings. After all, striking any object at relativistic speeds resulted in nothing but total structural disintegration for an ordinary vessel.
Axion ignored these conventions entirely.
The prow-mounted lances of the Heavy Assault Cruisers shimmered with energy. The vanguard of the fleet was prepared to atomize anything in its path. Nanite swarms stood ready to repair any structural compromise within seconds. Unless they impacted a planet head-on, the fleet would not decelerate.
…
Whenever the Lightless Realm manifested, it was not only the profit-hungry merchants who grew busy. The Aeldari Corsairs, who haunted the Segmentum Tempestus like ghosts, also stirred. While Warp travel became treacherous, the Aeldari Webway remained seemingly unaffected.
This period was the golden hour for Corsair raids. Plundered convoys could broadcast no distress signals. Driven by the lure of high margins, these merchant fleets often carried immense cargoes and traveled in concentrated groups. Furthermore, neither Ork Freebooterz nor human pirates dared venture into these zones during such times. Consequently, a single successful find yielded several times the usual prize, and the Aeldari held a temporary monopoly on the slaughter.
Among the many piratical warbands operating in this sector, the Void Dragons were arguably the most formidable. Years of relentless raiding had fueled their rapid expansion. Under the leadership of the arrogant Princess Saaraina, the warband boasted an extensive web of influence. Several Craftworlds maintained trade relations with them, providing not only diverse revenue streams but also ample fleet replenishment.
The entire Corsair warband commanded over 3,500 vessels of varying classes. Their strength included over fifty massive Void Stalker-class Battleships. Furthermore, they deployed a contingent of over four hundred Eclipse-class Cruisers and Vaul-class Cruisers. This vast predatory fleet outnumbered the total naval strength of some smaller Craftworlds.
Following the repulse of their previous raid, Salachak had faced severe censure. For the Void Dragons, the seasonal descent of this region into the Lightless Realm was their "automated tithe." The profits were astronomical; the risks, negligible. Merchant fleets, lacking sufficient escorts, wandered sluggishly through the void, whether they were inbound with raw materials or outbound with high-value exotics.
A successful raid brought immense wealth, and the survivors could be sold into the Webway cities of the Drukhari, yielding further dividends. To ensure no repeat of past failures, Salachak had mobilized every available fleet in the vicinity. Over 120 ships, led by three battleships and twenty-five cruisers, prepared to transit through a massive Webway gate to once again enter their "fertile backyard."
The Webway exit was strategically hidden, far from any established trade routes. However, in his attempt to avoid civilian traffic, Axion had likewise steered his fleet away from the conventional lanes.
As the colossal Webway gate suddenly unfurled in the vacuum, a multitude of Aeldari vessels began to accelerate out of the yawning aperture. White light erupted from the gate's exit.
Maintaining a constant sub-light linear burn, Axion had never expected to collide with anything. By the time the Webway gate expanded, it was too late to decelerate or maneuver. Barring the inertialess drives of the Necrons, no vessel traveling at relativistic speeds can execute a rapid turn. Even the fleet of the Iron Men could only pull away by carving a massive, sweeping arc.
However, Salachak had brought too many ships. To maximize deployment efficiency, the Webway gate had been thrown wide. The massive opening completely obstructed all of Axion's evasion routes.
Like a kinetic kill vehicle, the Iron Man fleet slammed into the cluster of Aeldari ships accelerating out of the gate. The lance-equipped Heavy Assault Cruiser, possessed of unstoppable momentum, pulverized two Aeldari battleships instantly, before grinding over a dozen cruisers and dozens of escorts into stardust.
Massive fragments of wreckage hammered incessantly against the trailing Machine Weaver. Though the Antimatter-powered Machine Weaver resembled an arched bridge in form, their hulls, recently reinforced by nanomachines, possessed extreme structural integrity. Combined with their heavy shielding, they acted like ultra-high-speed bulldozers, plowing through the mountain of Aeldari debris.
The continuous chain of warp-core breaches and magazine explosions instantly collapsed that entire section of the Webway. The high-speed Iron Man fleet vanished into the depths of the Webway just before the tunnels buckled. The surviving Aeldari Corsair fleet was violently expelled by the collapsing reality, cast out into the aberrant Warp environment to drift toward an unknown fate.
Deep within the Warp, She Who Thirsts sensed the sudden influx of Aeldari souls. Her gaze attempted to pierce the layers of empyrean mist to find the site of the explosion. Yet, the peculiar Warp tides of the Lightless Realm seemed to shroud even Slaanesh's sight. In the shadows, a strange power flickered, causing even the Dark Prince a moment of faint apprehension.
Inside the Webway, Axion commanded the fleet to begin deceleration. His core data banks held records regarding the Aeldari Webway system. These sub-dimensional tunnels varied in size, functioning like a biological circulatory system; some were broad enough for fleets to sail abreast, while others narrowed to a mere few dozen meters.
None knew the full complexity of the Webway. Axion's records contained only a brief fragment:
"The Webway system is a labyrinthine network of tunnels established between realspace and the Warp by the 'Old Ones,' the creators of the Aeldari. It is akin to capillaries beneath the skin, intricate and without discernible beginning or end. Even the Aeldari themselves occasionally lose their way within. Without an Aeldari guide, entry into the Webway often results in total entrapment."
"Recommendation:The destruction of a Webway section may cast a vessel into either the Warp or realspace. If no exit can be found, it is advised to attack the Webway structure directly. (Apply maximum weapon yield)."