To the two Guardian-class vessels, the T'au fleet was a target of negligible complexity. Their rudimentary logic-cores and digitized communication arrays had long since been dissected; decryption protocols were already archived within the Imperial data-share.
The gestalt intelligence cores of the two Guardians flickered through a mere seventeen calculative base-points before seizing total control of a Hero-class Cruiser. Within milliseconds, every logic engine aboard the subverted cruiser was saturated. A deluge of high-frequency scrapcode radiated from its hull, bleeding into the surrounding vessels.
The T'au's integrated Coordinated Engagement System, designed for synchronized warfare, effectively served as a high-speed superhighway for the hostile machine intelligence. Unlike the Imperium's archaic systems, which were often so primitive they were limited to basic vox and positioning, the T'au's networked fleet was built for centralized fire control and collaborative tactics.
Against a silicon-based intelligence, such connectivity was a death sentence.
In mere minutes, the entire T'au fleet succumbed, falling into a state of algorithmic paralysis. Every processing unit aboard the xenos vessels was commandeered by the twin Guardians, which began reverse-engineering control over every atmospheric fighter and onboard weapon system.
The sudden shift in the void left both the Imperial and T'au survivors in a state of frantic confusion.
Numerous T'au ships abruptly slewed their prows, bringing their primary batteries to bear on the three Kroot Warspheres drifting nearby. Under a concentrated, point-blank barrage, three gargantuan blossoms of fire erupted in the heart of the fleet, vaporizing the avian mercenaries instantly.
The Imperial Navy watched, paralyzed by awe and bewilderment.
The Guardian-class ships ignited their main drives, gliding imperiously into the center of the T'au formation. As they moved, the subverted xenos vessels fell into a formation reminiscent of the ancient Sapient Machine iron fleets: the Explorer-class Battleships were maneuvered into a central column, the Custodian-class Battleships were relegated to the rear-guard, and light escorts formed a protective kinetic screen.
Aboard the T'au strike craft, the Drones originally tasked with targeting assistance seized flight controls, executing their Air Caste pilots within their own cockpits. These fighters then banked sharply, trailing their shattered, oxygen-deprived canopies as they broke away from the Imperial interceptors.
The Imperial Navy could only watch as the logic of the battlefield inverted.
Aboard the T'au vessels, the high-tech wargear that was once the pride of their race became a waking nightmare. Technical Drones and Gun Drones worked in lethal synchronicity, hunting the unarmed Earth and Water Caste personnel through the corridors. Blue blood splattered across clinical white bulkheads.
XV02 Crisis Battlesuits, operating entirely without pilots, directed squads of automated XV8 Crisis Battlesuits in a systematic purge. They slaughtered every T'au in sight, their plasma rifles scorching the interior passageways into blackened ruins.
The XV8-05 Enforcer suits moved with predatory speed, bringing the slaughter to every deck and sub-level. Commander Shadowsun, encased in her XV22 Stealth Battlesuit, found herself physically locked within the bridge of a Custodian-class battleship. She could only watch in horror as the monomolecular blade of an automated XV8 battlesuit swung toward her skull.
The suit's neural interfaces had been hard-locked. The artificial musculature, designed to augment a pilot's strength, had become an unbreakable cage. Unlike the Adeptus Astartes of the Imperium, the T'au possessed neither the raw physical power nor the genetic resilience to fight back against their own equipment. Indeed, even a Space Marine would find it futile to resist a power armor frame capable of exerting tons of force; the dense fiber-bundle muscles that provided such terrible strength could just as easily crush or paralyze the wearer.
XV86 Coldstar and XV88 Broadside Battlesuits worked in chilling coordination to liquidate the remaining Kroot, Vespid, and Demiurg mercenaries. Drones performed mid-combat weapon swaps for the Broadsides with clinical efficiency, ensuring maximum lethality against each species. Heavy rail rifles punched through the stout frames of the Demiurg, while high-capacity missile pods erased the Vespid in clouds of chitin and dust.
The XV104 Riptide Battlesuits rampaged through the larger bays, switching weapon modes to maximize the carnage. Meanwhile, the massive KV128 Stormsurge and KV139 Ta'unar Supremacy Armour units remained silent in their hangars; despite the frantic efforts of Earth Caste and Demiurg engineers, the great engines remained locked in a state of machine-slumber.
Within thirty minutes, every biological lifeform within the fleet had been efficiently extinguished by their own automated systems.
All the while, the two Guardians continuously fed data back to the Axion system. Analysis reports on T'au weaponry, lethality test results, and combat efficacy parameters were being processed in real-time. Superior designs and structural innovations were recorded for absorption, while sub-par data was discarded.
Having confirmed the lethality of the T'au gear against its creators, the commandeered fleet reignited its engines and accelerated toward the far side of Volkus.
The Imperial Navy watched in stunned silence as the T'au fleet turned its vulnerable rear arcs toward them, seemingly ignoring the Imperial guns. The task force commander hesitated, his finger hovering over the order to fire.
Before he could decide, the T'au fleet opened fire again, but not at the Imperium.
Massive volleys of plasma and swarms of strike craft dove into the long shadows cast by the moon of Volkus. As the light of the explosions illuminated the dark, the Imperial auspex arrays finally screamed a new warning.
An enemy had been lurking in the lunar shadow.
Under the weight of the T'au barrage, the hidden foe was forced to reveal itself: an Ork fleet, a sprawling mass of "kustom" junk-ships. Leading the charge were two gargantuan vessels the size of battleships—Slamblastas.
These Ork ships were not the typical "Red 'Un" scrap-heaps; they were painted a vibrant blue. This was a warband of exceptionally cunning Orks who had learned the value of patience, waiting for the opportune moment to strike rather than charging headlong into the fray.
The Imperial forces had no idea where these greenskins had come from or who their Warboss might be, but for now, the internecine conflict between the T'au and the Orks was a dark blessing. The Ork vessels, though crude and ramshackle, were terrifyingly potent. As the battle was joined, the greenskins descended into a predictable mania, for even the "Lucky Blue" paint could not suppress their pathological lust for war.