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Upon receiving the new coordinates the ships of the Mechanicum began to change their direction. While the change was moderately dramatic the fine tuned solution could only have been employed by the priests of the Mechanicum.
The Mitu Collection surely realized the change in direction and began moving for interception. TalOS was sure they were predicting they were going to hide behind the planet to use it as a makeshift shield against their assault. That would surely have been TalOS’s own first thought.
Normally when someone uses astral bodies to defend their ships it involves a certain decision. This decision was whether to flush out the enemy or let them fester behind their makeshift shielding. When it came down to it sieging stellar craft that were warp capable was something really stupid to do as once their manner of entering the Warp was allowed they could easily exit into it.
Thus, TalOS forced them to make only one decision in trying to flush them out of his defence. This meant that the Mitu would not only mistaken this as a retreat but also have to get closer to the planet as it was the most optimal path to take.
A total of seven Tartarus ships were lost as TalOS finally got a full view of the planet they were approaching. The place looked to be a frozen world being covered in a thick layer of white snow at the moment. It was a larger than average sized planet, which meant it had a greater than average gravitational pull.
It was gradual over a minute, but once they began to turn he felt the full force of the planet. The planet, though thoughtless, was trying its damndest to tear apart the numerous ships that were now caught in its gravitational orbit. If they were just a few meters closer they likely would have been drawn into the gravity well and become a wreckage.
They did not, and for a moment they traveled without a single bolt of plasma striking them. This backwater world acted as a shield against the incoming fleet that would have surely killed many more if they had attacked directly. Instead as the Mechanicum flowed over the planet the ships were getting closer. This meant that they were several minutes of movement of travel where the Mitu themselves were closing the gap and giving the Mechanicum no cost for such movement.
TalOS allowed himself a breath. As they began to pass the planet’s single moon he knew what would happen. His blood and pumping and the desire for destruction was starting to erupt through it. This was an influence of Particep Semper surely, but he could not deny the feeling he got when a plan was coming together.
