In the 4th month of the year 842, the fleet of the Eleventh Legion arrived at Moab.
Inside the primarch's palace aboard the Shadow's Sovereignity, Nareth listened with a faint smile as Pell delivered his report.
With the occupation of Moab, the Eleventh Legion now controlled the entire transportation hub of the Coronid Deeps.
In Nareth's memories, Moab had always been the transport center of the Mitu Conglomerate.
Even after the Emprium established the Coronid New Zone and built the Abyss Port, Moab remained the second-largest hub world in the region, a mandatory passage between the Cyclops Cluster and Manache.
"My lord, so far, the Eleventh Chapter has lost a total of two thousand five hundred and sixty Shadow of Order marines."
"Over two thousand of them fell during the assault on Moab."
Nareth's eyes dimmed.
The Eleventh Chapter had participated in the First Randan War, and its losses had been replaced after the war, bringing its numbers above twenty thousand.
Now, after suffering the most severe casualties in its history, its numbers had dropped to seventeen thousand nine hundred.
'It will take two to three rounds of recruitment to restore it to twenty thousand.'
As Nareth pondered, Pell continued his briefing:
"After void-battle testing, the improved Rangdan counterfeit-reading device has been successfully verified. The Mitu cannot distinguish our disguises."
After thinking briefly, Nareth spoke.
"Your chapter has suffered heavy losses. It is unwise to deploy it in direct frontal combat."
"I have decided to grant you Cyclothrathe. Use your expertise in ship modification to sweep the surrounding region of Mitu vessels and take control of that world."
As Nareth spoke, Arsena manipulated his control staff, projecting a holographic starmap and highlighting Cyclothrathe's location.
"The Mitu never developed Cyclothrathe, but the planet holds rich mineral deposits. It will be the most valuable world for future development in the Coronid Deeps."
In Nareth's memory, Cyclothrathe, still a primitive world now, would later rise rapidly and become a Forge World.
Though its production capacity was below Mezoa and Incaladion, only a second-tier Forge World, it was still worth more than most worlds in the Cyclops Cluster.
And in the later Heresy, Cyclothrathe would side with Horus, becoming one of the bases of the future Dark Mechanicum.
'So Cyclothrathe belongs to me.'
'Its resources may not rival the Triken system, but it exceeds Vostonia's.'
"By your will, my lord," Pell answered.
Though disappointed he could not take part in the Manachean campaign, the Black Emperor's words made him understand Cyclothrathe's significance.
"My lord, in Moab I discovered a species of chicken with golden feathers all over its body."
"Wherever it appears, its presence brings warm light to freezing Moab, as if sunlight were shining down. The locals call them Sun-Plume Chickens."
"I thought you might be interested, so I brought five."
At the mention of Sun-Plume Chickens, Nareth's eyes flashed.
'The main ingredient for the Sequence 7 'Solar High Priest' potion.'
"You were thoughtful. I'll examine your gift later."
After Pell left, Nareth turned toward the rogue trader accompanying the Chapter, Lewis von Valancius.
"Lewis, the starmaps and intelligence you brought back from the Coronid Deeps greatly aided our campaign against the Mitu xenos. You deserve a reward."
"In the Cyclops Cluster, there are one hundred and five human-habitable worlds. Seventy-two remain undeveloped. You may choose any three; they will belong to House von Valancius."
"Zavarich is also yours. I expect you to restore its production as soon as possible. As an agricultural world, it must supply food to the worlds of the Cyclops Cluster."
To motivate the rogue trader to continue serving him, Nareth allocated four planets to him for development.
"My lord, I will strive even harder to discover more worlds for you," Lewis said excitedly.
House von Valancius had already received ships and tremendous wealth for past achievements.
Though the four worlds would require investment, the family could bear the cost.
Lewis felt overjoyed. Unlike past profit shares, this time House von Valancius would finally have its own foundation.
He steadied himself and bowed.
"My lord, I wish to take part in the Manachean campaign, to cut down the abhorrent xenos who enslave and slaughter our human kin."
Lewis could not forget how the Mitu massacred humans, treating them as fuel of flesh and blood.
He refused to remain a mere bystander in this war.
"Your courage is commendable. I grant your request," Nareth nodded. He did not want to lose such a valuable explorer.
"Arsena, take him to my private armory. Let him select ring-weapons and protective orbs."
"As you command, my lord," Arsena replied, guiding Lewis to the Primarch's private armory.
Nareth turned to Gios Vyronii with a smile.
"Gios, are you adapting well?"
"My lord, being at your side has taught me much." Gios's eyes shone. Back in Damaetus, he only felt the overwhelming might of a primarch.
Now, accompanying Nareth, the young knight had learned many things.
He believed that once he became the Grand Master of Damaetus, he could bring transformative change to the shattered knight-world.
The "Baron of Corruption" watched Gios. He could already sense the barrier between his spirituality and his potion thinning, slowly merging.
'After ascending to Corruption Baron, the new followers I kept with me, Lian Ramilies and Lewis von Valancius, were loyal to me to a fault. Their roles had little effect, giving me almost no feedback.'
'But Gios is different. The 'corrosion' is working. I've already digested part of the potion.'
As Nareth reflected, Gios bowed.
"My lord, my knight mech has been repaired by the tech-priests accompanying the legion."
"I wish to take part in the Manachean battle."
Seeing even a rogue trader volunteer for battle, he refused to fall behind.
His ship's machine-spirit longed for war and glory.
"I look forward to your performance. You will open the new era of Vyronii."
After ending the meeting, Nareth went to his private vault.
Upon seeing the five golden-plumed chickens, he confirmed they were indeed the primary material for the "Solar High Priest."
He ordered the Shadows of Order remaining on Moab to collect more Sun-Plume Chickens.
At the doors of the Primarch's private armory, the Arsena placed his hand on the scanner.
A black keyboard popped up.
After a brief moment of memory recall, Arsena entered the encrypted sequence, one that changed every eleven minutes.
With a series of metallic clanks, the obsidian doors thundered open.
"Only my lord and I can open this door."
"But only a select few permitted by my lord may enter."
"Thank you for this honor," Lewis said emotionally as he followed inside.
His vision was instantly filled, weapon racks held firearms and melee weapons crafted like masterworks.
To his eye, any one of these weapons could be an heirloom for House von Valancius.
He reminded himself that most were meant for a primarch, or at minimum a Shadow of Order, before calming down.
Following Arsena, Lewis arrived at a corner of the armory, where rows of rings and protective spheres lined the shelves.
"You may choose freely, in any quantity, so long as you can carry them."
Knowing the Black Emperor valued Lewis, Arsena encouraged him to take more.
Lewis cautiously chose only five protective orbs and two ring-weapons. He did not want to appear greedy.
Arsena frowned, then personally strapped two more protective orbs onto him and handed him five more ring-weapons.
"You deserve this," he said, cutting off Lewis's protest. "Your safety is a matter of importance to my lord."
Lewis's face filled with gratitude.
"I will not fail Lord Nareth's expectations. House von Valancius shall serve His Majesty for generations."
In the 5th month of 842, the Eleventh Legion's fleet set sail for the Manachean system.
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