Drop pods rained down like a meteor shower on Thule's hidden docks.
Nathaniel Garro, commander of the Dusk Raiders, landed and immediately saw the towering flames of an exploding fuel tank.
A blazing blue beam streaked past the fire, striking the bubble-dome.
Garro raised his bolt pistol, firing, and drew his master-crafted power sword, Libertas.
"They are the Shadows of Order. Support them!"
The Dusk Raiders raised their boltguns, unleashing a storm of fire at the automata.
Garro swung Libertas, tracing arcs of death.
Kaleb Arin led the Honour Guard, following his lead.
The automata's hydraulic bodies turned, their beam weapons blazing, striking the last suits of Cataphractii-pattern Terminator armor forged at Mondus Occulam.
The cutting beams hammered the new armor.
Sparks flew. The armor was scorched, but the Terminators advanced.
They followed the ancient battle doctrine of the 14th Legion, advancing in perfect formation, relentlessly.
Garro watched the automata breaking into the dome. He strode forward.
His wrist turned. Libertas danced.
The blue blade crackled, tracing arcs. As Garro fought, an unnatural chill, a wind of the dead, seeped through his Terminator armor.
He followed his instincts, looking towards the bubble-dome, from which the cold wind emanated.
Rows of servitors stood frozen, as if shut down.
'Psychic power?' Garro's eyes narrowed.
He knew the Shadows of Order had many psykers. They had been a primary target at the Council of Nikaea.
His father had railed against the dangers of psychic powers, and the Emperor had agreed, issuing the ban.
Garro pushed the thought aside. Now was not the time to worry about the Emperor's edict.
To fight the Warmaster and the traitors, they needed weapons. Including psychic ones.
He strode forward; his sword strikes growing more ferocious.
Bang!
As Garro entered the bubble-dome, it was like stepping into another world.
Crackle!
His boots crunched on the ice. Frost formed on his visor.
"My lord." Caleb's voice.
"There are only seven of them. No armor."
Garro's gaze swept over the seven sturdy warriors, lingering on their hands.
Some held lasguns. Some held blades no larger than a combat knife.
They had clearly fought thousands of automata with mismatched, scavenged weapons.
'High ranking Librarians. Their killing power is truly astonishing.'
'Perhaps we really will need their power to win this war.'
A warrior, his skin as pale and cold as a Death Guard's, walked to him.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the patch of deep red and a faded insignia among the scorched black. "Are you lord Nathaniel Garro?"
"Yes." Garro suppressed the deep-seated revulsion his Legion's culture felt towards psykers.
His gaze swept over the carnage. "Your squad's performance is impressive."
His eyes narrowed. He saw a Shadow of Order crouched beside a dead warrior.
The Shadow of Order murmured something in a language he didn't know. Then, he broke a pale finger from the corpse.
The finger was wreathed in shadows, pulsing with a strange energy.
'The dead Shadow of Order was a psyker?'
'Is his finger a relic charged with psychic power?'
"I thank you for your praise." The Shadow of Order walked to Garro, blocking his view.
"Our father's gift to you is outside." The Shadow of Order said, walking out.
Garro asked no questions. Unfamiliar with them, he chose to respect their customs.
He followed the Shadow of Order through the archway.
A ship, far larger than the Endurance, came into view.
Its prow was a lance, its broad wings like those of a bird of prey, displaying its mechanical might.
Three massive landing decks, as sharp as the trident of ancient Terran legend, bristled with rows of laser cannons along its dark sides.
Defensive turrets studded its dorsal and ventral spines. Its torpedo tubes held the power of destruction.
"I heard from Lucius that the Fabricator General had built ships comparable to the Gloriana-class in secret."
"I didn't believe him until I saw it with my own eyes."
He looked at the Shadow of Order. "Lord Nareth is truly giving this ship to me?"
"Yes, lord Nathaniel. You should take possession of your flagship immediately."
"Perhaps you could begin by naming it."
Garro nodded, considering the advice.
"The Dusk Raiders' tradition: we call each other the Indomitable Ones."
"Lord Nareth's guidance has led us to this gift. We will always remember the gift of the Monarch of Vostorya."
"I will name it the Indomitable Monarch."
The Dusk Raiders shouted in unison: "The Monarch, ever victorious, never broken."
"Father, ever victorious, never broken!" the Shadows of Order echoed.
In the fourth layer of the Kingdom of Disorder.
Lucius knelt on one knee. "My Lord, Nathaniel has received a Abyss-class Battleship. In thanks to You, he has named it the Indomitable Monarch."
"My new flagship has been named the Monarch's Blade."
Nareth looked down at Lucius, who wished to be his flawless blade, and nodded.
'Lorgar, having lost the Blessed Lady and the Trisagion, your fleet is severely diminished. It cannot compare to mine.'
'Even compared to the Imperial Fists, you only have a numerical advantage.'
'Lorgar, after becoming the champion of the Four, had greatly expanded his fleet.
Before the Heresy, his number of battleships had surpassed the Imperial Fists' fifteen hundred. With the three Abyss-class ships Kelbor-Hal had built for Horus, he had also surpassed the Imperial Fists in quality.'
'But now, all three Abyss-class ships were mine.'
'Hmm... if Lorgar still attacks Guilliman's domain, I've helped him out.'
He remembered that the Blessed Lady and the Trisagion had attacked Armatura.
Their devastating fire had easily destroyed one of the Imperium's most heavily defended worlds, shattering Armatura.
'Lorgar, if your flagship, the Fidelitas Lex, is destroyed on Nuceria by Guilliman's reprisal, you won't have the Trisagion as a new flagship.'
'It would be a pity to destroy them. When I kill Angron, I might have a chance to take Angron's Conqueror and Lorgar's Fidelitas Lex.'
Lucius continued. "The new Fabricator General has returned to Terra with Keon."
"He hopes to gain the Regent and the Council of Terra's help in retaking Mars."
"After the Hessen Cartel took over the Thule shipyard, fifty-two thousand Jovian Grenadiers have joined us."
"Good. You will return to Mars immediately. Execute the final task there." Nareth ordered.
"Take down the rebels' largest manufacturing complex: Mondus Gamma."
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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