The shuttle leaves Mars orbit and enters a stable route to Holy Terra.
Inside the ship, Osiris' processor was running at high speed, analyzing the data provided by the future warrior Reid and cross-referencing it with the fragmented information about Eldar's prophecy.
Catherine maintained the vigilant posture of a battle nun, silently monitoring the security situation inside the cabin.
The voyage was conducted with absolute secrecy and high efficiency.
Thanks to Osiris' special privileges and the Mechanicus' internal identification code, the shuttle carrying unconventional passengers arrived at Holy Terra without much scrutiny and was granted permission to land at the designated dock in the Royal Palace area.
Upon setting foot on Terra, Reid and Catherine tried their best to remain calm, but Osiris still accurately recorded the subtle fluctuations in physiological readings captured by the power armor sensors of the souls from ten thousand years in the future as they witnessed the palace defenses and imperial atmosphere of this era.
This is a shock to the face of "history," even though they themselves are the defenders of the future of this history.
Without delay, led by Osiris, the group passed through layers of tight security and headed directly to Rogal Dorn's command center. The heavy adamantite doors slid open silently after identity verification, revealing a vast, cold, pragmatic space filled with tactical star maps and data streams.
Rogue Dorn's massive figure stood with his back to the entrance before the largest dynamic star map, which marked several critical threat nodes within the Empire's territory that urgently needed to be addressed.
He didn't turn around, but his overwhelming presence filled the entire hall, inspiring awe like a mountain.
"Magos Osiris." Dorn's voice was like the friction of rocks. He slowly turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping over Osiris before landing on the three people behind him.
His gaze lingered on Eldar of the Eldar for a moment, icy cold, carrying undisguised scrutiny and natural hostility. But when he saw Reid's unusually tall, clearly marked black Templar power armor and the Imperial eagle emblem on Catherine's battle nun's uniform, his hostility subsided slightly, transforming into a deeper inquiry.
"Primarch," Osiris' synthesized voice broke the silence smoothly, "The matter is urgent, involving the future safety of the Empire and a major Xeno conspiracy, so we brought them here directly without prior notice."
Dorn raised his chin slightly, signaling Osiris to continue.
Osiris succinctly recounted the ambush by elite Dark Eldar assassins on Mars, emphasizing the scale and targeting of the attack, and pointing out that the consequences would have been unpredictable had it not been for the timely assistance of the three men before him.
"Then," Osiris' optical lens turned to Reid and Catherine, "they claimed to be from Imperial Calendar 782.M41, having been accidentally stranded here due to a warp storm."
This is Reid, a high-ranking knight of the Black Templar Order; this is Catherine, belonging to the reorganized Battle Sisters unit.
Finally, he pointed to Elendil: "And this Eldar, Elendil, from the world of Ulthwé's Ark, was commissioned by its Council of Farseers, claiming to be here to protect me, and to address a 'fate disturbance' that concerns the very survival of the Eldar."
Dorn listened in silence, his face expressionless, but the air pressure in the command center seemed to drop even lower.
Imperial warriors from the future? Cooperation with the Eldar? Any single factor would be enough to raise the highest alert level for a Primarch.
"Evidence." Dorn's voice was cold and firm, leaving no room for argument.
Reid stepped forward, and even in front of Dorn, his tall, enhanced physique, reinforced by futuristic technology, still stood out.
He reopened the Thinker interface on his power armor: "Primarch, my armor contains a complete flight log with anomalies in the time coordinates. In addition, it contains a summary of operational information regarding... the Twelfth Black Expedition, as well as some key node data from the 'War of the Beasts'."
These things are unknown in the present era.
Catherine also provided her data interface, adding: "There are also details about the Silent Order's reorganization and expansion, as well as a draft tactical manual for dealing with large-scale alien wars, which was developed much later than the present."
Dorn didn't check it himself. He tilted his head slightly, and a guard silently stepped forward, connecting the portable data terminal to the interface provided by Reid and Catherine for quick verification.
A moment later, the Guardsman nodded slightly to Dorn. Although his expression behind his metal mask was unknown, this gesture itself indicated the anomaly and potential authenticity of the data.
Dorn's gaze returned to Reid, this time with a more intense scrutiny, the kind of scrutiny a Primarch would show upon his own offspring: "Your size, Brother Reid, far exceeds the current Astartes standard."
"Yes, Primarch." Reid's voice was filled with absolute respect, but neither humble nor arrogant. "This is… the general physiological standard of the new generation of Astartes in the future, thanks to the successful completion of the systematic optimization and standardization improvement project of the gene seed led by Magos Osiris."
Bone density, muscle strength, nerve reaction speed, and organ function have all been significantly improved, and the average height has reached 3 meters.
More importantly, while maintaining absolute loyalty and rationality, psionic resistance was enhanced, and controllable, low-level psionic potential development was achieved for auxiliary defense and battlefield awareness.
As he spoke, a soft blue aura of psionic energy once again emanated from his palm, stable and restrained, without any sense of chaotic filth, but rather carrying a precise, controlled technological beauty.
Dorn's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He remained skeptical of psychic powers, the Emperor's warnings to psykers still ringing in his ears.
But what Reid demonstrated was not uncontrollable witchcraft, but rather a bio-energy application that had been tamed and instrumentalized by technology.
This is unlike any form of psionic energy he has ever known.
"Comprehensive physiological enhancement… controllable psionic potential…" Dorn repeated in a low voice, his sharp gaze seemingly piercing through Reid's power armor, looking directly at the biological structure beneath. "What is the price? Stability? Will the faith in the Emperor remain pure?"
"The stability has been rigorously verified and is superior to the current gene seed," Reid answered without hesitation. "And loyalty to the Emperor and humanity is the deepest core instruction implanted in the gene seed, which has never wavered and will never waver in the future."
Primarch, we are still the Emperor's Angels of Death, only... more efficient.
Dorn was silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to Elendil. "So, Eldar. Why does your race interfere in human affairs? What exactly does this so-called 'disruption of fate' refer to? And what is the root cause of the Dark Eldar's attack?"
Elendil maintained the elegance and composure characteristic of Eldar under Dorn's gaze, even though she could sense the power in that gaze that was enough to destroy stars.
"Lord Rogal Dorn," she said in a relatively neutral and respectful tone, "in human terms, at some point in the future, a discovery made by Magos Osiris will indirectly lead to a change in a key variable that affects the fate of the entire Eldar race."
For the Eldar, who seek order and revival, this signifies that we may be able to escape the eternal curse of Slaanesh and find a new path to survival.
For the Dark Eldar, who rely on pain and fear to survive, this means that the very foundation of their existence has been completely shaken. The Lord of Pleasure will no longer 'protect' them, and their souls will be devoured instantly.
Therefore, the rulers of Comoros spared no expense to eliminate the 'variable' of Osiris before the crucial discovery occurred.
Her words were clear and calm, bringing a cross-racial struggle for survival to the forefront.
"The Council of the Farseers of Ulthwé foresaw the actions of the Dark Eldar, and also foresaw that only through limited cooperation with you," she looked at Osiris, "and with the specific forces of the human empire of this era, could we ensure that the future that is in our favor be realized. Protecting Magos Osiris until he completes that crucial exploration is my core mission."