Besides the Astra Militarum, other departments were also preparing for war.
The Titan Legions were also urgently deploying their Titans.
Aluken watched as the massive transport ships slowly descended.
The ground crews of the Titan Legions did the same.
With fervent gazes, they welcomed humanity's immortal war gods.
The upper parts of the Titans were encased in metres-thick cable-like tendrils.
The first thing to catch the eye was their massive legs, each one like a castle tower, its surface riddled with gun ports.
Scars from countless wars were left upon them.
Next came the broad torso and armoured chest.
The Titans were sculpted in the image of man, representing humanity's martial might.
The Titans' resemblance to their creators ended there.
Powerful arms held weapons larger than buildings, hanging inertly from broad, turret-like shoulders.
Everyone was awestruck by these colossal Titans.
Wherever these terrifying entities went, they brought destruction to the enemies of mankind.
The Titans were guided into vast repair hangars for their final pre-war preparations.
Rumbling heavy cranes lowered from the ceiling.
They lifted buckets full of colossal shells and long missiles, transporting them to the loading areas of the Titans' weapon racks.
Whether it was rotary cannons of astonishing calibre, long-range howitzers, or plasma cannons capable of levelling entire cities.
Each weapon was as massive as a building.
Beside the two colossal Titans were the individual Titans of the Knights.
In comparison, the Knight Titans appeared somewhat diminutive.
Aluken smiled and strode towards a Warhound-class Titan.
He was a Titan princeps.
He commanded a Warhound-class Titan.
Of the two colossal Titans, one was his companion.
The most obvious feature of this type of Titan was the ground-shaking cannon mounted on its back, its immense power capable of vaporizing enemies.
After multiple inspections, Aluken entered the Titan's internal compartment.
Priests of the Machine cult took their stations before the flickering control panels, cautiously checking the Titan's various data readings.
Crew members moved back and forth in the cramped space.
They noticed Aluken and snapped to attention, saluting.
Aluken returned the Imperial Aquila salute, then strode past them.
Finally, he reached the cockpit, the heart of the Titan, and inserted his authentication card into the reader beside the door.
"High-ranking princeps, Aluken."
The door lock clicked faintly, followed by a chime.
The door then opened, revealing a magnificent chamber with a high vaulted ceiling.
The curved walls were forged from some kind of gleaming metal, and several openings were evenly arranged on the ceiling.
Within the chamber, hooded tech-priests and several Servitors were using neural cables to interface with the Warhound-class Titan's main control system, responsible for operating the deep core functions of the colossal machine.
Aluken stepped into the control chamber.
Two Servitors came forward, removed his clothing, and helped him lie down in the cold operational sarcophagus.
Life support equipment was attached to him.
Then nutrient fluid began to fill the sarcophagus, submerging Aluken.
The nutrient fluid would fill his lungs and every internal organ that could be filled, ensuring he could control the Titan in a fully immersive manner.
Two tech-priests in red robes appeared on either side of the sarcophagus.
Their movements were slow, yet they possessed perfect, flawless synchronicity.
One tech-priest fitted him with intricate signal-transferring gloves.
The internal sensor arrays could bond tightly with Aluken's skin, constantly reading his vital signs.
The other tech-priest placed a set of brainwave sensors on his head.
The cold metallic touch made Aluken's mind feel clearer than ever before.
"Neural link sequence initiated. Remain still, princeps." The tech-priest's voice was muffled and mechanical, devoid of emotion.
Aluken heard a soft hissing sound coming from inside the sarcophagus.
Even though he was fully submerged in nutrient fluid at this moment, he heard it clearly.
He opened his eyes and looked at the tech-priests.
They stood on either side of the sarcophagus, scarlet or blue light emanating from their bionic eyes.
Cold, mechanical, emotionless, only pure logic.
Thin metallic filaments spread and slid from the nutrient fluid, like fine tendrils.
Numerous tendrils, like silver worms, crawled along his cheeks, up to his eyes and across his scalp.
These extremely fine silver metallic filaments were much thinner than human hair.
They passed through the corners of Aluken's eyes, crawled along his optic nerves, and went directly into his skull, connecting with numerous neurons.
Other tendrils entered through the neural interfaces left in his scalp.
If Aluken's skull were opened at this moment, one would see a dense network of metallic filaments covering his entire cerebral cortex.
The fleeting cold pain inside his skull made Aluken let out a low groan.
But soon, he grew accustomed to the presence of these metallic filaments.
Aluken's eyes became unfocused.
His brain was no longer controlling his body.
Even his subconscious was no longer controlling bodily functions, maintaining only the most basic operations.
"Data transfer activated." The tech-priest's voice became incredibly ethereal.
Aluken plunged into darkness, and then another visual world opened up.
Vast amounts of information and data flowed into his mind, and the cortical tendrils filtered and channelled it, sending it to areas of the brain not typically used.
In that moment, Aluken felt as if he had gained a new body.
A body of steel possessing boundless might.
All sorts of data appeared before his eyes, displaying everything about the Warhound-class Titan.
Weapon readiness status, fuel levels, and millions of other pieces of scattered information all appeared in his mind.
In that moment, he was the Warhound-class Titan; the two had become one.
As Aluken interfaced with the Titan's main control centre, the plasma energy levels, serving as the power supply, began to steadily rise.
At Aluken's will, the Titan pointed its massive cannon towards the sky, arrogant enough to declare war on the ethereal gods.
Once ready, Aluken controlled the Titan, taking heavy steps and walking towards his battlefield.
He would become the steel war god of the battlefield, fighting for the Emperor and Guilliman.
In the Titan hangar, countless cheers erupted.
They watched the Warhound-class Titan walk out, their gazes fervent.
Such magnificent war machines significantly diminished the people's fear of the tyranids.
Astropathic Fortress.
Dozens of sarcophagi were connected together, and numerous gaunt astropaths were placed inside them.
Using special means, their souls were all linked together, entering the Empyrean.
An unparalleled shadow was approaching.
That unparalleled darkness corrupted every star system it passed through along the way, obscuring the soul-light of the celestial bodies.
They looked in the direction of Hive Fleet Behemoth.
The Imperium's astropathic communication network produced no psyker sounds, no explosive bursts of ships entering and leaving the Warp.
In the worlds that were once inhabited, the multitude of souls produced no noise, nor were there screams of dying planets.
Even the daemons that often howled in the Warp were nowhere to be found.
All they could observe was a void more terrifying than a storm and an oppressive silence.
The souls of the astropaths intertwined; they spoke together, forming a chorus.
This power attempted to penetrate this terrible darkness, to convey their plight to the great Primarch, and to bring back the information the commanders needed.
However, that terrifying Warp shadow blocked everything.
The first psyker let out a scream of pain and despair, his body convulsing in the nutrient fluid.
Then came the second, and the third.
They all let out cries of anguish.
The terrifying shadow blocked all their attempts to communicate outwards.
Just like a seasoned hunter takes away all escape opportunities from its prey.
Any astropath's soul attempting to send out a resonance would suffer severe trauma.
A Chapter Librarian watched their screams, and after a moment, he made a decision.
"Enough. Cut the link."
At his command, the numerous astropaths' connection to the Empyrean was severed.
Their chorus ended with it.
"They are here, lord," an astropath with some strength left said, clinging to the sarcophagus wall.
"I will inform Lord Calgar," the Librarian said.
The tactical centre, located in the upper levels of the Hive City fortress.
Pale yellow sunlight shone through the six-metre-thick bulletproof glass.
The fortress had been reinforced, strong enough to withstand devastating strikes.
Through the transparent bulletproof glass, Calgar could see the endless sprawl of Hive City buildings.
There were hundreds of people in the tactical centre, all quietly remaining at their stations.
Silently fulfilling their duties as components of the war machine.
Over a dozen independent command teams were situated near the central holographic globe of the tactical centre.
Responsible for monitoring every aspect of the system's defence.
Each one was an Imperial hero with rich combat experience and extraordinary renown.
They fought in the darkness to protect humanity, fulfilling their duties faithfully until death.
These great Imperial heroes were all awaiting Calgar's command.
Meanwhile, Calgar sat upon the throne crafted for him, his gaze fixed on the holographic globe.
The holographic globe depicted the system.
The colossal star still slowly rotated like a fireball.
Appearing utterly indifferent to the terrifying battle that was about to come.
This was a deeply saddening thing.
The Imperium of Man possessed a million worlds and was considered by every man and woman to be the most powerful entity that had ever existed.
Yet, to the universe, the Imperium of Man was insignificant.
Looking back to the earliest period when sapient life first appeared, the stars were still young.
The Warp was also calm and waveless, and fear had not yet extended its tendrils into the material realm.
Since then, the Imperium of Man was merely the most recent in a series of similar realms that had been established.
The eldar and necrons would always say with disdain that humans were merely savage monkeys, bringing nothing but bloody conflict to the galaxy.
Yet they completely forgot the various terrible things they themselves had done to the universe.
Were it not for them, the universe would certainly not be this terrible.
The first stellar civilization established by humanity was destroyed by the terrifying remnants left behind by those ancient races who claimed to be civilized and advanced.
The second imperial civilization also paid a heavy price for this; the ashes of the dead filled the gears of history, and countless humans paid the price for the crises caused by those ancient xenos races.
All men and women huddled together, bearing the unbearable weight of life.
Countless humans were born into this dark, terrifying, and bloody era, fighting for survival.
Chaos sought by any means to utterly crush humanity, to completely enslave this wretched and pathetic race.
xenos races also surged from all directions, attempting to dismember this Imperium.
A hurried, heavy footsteps sounded, and a primaris space marine walked in.
Calgar drew back his thoughts.
Humanity never needed to be defined or acknowledged by any race or entity.
They would overcome all hardships and ultimately defeat all enemies.
This fact would never change.
"Lord, the tyranids are here," the primaris space marine said. "The astropaths have observed their arrival."