Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 34: M'Khand II

After leaving the armory, Soshyan passed through a spacious corridor, arriving at the rear section of the warship.

Upon exiting the corridor, a hall with a dome made of black stone appeared ahead. At the other end of the hall was a series of massive windows.

There was nothing in the very center of the windows. Through them, Soshyan watched the orange trail outside gradually blend into a magnificent, colorful torrent. The vortex in the distance was also dyed with a touch of pink—in the Warp, all colors were undefinable by language.

The edges of the hall's windows were all stained with color, painted with images of Space Marines, and the Emperor was omnipresent.

He gazed down from an alcove, supported by meticulously arranged stone pillars, pointing His sword toward the sky.

This was the chapel aboard the Starfire, which simultaneously served as the temporary monastery for the Space Marines.

Imperial warships might lack weapons, but they would undoubtedly have a chapel. It was the best way to maintain the sailors' loyalty and morale during long voyages, and also another guarantee for Warp navigation—the Emperor's gaze would watch over these ships sailing through the dangerous sea.

Most of the artwork on the dome depicted scenes of Space Marines waging war, recuperating, studying martial arts, and making sacrifices.

And on the face of the Emperor, who occupied a prominent position, there was an indescribable sorrow that struck straight at Soshyan's soul.

He was looking downward, His left hand extended forward, blessing His sons.Soshyan continued forward. It was completely empty here, with no menials or servitors, because the monastery was the spiritual home of the Space Marines and their most private sanctuary, where mortals were absolutely forbidden to set foot.

Subsequently, a set of black steel doors was pulled open. Soshyan entered a small chapel—there were many such small chapels in the monastery, where Space Marines experiencing inner turmoil would come to confess to a Chaplain.

A solitary beam of light pierced through the thick walls, illuminating the center of the small chapel, while thirty yards away on the opposite side was a rose-red window.

The walls here were carved from black stone blocks, inlaid with many rare minerals, with gold and silver adorning everything.

Soshyan stopped in the center of the light, knelt on one knee, and looked up at the golden Aquila emblem.

Beneath the Aquila were six banners. One was the Chapter banner. The other five were respectively the company banners of the First, Third, Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Companies. These had all been recovered from the wreckage of the World Engine, and not a single one was intact.

Soshyan did not utter a word, merely gazing quietly.

It wasn't until half an hour later that a series of light footsteps interrupted him.

"I came here to meditate."

Soshyan did not turn back; he knew who had come.

"Forgive me for saying so, but you have already spent enough time on this. As mortals often say, let bygones be bygones."

Yazdan Shahinian, wearing a skull-faced helm and power armor already dyed black, appeared behind Soshyan.

"You are our Chapter Master now. You must hold yourself accountable."

Soshyan stood up and turned to look at Yazdan Shahinian, the Chapter Chaplain.

His power armor had been entirely dyed black, every single inch, and was inscribed with dense litanies from boots to neck.

Clutched in his right gauntlet was a Crozius Arcanum, its head in the shape of the golden Imperial Aquila, its unactivated power field glimmering softly.

"Lothar just informed me that M'Khand II is approaching."

Yazdan continued:

"Are you ready, Chapter Master."

As the High Chaplain of the Chapter, in principle, although Yazdan was under Soshyan's jurisdiction, in reality, he existed outside the simple superior-subordinate relationship.

Because he was responsible for the souls and thoughts of the entire Chapter, naturally including Soshyan's.

"I am ready."

Soshyan answered powerfully, meeting Yazdan's stern gaze.

"The Chapter needs leadership now. Strong, forceful leadership, Soshyan. You cannot afford to fall into confusion at this time."

"I will maintain a clear mind at all times."

"This mission is extremely important."

Yazdan's whisper echoed in the secret chamber of the monastery.

"Our Chapter is currently like a severely ill man who has yet to recover. The body is completely dried up and cannot accept even the most minute failure. We must grasp every bit of nutrition."

"I will recover all those supplies, for the Chapter."

"This will be your first true test as Chapter Master."

"Then I welcome it, High Chaplain."

————————

Forge World M'Khand II, Terran Standard Time 0200

"These documents encompass the review of the agenda."

General Sola, Station Master of the Orbital Defence Station, rubbed his chubby hands together, then turned and said,

"Are there any more questions? Tech-Priest Loken."

These words pulled him from the boring miasma that had occupied his thoughts for the past two hours. The red-robed Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priest shook his head, which had not yet been installed with too many mechanical augments.

The strategy room was quiet. The pict-screens behind the Station Master flickered, but the lighting remained dim.

The clicking of the scribing servitor in the corner promptly ceased, for its auto-quill had finished transcribing minutes ago. The other defense force officers were staring at him.

"No questions, sir."

Loken spread his hands and said drily,

"A comprehensive and precise review. Just like always, you are simply as rigorous as a cogitator."

"Is that so?"

A young officer wearing his military cap at a slanted angle suddenly asked. The man's merciless gaze was as forceful as the blunt trauma Loken enjoyed inflicting on servitors.

"Getting your approval truly sets our minds at ease. Next time I share a holographic briefing with Tech-Priest Fara, I will be sure to convey your important perspective to him."

The other thirteen local defense force officers remained impassive, but Loken could sense their secret amusement.

He was infuriated. Most of his body was still weak organic matter, so being unable to control his emotions was perfectly normal.

Loken suppressed his anger, turning it into a respectful nod.

He used to be the Archmagos's favorite apprentice. But after his mentor died in an "accident," he very naturally fell from grace. He was kicked out of the highly promising munitions manufactorum and sent to the orbital defenses, cast aside like a discarded defective product.

Those hostile to him were all waiting for his few metal prosthetics to rust in the dust. Even the defense forces, whom he wouldn't even have spared a glance for in the past, were starting to give him looks.

"Well then."

The Station Master looked at Loken with a very amiable smile and said,

"Tech-Priest Loken, could you please further elucidate the final point I mentioned?"

"The final point, sir?"

Loken tilted his head, pretending not to understand. He had been listening to binary music through his internal earpiece the entire time.

"Yes, the one mentioned less than a minute ago."

Loken said nothing. The silence in the room stretched out to a painful, unnatural length.

Finally, it was broken by a knock on the hatch. Loken really wanted to hug whoever opened the door and give them a fierce kiss, then smear them with sacred oils and make an exception to chant a hymn for them.

"Who is it!"

The Station Master's amiable facade was instantly torn away. He roared loudly, though his gaze never left Loken.

The knocking sounded again. The Station Master frowned and flicked his auspex wand to unlock it.

The hatch slid open, and a young man wearing the uniform of the auger department quickly walked in.

"What is it?"

The Station Master scolded. The man quickly saluted.

"Emergency briefing for the Captain, sir! The auspex just sounded an alarm. The outpost augers on the edge of the system trajectory monitoring station detected an independent ship bursting into realspace from the Warp!"

"Identity?"

"We are still verifying, sir. But preliminary scans of its keel signature and identity codes indicate it... it might be the New Pharos."

"The New Pharos?"

The Station Master furrowed his brow.

"Didn't it set sail for the Ultima Segmentum a week ago?"

Although the planet M'Khand II had been in decline for a long time, it was still a Forge World. The High Lords of Terra would still issue production quotas, having it supply small arms to some fortress worlds and Astra Militarum regiments.

Moreover, M'Khand II was also one of the few Forge Worlds still capable of producing Malcador heavy tanks. While such tanks were already relatively outdated, some Astra Militarum regiments still equipped them.

"Yes, sir. That's what the captain said. We tried signaling it, but received no reply... Communications might be blocked by the asteroid belt, but they definitely received our message."

"How far out is she?"

"Just entered the asteroid belt, sir. Once she passes through, it's only a three-hour journey to the anchorage."

"Gentlemen, it seems we have a situation."

The Station Master said to the assembled officers,

"Defense systems, go to combat readiness immediately."