Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 38: Bloodbath (2)

After the smooth, calm Warp transit ended, as the Starfire hauled itself out of the shimmering madness, it brought with it supernatural terror. The entire hull shuddered and groaned, like a predator thundering out from the calm surface of the sea, surrounded by dying halos.

Probing the new surrounding environment, the auspex arrays continued their chiming. The blurry, incomplete aquamarine holographic layout of the M'Khand System was slowly manifesting on the holographic screen before the command throne on the bridge.

Soshyan stood before his throne, flanked by Lothar and three other squad leaders, with the High Chaplain also standing aside.

"We are still 2 hours away from high orbit."

Lothar said, wanting to focus on the tactical briefing.

"Initial scans indicate a ship in our forward path. We are still attempting to identify it. Considering the possibility of a skirmish, we are loading macrocannon data and calculating the probability of hitting wreckage within the gravity well's range."

In front of the screen, Soshyan listened carefully. Yazdan Shahinian, clad in black battle armor, nodded thoughtfully. The independent squad leaders were also learning to conduct tactical analysis.

"According to the message relayed back by the Astropath, the orbital defense station above that planet seems to have activated."

Lothar continued, tapping a rune embedded in the holographic control panel, causing the 3D projection of the orbital station to highlight.

"We received a warning signal, along with some static. The weapons on the orbital station have not been activated. Considering the possibility of an invasion, there might still be survivors aboard.""Someone got here first?"

Armin grumbled a sentence.

"Has it been confirmed that they are under attack?"

Soshyan, however, remained more cautious. He hadn't seen any traces of battle, and the auspexes hadn't scanned any battlefield debris either. It was very difficult for an orbital defense station to fall silently.

This sounded quite unbelievable.

"There is no clear evidence yet, but that slowly moving ship might be able to give us the answer."

"Time waits for no man; we must act swiftly."

Yazdan said, his skull helm dipping in a nod.

"It seems our initial plan doesn't need to change."

Soshyan quickly made up his mind.

"If the orbital station sending the signal is still resisting, it will become our base of operations."

As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the 3D projection of the orbital station, seeming wanting to carve it into his brain.

"If they're not, we will retake it. According to standard practice, outgoing supplies are stored in the orbital station's temporary warehouses. We will go in there and take our cargo, no matter what stands in our way."

The gathered Space Marines nodded in silence.

"Before doing that, we first need to board that ship and see exactly what happened. Perhaps it will help us understand what we have to face later."

Soshyan shifted his gaze to Farzad and Ustad.

"Your squads will accompany me to board that ship."

"Yes!"

"Sir..."

Armin spoke up, but the moment he uttered the following words, Soshyan cut him off.

"Your squad will serve as the reserve, ready to respond to any unexpected situations at any time."

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately accepted this order.

"Prepare quickly. Assemble at the torpedo launch bays in 10 minutes."

The Astral Knights quickly made preparations for war. For many of the recruits, this was their first official battle wearing power armor as a Space Marine. Previously, most of them had only participated in battles as Scouts.

While the armory slaves and artisans busily equipped the warriors, the deck was filled with the scraping of battle armor, the whistling of servo-motors, and the prayers accompanying the affixing of Purity Seals.

Soshyan flexed his metal gauntlets, observing the fingers etched with complex, tiny seals, and felt that perfect synchronous response.

The power armor he was wearing now was not the one he wore during his service, nor was it the one he repaired after the World Engine Campaign. This armor was actually his predecessor's predecessor's predecessor's Chapter Master's armor, and had always been preserved in the secret chamber.

This was a suit of Mark VIII Artificer Armor. Regardless of whether it was protection or functionality, it was far more powerful than his previous suit.

Not only did it add a gorget, the torso and limbs also had lightning-like engravings. Combined with the Astral Knights' silver-grey primary color, he was like lightning accumulating energy within dark clouds, ready to release immense destructive power at any moment.

Upon wearing it for the first time, Soshyan realized how different the machine spirit of this armor was from his old suit. It possessed an incredible drive, as if urging him to fight.

After the servitor affixed a Purity Seal onto his right pauldron, Soshyan donned his helmet, allowing the auto-senses to link with himself.

Despite already having an Iron Halo, Soshyan still tried to make himself look as much like the other warriors as possible.

No matter who it was before, he was the current Chapter Master now.

The warriors would look to him as an example.

"Farzad."

The vox-caster in Soshyan's helmet crackled. The squad commander turned from他的formation and bowed his head in salute.

"Are your recruits ready to be stained with blood?"

Soshyan asked, casting his gaze over the assembled recruits.

Those lined-up silver-armored warriors caused Soshyan to once again recall the scene on the Storm. But back then they had a full seven hundred-plus warriors; now, there were only twenty.

"They are ready, Chapter Master!"

Farzad said, looking at his squad members with his echo eyes. He could see that some of the recruits were still trembling slightly due to the impending battle.

For a split second, Soshyan remembered the days right after his augmentation when he served in the 10th Company as a recruit.

They too should have spent some time honing themselves in the 10th Company, but cruel reality forced them to mature quickly, and such maturity would very likely come at the cost of blood. But Soshyan had no choice but to do this.

His helmet concealed his desolate expression.

"Very good, Assault Sergeant, you will operate alongside me, pushing directly into the bridge."

Farzad lowered his head once more.

"By your command, Chapter Master."

"Ustad."

Another squad leader stepped forward, bowing his head.

"You and your men will sweep the engine room."

"By your command, Chapter Master."

The prepared squads immediately crossed the armory, heading toward the launch bays.

Every warrior had been detailed on the operational doctrines and tactical reports, environment overviews, and enemy analysis. They all knew why they were here and what was required of them.

At that moment, Soshyan's comm-bead rang again, and Lothar's voice came through.

They were currently passing through the asteroid belt; they still needed a little more time.

More importantly, the ship in the void had suddenly stopped. Lothar felt Soshyan ought to come listen; they had received some strange signals.

"Report to Launch Bay One, warriors."

Soshyan told them.

"I must return to the bridge to make a decision. I will join you when I reach the designated position."

With that, he left the assembly point. As he walked down the corridor toward the bridge, the Starfire began to shudder.

The strike cruiser's weapon arrays had ignited. The incessant sonic waves of macrocannon fire and lance blasts shook the surrounding space.

The fleet was traveling through the system's asteroid belt. Until they could cause any sustained damage, a barrage to clear the path and shatter the frozen rocks was necessary. The strike cruiser's void shields effectively defended against the debris that shattered into a million pieces against it, although occasionally the interior lighting of the ship would dim slightly following a particularly tricky impact.