Thule had orbited Jupiter Shipyards for six thousand years. It hung high above the planet's gaseous surface, beyond the Galilean moons—Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, and Io.
Thule was a strangely shaped rock with weak gravity.
It had been hollowed out by Mars's enormous drilling rigs, its interior filled with vast tunnels, pipes, and chambers.
Millions of slave workers, drones, and acolytes labored within the subterranean labyrinth, transforming it into a colossal factory of forge halls and compressors.
Enormous Gravity Engines formed artificial beating hearts, their sprawling metallic tendrils breaking through the surface to support bubble-like domes.
Within one such dome on the surface, Zadkiel, Chapter Master of the Feather of the Quill, stood upon the Obsidian Lectern.
Passion filled his aristocratic features, and confidence shone in his gray eyes.
The Mentor of Chaos gripped the edge of the lectern, his majestic gaze sweeping across the thirty formations of Word Bearers below.
"The hour of dawn has come."
"Know our destiny. Heed the power of the true word."
Three thousand Word Bearers looked up at him and cried out in unison.
"Know our destiny. Heed the power of the true word."
The Mentor of Chaos slammed his fist down on the lectern. "We will cast aside falsehood and throw off the shackles of feigned loyalty."
"We will reveal ourselves and display our true glory!"
With that, he turned and strode toward the great archway behind him.
The thirty captains moved first, leading the warriors beneath them across the reinforced resin glass of the bubble dome. An immense warship filled their view, cathedrals rising from its hull, their spires piercing the stars like crooked fingers.
Around it, the Engine Seer led laborers in frantic work atop the scaffolding, while the steel pipes supporting the colossal vessel belched thick clouds of high-pressure vapor.
"Zadkiel."