"This Ship Now Belongs to the Imperium of Man"

Thud! Thud!

The bulkhead in Section C groaned under the unbearable weight of the Iron Cavalry-pattern Terminators' magnetic boots.

Six steel Colossi strode out of the Assault Craft, each step leaving a distinct dent in the alloy deck.

"Beacon deployed."

The oldest Carcharodons veteran reported over the comm channel, his voice carrying the mechanical coldness unique to his kind.

Then, with a click, the Power Claw on his left arm unfolded, though the Plasma Field remained inactive.

Behind him, a fist-sized Holographic Beacon floated in midair, projecting a dark-blue coordinate grid.

Tap, tap!

At that moment, hurried footsteps came from the end of the corridor.

Nearly a hundred fully armed UED Marines formed a defensive formation around the corner, their Power Armor dull beneath the dim lighting.

The commander at their head had just raised his arm—

"Fire—"

Bang—! Bang bang—!

The thunderous roar of 1.0-caliber Bolt Rounds tearing through the air instantly drowned out every other sound.

The Carcharodons veterans fired simultaneously with their right arms, their linked Boltguns spewing tongues of deathly flame.

The first volley blew the upper bodies of more than a dozen Marines in the front row into bloody mist, shredding their reinforced armor as easily as paper.

If they had been Astartes from the Flame Salamanders or Lamenters Chapters, they might have begun with suppressive fire, giving these "mortal" soldiers a chance to surrender.

They would have used nonlethal weapons to knock out their targets, or precisely struck their limbs to render them unable to fight—

After all, before Imperial biotechnology, any injury could be healed as long as a person still had a breath left.

There was even an unwritten "rule" among the various Legions: warriors favored by the Emperor, and even "mortals," could return from the dead.

But the Carcharodons had never