Orctavius Strategic Air Transport
Badab, a planetary defense fortress port, is home to the First Command Tower.
This is a tower embedded in the Badab orbital ring, surrounded by five K3-type Divine Seal Spire. Together with the three heavy K2-type Divine Seal Spire located at the pole equator, they form the core communication base station of the Badab Sector.
Thirteen years have passed since the Red Corsairs were recruited. In these thirteen years, the Empire has launched the Maelstrom Expedition, the Plague War, and the Third Webway War.
With full pay, manpower, and logistical support, and backed by 88% of the total military output of the Serenity 50 Worlds, the Lion King led the Dark Angels and, together with Luojia, the Word Bearers, charged forward.
They led their Expeditionary Fleet, totaling 320,000 Astartes, 24 Astra Militarum, 16 Heavy Combined Arms Corps, 8 Knight Families, and 4 Titan Group, to reclaim a vast territory stretching from Ultramar Cthonia the east.
It can be said that this half of the Extreme Sector has basically fallen under the control of the empire, with only one Xenos force still putting up a stubborn resistance.
That is the Orctavius Empire, which was captivated by the extraordinary wisdom of a certain brain-dead Inquisitor, leading the Tyranid and Orks to frantically raise venomous insects.
This region, which is not much smaller than the Ultramar 500 Worlds, is located right at the border between the Sol Sector and the southern frontier of the Extreme Sector, forcing the Empire to waste a lot of military and material resources to station people there, which greatly restricts the flow of supplies in Atlas.
Ten thousand years ago, this region was an economic zone jointly governed by four legions: Atlas, the Son of the Emperor, the White Scars, and even the Salamanders. It contained numerous Industrial World, Hive World, and planetary free trade ports.
This is the birthplace of Atlas, and it was thanks to the prosperity of this sector that Atlas eventually became Galactic Mega-corporation spanning the entire Empire, single-handedly providing ample logistical support for 20 legions.
Even at its most prosperous period, the other head of the Double-headed Eagle, the Mars Adeptus Mechanicus, cooperated closely with Atlas, truly sharing the wealth.
Similarly, the present-day Ottalius Empire was once the main defensive site of the Ultimate Wall built by multiple legions led by Atlas, and it was Impregnable Defense Line protecting the Sol Sector.
This region is like Xuzhou, a strategic location fought over by military strategists since ancient times. Advancing, one could directly attack the Imperial capital and launch a surprise attack on Terra. Retreating, one could retreat to the Legion's homeworld and deliver the decisive blow.
I don't know if the High Lord was truly foolish or just pretending, but he actually chose to listen to the Inquisitor's lies and lured the Tyranid to fight the Orks in a war of attrition.
But this idiotic order was actually passed, and the Empire directly implemented a scorched earth policy, bombing countless worlds from the outer edge of the Sol Sector to form an isolation zone.
It might seem like a perfect plan: use the Tyranid to wear down the Orks, then reap the benefits later. Moreover, due to the isolation zone, the Tyranid cannot replenish their resources and venture deep into the interior; they can only engage in a war of attrition with the Orks there.
Leaving aside the question of the tactical cost of using a Baldy, whose actions were far more egregious than his own, to blow up Garden of Nurgle and cause the Yellow River to breach its banks to stop the Japanese pirates' offensive, what was the actual cost?
The cost was that the already chaotic Maelstrom region became even more chaotic, with countless homeless Imperials, or even those treated as bait and cannon fodder, rising up in rebellion, and more and more Chapter being labeled as traitors and becoming Chaos Warband.
Commissar Yarrick's assessment of Huron was the closest: Fealty was a joke, and everyone was fighting for survival.
For this old man who had lived for five centuries, he knew the state of the Empire better than anyone else, even more than Mordred, the Primarch who was only 272 years old in reality.
The old Commissar said to Mordred, "Astartes is His Majesty's sharp blade, and we are His Majesty's currency. As for Fealty, that's a joke. Anyone can say nice things, but who is truly Fealty?"
The Council, Terra, His Majesty, or the Primarch? The older the warrior, the more confused he becomes, ultimately only saying that he is loyal to humanity, loyal to the so-called Empire that has driven them to this predicament.
Huron and his Star Scythes were just a microcosm of the Maelstrom, and after paying such a heavy price, the Tyranid did indeed fight the Orks.
But the question is, can it really go that smoothly?
As time progressed to M41.029, thanks to the Webway connected the Maelstrom to the Ultramar 500 Worlds, Huron, as an important Hive World and gateway town in the Serenity 50 Worlds, could be said to have risen to prominence overnight.
From a lawless outlaw who was once unloved by his parents, he was directly recruited and whitewashed, becoming the ruler of Badab in one fell swoop, truly a winner in life.
Although the old saying goes that there are many excellent horses, but few discerning judges of horses, Huron was an exceptional horse among exceptional horses.
Despite being a Smurf with impeccable revolutionary credentials, Huron didn't care about that. He was completely indifferent to the Ultramarines, and in fact, he felt that they hadn't helped him when he was at his lowest point, except for the Great Commander Ultramarines given him a hand.
To repay the kindness shown to him, Huron led the entire Red Corsairs to join Atlas, becoming Atlas's Blackshields, inheriting the title of Blood Ravens, and recruiting a large number of down-on-their-luck brothers who had been forced to be labeled traitors. He even earned the reputation of Huron's timely rain.
In just over a decade, he transformed the Badab Sector into an impenetrable fortress, becoming a true guardian of the Maelstrom.
Mordred reciprocated by adhering to the principle of "if you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them," granting Huron immense power, making him accountable only to him and those above him, Goff and Roland.
The greatest praise and affirmation for Huron is simply to say, "Just do what's convenient. As long as you can stabilize the situation in the Maelstrom, I'll take the blame for whatever trouble you cause."
Mordred didn't have any sophisticated methods of managing subordinates, and he wasn't some Ambition Guilliman; he was just a self-taught individual.
Old Thomas was a Dog-men, incapable of those so-called political tactics, but there was one saying Mordred remembered her whole life, "Regardless of kinship, class distinctions matter; you have to live for others too."
As the Primarch, he was born into the Legion faction. All he could do was feed his subordinates well, reward them with both material and spiritual incentives, give them trust, and most importantly, make sure they were willing to take the blame.
Trust is precisely what the Space Marine lack most. In addition, Mordred is willing to speak up for his subordinates and take the blame. Even Cerberus, that idiot, gets a birthday Small Cakes every year, and he is still Primarch.
Everyone knows that following the Great Commander guarantees a life of privilege and protection from persecution. Even the former Daemon Primarch Mortarion is still alive and well, and has even rebuilt the Death Guard.
Space Marine are human too. If they can live with dignity, who would willingly choose to become a villain and fight to the death for a sip of clean water?
Seeing another Chaos Warband of a hundred men come to join him, Huron picked up a quill, dipped it in ink made from holy oil and the ashes of the Untouchables, and signed his name on the document.
"The Black Knights will undergo rigorous screening. Those with minor offenses will be sent to the Catachan training camp for reformation, while those with serious offenses will be incorporated into the Redemption Chapter, so that they may prove their Fealty with blood and action."
"What if they prove their Fealty?" the adjutant asked.
"Of course, we'll re-incorporate them into the Catachan training camp for re-education! You've been with me for so long, do you still need to ask about this? We must ensure the purity of the team. Blood Ravens can only have one voice, and that is His Excellency the Great Commander."
Valthek, remember, we've all made mistakes.
If we trace back to the source, I am an Ultramarines, you are an Iron Warriors, we are both those who are forgotten, unwanted trash, waste, bullies, and scum.
Why is Star Scythes being targeted? It's not because I need troops, nor because I don't pay taxes, and even my military expansion has been tacitly approved. It's because we don't have a powerful backer.
Only in Blood Ravens can we live openly and honestly, reclaim the honor we once craved, and do things we once wanted to do but could never do.
Remember, the Red Corsairs are dead, I said! Now we are the Blood Ravens, the only remaining Scion Chapter of Atlas.
Perhaps due to some kind of convert fanaticism, Huron went from an Ambition to the other extreme. He was unfamiliar with the Gene-Lord Guilliman; all he knew was that he was now the Blood Ravens Chapter Master – Lufgt Huron.
Like Khala Kulin, the Chapter Master of the Red Scorpions who has since been renamed Kabuto Kulin, this name was given to him by the Great Commander, who said that the King was a symbol of the dragon and a good omen.
This was just a minor incident; people come to seek refuge almost every year. If these temporary workers are included, Atlas has expanded to a population of 30,000.
Especially in the five years since many founding mother groups were upgraded to legions, all legions have been expanding on a large scale, and even Chapter have begun to be exempted from the Gene-Seed tax.
Every day, countless containers loaded with ammunition are transported to Badab and then, via the port, transshipped to the storage world surrounding the Ork Empire Orctavius.
For some unknown reason, the Mars Adeptus Mechanicus began launching cruisers at an unprecedented rate, a practice that normally took a century to complete.
Rare heavy vehicles from the Great Crusade era are no longer scarce. The claim of insufficient production is utter nonsense; they did it intentionally to control production and seize market share.
But with the establishment of Terra Vocational Technical College Mordred's open-source ancient technology from the Expedition, more and more Forge World joined the New Adeptus Mechanicus. The Mars Adeptus Mechanicus was truly alarmed; this was not open source at all, but rather their very lifeline.
Among them are Rebellious son who have been punished by Mars countless times, such as Hades 8, Lucius, Agripinaa; there are also those who betrayed their masters and ancestors, and have been at odds with Mars since ancient times, such as Ryza and Angstrom; and even Thrace...
Steel Ball, Las 3, and other little ones all got involved.
If they don't step up their game and show some promise, the head on the Imperial Double Eagles might not be the Mars Adeptus Mechanicus anymore; they'll just become Stand-in.
As for the question of where these things came from, the Mechanicus can only say that they were wrapped in oil paper beforehand, and they didn't ask for money or resources; they just wanted to contribute to the revival of the empire.
For five whole years, countless supplies were transferred to this star sector every day, and more and more weapons and ammunition piled up like mountains in the storage worlds, to the point that the continental shelves of some storage worlds began to sink.
This scale of material transport has never occurred in the empire since the end of the Great Heresy; even during the Great Crusade, only the Battle of Rangdan can be compared to it.
To carry out this strategic airlift, Atlas assembled a massive fleet of 5,555 ships, including those requisitioned from other legions and even merchant ships from Rogue Trader. This fleet accounted for 131.3% of Atlas's cargo transport needs at the time, and it was still increasing.
Everyone knows a great war is coming, but no one knows when it will break out. This is the Serenity before the storm.
As the New Year's bells rang, the camp was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. On the second day, before the festive atmosphere of the Ascension Day of the Emperor had even subsided, a military order signed by all the Primarchs arrived before Huron.
The Fourth Beast Wars has begun.