On the way to Celerus, the new Iron Wolf Great Company captain explained the situation with the second wave of Space Marines to arrive.
First, every Chapter had come to reinforce Alert Star, because the star at the heart of the Nacmund Corridor was simply too important.
But although they shared the same goal, the Chapters disagreed on how exactly to defend Alert Star.
When the Space Wolves arrived, they contacted the Iron Hands. The Iron Hands refused to respond, so the Wolves were scattered across various locations to clear Orks from the wilderness.
The White Scars heard that the Dark Eldar were active, so they went to fight the Dark Eldar.
The Imperial Fists wanted to secure the stability of the hive cities, so they scattered to defend them.
In short, everyone had their own ideas.
Lu Jin realized that by eliminating Kudakkar too early, he had made the Orks no longer a threat to humanity. That left the Chapters with even less reason to work together.
But it would have been the same even if he hadn't eliminated Kudakkar.
Before the Chaos Space Marines entered the fray, before Calgar arrived, Alert Star had been in chaos. One group took the stage after another, each fighting its own battle.
The Rebel Army continued toward Celerus Hive City.
Just before reaching the hive, they suddenly encountered an armored force from the Imperial Fists.
The two sides came face-to-face. Lu Jin stood up on top of an armored vehicle and saw the Imperial Fists' armored column halt. A captain in ornate armor climbed down, accompanied by his honor guard.
So Lu Jin went over too.
"Fierce Angels Chapter Master."
The Imperial Fists captain removed his helmet, revealing a face as steadfast as bedrock, not a trace of emotion visible beneath features