"..."
In the command center of the mining base, Darius, the highest-ranking commander, paced back and forth in his office, looking rather troubled.
After a while, he stopped in front of a holographic screen. He stood motionless, silently studying the various reports on Canopy Star and the information gathered about the Terra Imperial expeditionary fleet detachment detected at the edge of the star system.
What others might not have known was that the planet's affairs weren't what was troubling him.
He wasn't worried about the Warp Daemons itching to launch another counterattack, the massive army that was becoming harder to control as it rapidly expanded, the resettlement of refugees, or the construction and planning of defensive lines and cities. Nor was he concerned about the Terra fleet or Horus. What he was really worried about was something else entirely.
That was right!
At that very moment, he was worrying about their leader, Annie, and the two elite squads sent to investigate—the marines who had entered the ancient ruins beneath the plateau city.
Strictly speaking, he wasn't worried about their safety. Both squads were made up of the finest soldiers, and Annie was with them, so there was little to worry about on that score. What concerned him, then, was whatever might be lurking in those ruins.
Yes—the threat!
As far as he was concerned, anything capable of wiping out so many Warp Daemons and over a thousand marines from a battle group was cause for concern. Even if that battle group had consisted of nothing but a makeshift third-rate force, hastily assembled from local survivors and with practically no systematic training, it was still enough to put him on guard.
Especially since their opponents had eliminated so many people without making a sound. That proved their strength was not to