The Imperium's Frontier: Before the Ruin

The starlight shone upon the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of the Imperial warship. This structure, resembling the stained glass of a cathedral, supported the immense panes, with countless steel beams and support struts winding across them, molding the glass into various arcs and angles.

Even this colossal window could not capture more than ten percent of the main planet of the Victoria System. The world hung outside the warship's command deck, casting its silvery-white radiance into the dim bridge.

The spacious bridge of the Mars-class Battlecruiser was a hive of activity. The clatter of mechanical keyboards, the hum of machinery blessed by the Omnissiah, and the overlapping voices of naval crew members composed a busy symphony. Everyone was occupied; the entire warship was busy to the point of exhaustion.

Docking for repairs, resupply, ammunition transport, personnel transfers, and so on—the entire vessel was overwhelmed. In fact, the entire Imperial Navy fleet that had just arrived here was in the same state.

Countless star-faring giants were docked at the starports encircling the planet's equator. The orbital ring on the eastern side of the planet was packed with Imperial Navy warships. Every dock and every pier held naval vessels undergoing replenishment, while those waiting in line hovered outside the starport, gathered like a pack of wolves.

Cole stood on the command bridge, his eyes looking through the glass at the Imperial Navy cruiser docked on the other side of his own ship. The massive vessel spanned the entire length of the pier, its giant plasma thrusters still flickering with uncooled flames, while its ornate decorations and massive ship-borne cannons bathed silently in the planet's light.

Cole turned and walked to the holographic projector behind the captain's chair. He activated the device, and almost instantly, beams of light sculpted the silhouettes of several figures around him. As their images sharpened, their identities became clear.

The iconic felt caps of the Valhallan Regiment and the striking red greatcoats of the Vostroyan Firstborn stood out. Beside the two Astra Militarum marshals stood several Imperial Navy captains, the new marshal of the local Planetary Defense Force, the Lord Arbiter of the local Adeptus Arbites, and a Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

"Gentlemen, first, I thank the Valhallan and Vostroyan regiments for your reinforcements. It is an honor to fight alongside you." Cole nodded in salute to the two, and they responded with slight nods.

"The Vostroyan Firstborn will always answer the Emperor's call. We will fight the enemies of the Imperium in the galaxy forever, no matter where they are or what they may be! Vostroyan never abandons its post!" the Lord General of the Firstborn barked, his handlebar mustache twitching with every syllable.

The Lord General of the Valhallan Regiment nodded affirmatively. "We were just finishing a pacification mission in the neighboring sector when we received the Inquisitor's distress signal, and we rushed here without delay. However, my troops require replenishment—ammunition, supplies, and armored vehicles."

"Of course, my lord. I trust the local Adeptus Mechanicus will provide assistance, will they not, Magos?" "Yes, we... will provide you with every support."

The Lord General nodded his thanks to the Magos and then looked at Cole. "What is our current situation? Will more reinforcements be arriving?"

Cole waved his hand, and a holographic data directory appeared before everyone—and, of course, before him as well. Columns of data and entries scrolled by. Cole swiped through the list, reviewing it quickly, though he had already seen it many times.

"Victoria currently has seven Imperial Navy Mars-class Battlecruisers assembled, plus my ship, making eight. There are twenty-six cruisers and one hundred and eighty frigates, destroyers, and armed transports."

Cole's finger stopped, and he pulled a specific line of data out, tossing it onto the holographic instrument in front of the group.

It was a progress bar for the resupply of countless ships of various sizes. The status of supplies, fuel, and ammunition for every warship was summarized and projected in detail. The sheer volume of data was too vast to be read quickly in the short term.

But at this moment, that was not an issue. The Magos reviewed the data rapidly and raised his head, which was covered in cables. "Currently, sixty-seven percent of the warships have completed replenishment. We have slowed the replenishment of non-essential supplies to accelerate the speed of combat materials."

The Magos's voice, synthesized with mechanical clicks, spoke. His fingers, which gripped a cog-toothed staff, were also covered in gold-bronze metal plating. "It is expected that... in the next two to three days, we can complete the replenishment."

The Imperial Navy captains nodded in satisfaction. The efficiency of the local Adeptus Mechanicus was indeed impressive—or rather, the efficiency of the Adeptus Mechanicus was always many times higher than the average Imperial administrative department. That was why Inquisitor Vito had wisely let the Adeptus Mechanicus take over the entire planet's war preparations.

"The replenishment of ground troops will also be completed within these few days." The Magos looked at the two Astra Militarum commanders. Both generals saluted the Magos firmly. Cole watched them and nodded slightly, tossing up another list containing the Astra Militarum, Planetary Defense Force, and Adeptus Arbites armed forces.

The data charts for the Navy and the Army floated before them, allowing everyone present to accurately grasp the current situation. Pairs of eyes scanned the entries and lists, committing the status of each unit and formation to memory.

"The ground forces we can currently mobilize number approximately twenty million. The five million Astra Militarum troops need to be deployed as a priority. Commanders, I leave this to you."

Cole looked at the two. The Valhallan commander nodded slightly, then pointed at the chart and asked, "Will more reinforcements arrive? Based on our experience fighting the Tyranids on Periremunda, the number of bugs is always far, far greater than ours."

"Then let them come! The Vostroyans will fight to the death in the name of The Emperor! We will send enough xenos scum back to hell!" the handlebar-mustached general roared like a fanatical Ecclesiarchy priest. Given the history of the Firstborn and Vostroyan, they were indeed that fanatical.

A culture of shame had long been rooted in their regiment. Even after ten thousand years, the betrayal of Vostroyan during the Horus Heresy still brought shame to its people. For millennia, countless generations of Vostroyans had stepped into the star-sea with such fervor, using their own blood and the blood of their enemies to wash away the shame of their ancestors.

Cole had seen similar regiments before. He still remembered the fearlessness and passion of the Death Korps of Krieg during the Siege of Vraks. To be honest, Cole did not like this passion. He had always believed that as warriors of The Emperor, they should try to live as long as possible to exert greater influence, rather than rushing to a glorious death.

The Valhallan commander was clearly much calmer. He pointed to the icons on the chart. "We are severely lacking in armored mobile units. Both my regiment and the Vostroyan regiment will find it difficult to complete armored replenishment quickly. This means our heavy artillery and infantry units must try to hold onto a few hive city sectors."

"Based on our experience, this is the most correct way to deal with the Tyranids, if we cannot get support." The commander looked at Cole as he spoke. The latter nodded affirmatively and waved his hand. At the bottom of the display, a schematic composed of stars and Warp waves emerged.

On that display, there was a distinct, massive shadow. That shadow had almost reached the Victoria sector, and black tentacles were probing in from the edge of the system, closing in on the star system's orbital ring.

The Warp shadow was about to close in; anyone could see it. This also meant they would be unable to receive any further support and would be unable to contact any other part of the Imperium. Only when the darkness passed would everything see the light of day again—if they were still there by then.

The expressions of everyone present turned somber. Only the Vostroyan commander seemed relatively normal. "Let them come. We will fight gloriously under the gaze of The Emperor."

"I do not doubt that, Lord General. I believe we all will." Cole said, clicking a button on the holographic instrument to clear the data stream and replace it with a star map of the system. On the map, every Imperial planet had a percentage progress bar next to it; some were high, some were low.

"These are the evacuation statuses for each planet. We have prioritized the evacuation of planets with large populations and resources. Some populations and materials from worlds near the edge of the system have been withdrawn to the main planet. This can effectively prevent the Hive Fleet from obtaining enough biomass."

"Evacuation work on each world is still proceeding intensely. I have requisitioned and dispatched every ship I could scrape together to organize the evacuations. The Inquisitor gave this operation a codename—it seems to be the name of some large-scale retreat from ancient Terra: Operation Dynamo."

Cole still remembered the way Vito had beamed when he mentioned the name, as if he had been the one commanding it back then.

"The Imperial Navy will leave port after replenishment is complete, departing low orbit to deploy. Some fleets will be dispatched to the edge of the system to deploy minefields and conduct harassment strikes, causing losses and delaying the Tyranids as much as possible before they arrive."

Cole looked at the Navy captains. They all responded to the order. Interestingly, most of them were actually equal in rank to Cole or even higher, yet they all submitted to the command of this young captain. Why? Because the large Inquisition symbol on Cole's naval uniform was too conspicuous.

"We and the Vostroyan regiment will complete ground deployment as soon as possible. In fact, at this very moment, my troops have already begun landing on the surface. We will defend the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Hive City sectors."

"The Vostroyan Firstborn will be responsible for the First, Second, and Sixth Hive City sectors. The God-Machine we have brought will give the xenos scum a head-on blow!"

Cole sighed silently. He had hoped the Vostroyan Firstborn would bring a Titan Legion, but clearly, they had not. They had only brought a few Warhound Titan units, and all of them required repairs and replenishment.

The Valhallan commander closed the star map, replacing it with the dense urban clusters of the planet's surface. The numbers of the hive city sectors appeared on the surface, rotating and pulsing.

"We will concentrate all Hydra Flak Cannon units with the Planetary Defense Force. Has the local air defense system been activated?" the commander asked. The marshal of the local loyalist Planetary Defense Force nodded affirmatively. He tapped the map, and red lines and grid sectors appeared on it.

"We have taken over and activated the long-abandoned orbital defense system of the traitors with the Adeptus Arbites forces. Combined with the air defense equipment everyone has concentrated, we are confident that we can destroy at least half of the Tyranid drop pods—at least, we will keep them from hitting the hive cities."

"According to projections, the main Tyranid landing force will land on the planet's wastelands. We have already evacuated and destroyed all personnel and supplies. Those scum won't find anything to eat there."

Cole nodded affirmatively. He leaned on the edge of the projector, overlooking the map. "If the Tyranids cannot obtain supplies, their offensive will be simpler. The Navy will also try to destroy the Tyranid Hive Fleet as much as possible; at least, we will attempt to deal them a heavy blow."

The Tyranids fought as rigorously as the Adeptus Mechanicus. Once they discovered that they had been fighting for a long time and the biomass lost was far greater than what they had gained, the Hive Fleet would decisively abandon the offensive and quickly withdraw from the system to find another unlucky target to replenish their biomass.

So, the task of the defenders of Victoria now was to make those scum suffer a bloody nose. Then, after those scum left the Victoria System, they could contact Imperial forces to mop up the remaining fleet. But for now, they only needed to consider how to survive these dark months.

"The Skitarii... will be responsible for... clearing out infiltration and... sabotage within the cities, and ensuring the factories continue to operate." The Magos said, word by word. "Brother Omega... will be responsible for leading the local Skitarii to protect... everyone's flanks. May the Omnissiah protect us."

"May the Omnissiah and The Emperor protect us; we will make it through!" the Firstborn commander said resolutely. Behind his projection, another Vostroyan warrior appeared. He whispered a few words to the commander, then was signaled to leave.

"Brothers, I must join my legion brothers to prepare for the coming destruction. We shall rain down ruin in the name of The Emperor and the Machine God."

The hologram of the Vostroyan Firstborn commander vanished. The Valhalla commander nodded to Cole, "I also need to deploy my troops. May The Emperor protect us." "May The Emperor protect you all. Go and prepare."

The Valhalla commander's image flickered out, followed by the second, the third, until all the holograms had disappeared. Cole let out a long sigh and walked to his captain's chair. He sat down, looking like a weary lord gazing at the massive planet and the endless sea of stars beyond.

Cole leaned back against the chair, his eyes reflecting the twinkling starlight. As a child, he had dreamed of commanding a fleet, always fantasizing that he would lead his own armada just like the great Solar Macharius. But as he grew up, became a captain in The Imperium navy, and followed Vito through countless grand campaigns, he began to realize how naive his childhood dreams had been.

Sometimes, he truly wished he could return to those carefree days of his youth, when he held nothing but innocent fantasies about the endless sea of stars.

Cole closed his eyes, but as he recalled his home and that expanse of sky, alarms blared like thunder, and countless warning lights flashed incessantly.

Cole snapped awake, stood up, and strode to the command station on the bridge. "Auspex officer! Report!"

"My lord, we have detected massive warp signatures at the edge of the system! A fleet is emerging from the Warp! The numbers are immense," the auspex officer said in terror, his hands flying across the console to switch through data.

"Identify them." Cole issued the order calmly. The auspex officer scrambled to comply. "Confirming now." But soon, his cybernetic eye displayed a mechanical flicker of shock.

"Captain. My lord, they are!"

"We are the Ultramarines Chapter expeditionary fleet. I am Mikael Fabian, Captain of the Third Company of the Ultramarines. By order of Chapter Master Calgar, I lead this joint fleet of the Sons of Guilliman to provide reinforcements."

The deep, resonant voice echoed through the communication channel.

"In the name of The Emperor and the Primarch, we shall crush the xenos."