Starlight shone upon the enormous observation window of the Imperial warship. Like a church window, its structure supported the gigantic pane of glass, with countless iron girders and steel braces winding across it, shaping the glass into different curves and angles.
Even this immense window could not contain even ten percent of Victoria's Capital World. The planet hung beyond the warship's command deck, casting its silvery light into the dim bridge.
The broad bridge of the Mars-class Battlecruiser was a hive of activity. The clatter of mechanical keyboards, the hum of machines blessed by the Machine God, and the Imperial Navy crew's overlapping conversations formed a busy symphony. Everyone was occupied; the entire warship was working itself to the bone.
Dockside repairs, resupply, ammunition transport, personnel transfers, and countless other tasks kept the entire warship frantically busy. In fact, the whole Imperial Navy fleet that had just arrived was in the same state.
Countless great ships of the void were docked at the Starports encircling the planet's equator. The Starport ring on the planet's eastern side was packed with Imperial Navy warships. Every shipyard and dock held Navy vessels taking on supplies, while warships waiting in line hovered beyond the Starport in packs like wolves.
Cole stood on the command bridge, looking through the glass toward the other side of his warship. An Imperial Navy cruiser occupied the neighboring dock berth, its immense hull stretching the entire length of the dock. Its huge plasma engines still flickered with cooling flames, while countless ornate embellishments and massive guns rested quietly beneath the planet's own light.
Cole turned and walked to the holoprojector behind the captain's chair. He activated it, and almost instantly beams of light shaped several human silhouettes around him. As their forms gradually came into focus, their identities became clear.
The Valhallan Regiment's signature fur hats and the Vostroyan Firstborn's striking red greatcoats stood out. Beside the two Astra Militarum field marshals stood several Imperial Navy captains, the local Planetary Defense Force's new marshal, the local Adeptus Arbites' Lord Arbiter, and a Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
"Everyone, first, I'd like to thank the Valhallan and Vostroyan regiments for coming to our aid. It's an honor to fight alongside you." Cole nodded to the two men, who returned the gesture with slight nods.
"The Vostroyan Firstborn will always answer the Emperor's call. We will fight the Imperium's enemies across the galaxy, wherever they are and whatever they may be! Vostroyan will never abandon its duty!" the Firstborn's commander declared. His mustache bobbed beneath his nose in time with each syllable.
The Valhallan commander nodded in agreement. "We were just carrying out a pacification operation in a neighboring sector when we received the Inquisitor's distress signal. We rushed here without delay, but my troops need supplies: ammunition, provisions, armored vehicles, and so on."
"Of course, sir. I'm sure the local Adeptus Mechanicus will assist you, Magos?" "Yes. We will provide you with all the support you need."
The commander nodded his thanks to the Magos, then turned to Cole. "What's our situation? Will more reinforcements be arriving?"
Cole waved his hand, and a holographic data directory appeared before everyone, including himself. Rows of figures and labels scrolled across it. He flicked through the list, quickly reviewing it, though he had already examined it before.
"Victoria now has seven Imperial Navy battlecruisers assembled. With my ship, that makes eight, along with twenty-six cruisers and one hundred and eighty frigates, destroyers, and armed transports."
Cole's finger stopped. He pulled out a specific line of data and casually sent it to the holoprojector before them.
It displayed the resupply progress of countless ships of all sizes. Each warship's supplies, fuel, and ammunition were summarized and projected in detail. There was so much data that it would normally have been impossible to review it all quickly.
But that was not the case now. The Magos rapidly examined the data and raised his head, which was covered in cables. "At present, sixty-seven percent of the warships have completed resupply. We have slowed the replenishment of living necessities and accelerated the delivery of combat supplies."
The Magos spoke in a clacking electronic voice. His fingers, wrapped around a cog-topped staff, were also covered in bronze-colored metal plating. "We estimate that we can complete resupply within the next two to three days."
The Imperial Navy captains nodded with satisfaction. The local Adeptus Mechanicus was certainly efficient—or rather, the Adeptus Mechanicus had always been many times more efficient than the Imperium's ordinary administrative departments. That was why Inquisitor Vito had wisely put the Mechanicus in charge of the planet's entire war effort.
"Resupply for the ground forces will also be complete within the next few days." The Magos looked to the two Astra Militarum commanders. Both generals saluted him in approval. Cole nodded to them as well, then tossed up another list containing the Astra Militarum, Planetary Defense Force, and Adeptus Arbites armed units.
The Navy and ground-force data charts hovered together before them, giving everyone present a clear understanding of the situation. Their eyes swept across the labels and lists, committing the status of each unit and formation to memory.
"We currently have about twenty million ground troops available. The five million Astra Militarum troops need to be given priority in deployment. I'll leave that to the two of you."
Cole looked at the two men. The Valhallan commander nodded slightly, then pointed to the chart. "Will more reinforcements arrive? Based on our experience fighting the Tyranids on Periremunda, the bugs always outnumber us by an enormous margin."
"Then let them come! The Vostroyans will fight to the death in the Emperor's name! We'll send enough Xenos scum back to hell!" the mustachioed general roared, like a zealous Ministorum Priest. Given the history of the Firstborn and Vostroyan, however, their fervor was entirely genuine.
A culture of shame was deeply rooted in their regiment. Even ten thousand years later, Vostroyan's betrayal during the Horus Heresy still brought shame upon its people. For millennia, generation after generation of Vostroyans had ventured into the void with that same fervor, washing away the disgrace of their ancestors with their own blood and that of their enemies.
Cole had seen regiments like them before. He still remembered the Death Korps of Krieg's courage and fervor during the Siege of Vraks. To be honest, he didn't like that kind of fervor. He had always believed that as the Emperor's warriors, they should do their best to live longer and accomplish more, rather than throw themselves into glorious deaths without a second thought.
The Valhallan commander was clearly more levelheaded. He pointed to the various markers on the chart. "We're severely short on armored and mechanized units. Neither my regiment nor the Vostroyan regiment can replenish our armor quickly. That means our heavy artillery and infantry will have to hold a few Hive City areas."
"Based on our experience, that's also the best way to fight the Tyranids, if we receive no support." As he spoke, the commander looked at Cole. Cole nodded in agreement and waved his hand. A diagram of stars and Warp waves appeared at the bottom of the display.
A vast shadow loomed across the chart, already almost at the Victoria System. Black tendrils probed in from the edge of the system, closing in on the ring around the star system.
The Shadow in the Warp was about to surround them. Anyone could see it. That meant they would no longer receive any support or be able to contact any part of the Imperium. Only after the darkness passed would they see the light again—if they were still alive then.
Everyone's expression darkened. Only the Vostroyan commander seemed relatively unfazed. "Let them come. We'll fight gloriously beneath the Emperor's gaze."
"I don't doubt it, Commander. I believe we all will." Cole pressed a button on the holoprojector, clearing the data and replacing it with a star chart of the system. Beside each Imperial planet on the chart was a progress bar showing the percentage of its evacuation, some further along than others.
"These show the evacuation status of each planet. We've prioritized evacuating worlds with large populations and substantial resources. We're also moving the populations and resources of worlds near the edge of the system back to the Capital World. That will help prevent the Tyranid fleet from acquiring enough biomass."
"Evacuations are still proceeding urgently across all the worlds. I've requisitioned and dispatched every ship we could find to organize the evacuations. The Inquisitor gave this operation a codename. It seems to be named after some major evacuation operation from ancient Terra: Operation Dynamo."
Cole remembered how animated Vito had been when he said the name, as if he had personally commanded it.
"Once resupplied, the Imperial Navy will leave port and deploy away from the near orbit. Some fleets will be sent to the edge of the system to lay minefields and launch hit-and-run strikes, inflicting losses on the Tyranid fleet and slowing its advance as much as possible."
Cole looked at the Navy captains. They all acknowledged the order. Interestingly, most of them were either his equals or even outranked him, but they still followed the young captain's command. Why? Because the enormous Inquisition symbol on Cole's Navy uniform was impossible to miss.
"My regiment and the Vostroyan regiment will complete our ground deployment as quickly as possible. In fact, my troops are already landing on the surface. We'll defend the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Hive City areas."
"The Vostroyan Firstborn will take responsibility for the First, Second, and Sixth Hive City areas. The God-Machines we brought with us will deliver a blow to the Xenos brutes!"
Cole sighed silently. He had thought the Vostroyan Firstborn would bring a Titan legion, but apparently they hadn't. They had brought only a few Warhound Titans, and all of them needed repairs and resupply.
The Valhallan commander closed the star chart, replacing it with the planet's dense urban sprawl. The numbered Hive City areas appeared across the surface, shifting and rotating in view.
"We'll concentrate all the Hydra Flak Cannons under the Planetary Defense Force. Have the local air defenses been activated?" the commander asked. The loyalist marshal of the local Planetary Defense Force nodded firmly. He tapped the map, and lines and grids appeared across it.
"We've taken control of the traitors' long-abandoned orbital defense system with the Adeptus Arbites forces and brought it back online. Combined with the air-defense equipment we've gathered, we're confident we can shoot down at least half of the Tyranid Mycetic Spores—not let them hit the Hive Cities, at least."
"According to our projections, the main Tyranid landing force will touch down in the planet's wastelands. We've evacuated everyone and destroyed all supplies there. Those brutes won't find anything to eat."
Cole nodded. Leaning on the edge of the projector, he surveyed the map. "If the Tyranids acquire any supplies, their attack will be easier. The Navy will also do everything it can to destroy the Tyranid Hive Fleet. At the very least, we'll try to deal it a crippling blow."
The Tyranids waged war with the same rigor as the Adeptus Mechanicus. Once they realized they were losing far more biomass than they were gaining, the Tyranid fleet would promptly abandon its attack and retreat from the system to find another unfortunate victim from which to replenish its biomass.
So the defenders of Victoria's task was to make those brutes bleed badly. Once they left the Victoria System, the Imperial forces could be contacted to hunt down the remnants of the fleet. But for now, the defenders only had to think about how to survive the next few months of darkness.
"The Skitarii will be responsible for clearing infiltrators and saboteurs from the cities, and for ensuring the factories keep running," the Magos said, one word at a time. "Brother Omega will lead the local Skitarii and defend everyone's flanks. May the Machine God protect us."
"May the Machine God and the Emperor protect us. We'll make it through!" the Firstborn commander declared resolutely. Another Vostroyan soldier appeared behind his projection, whispered something to him, and was then dismissed with a gesture.
"Brothers, I must rejoin my regimental brothers and prepare for the coming destruction. In the Emperor's and the Machine God's name, we'll bring destruction down upon them."
The Vostroyan Firstborn commander's image vanished. The Valhallan commander also nodded to Cole. "I need to go deploy my troops as well. May the Emperor protect us." "May the Emperor protect you all. Go and prepare."
The Valhallan commander's image vanished too, followed by the second and third, until every holographic image was gone. Cole let out a long sigh, then went to his captain's chair and sat down. Like an exhausted lord, he gazed at the enormous planet and the endless void beyond it.
Cole leaned wearily against the captain's chair, starlight reflected in his eyes. He had once dreamed of commanding a fleet. As a child, he used to imagine himself commanding his own fleet, just like the great Lord Solar Macharius. But as he grew up, became an Imperial Navy captain, and took part in one major battle after another alongside Vito, he began to think his childhood dreams had been naive.
Sometimes he wished he could go back to those carefree childhood days, when he had nothing but innocent dreams of the endless void.
Cole closed his eyes, but as he recalled his home and the stars above it, alarms erupted like thunder, and warning lights flashed one after another without pause.
Cole jolted awake. He stood and strode to the command position on the bridge. "Auspex Officer! Report!"
"Sir, we've detected large-scale translation signals at the edge of the system! A fleet has emerged from the Warp! It's enormous!" the Auspex Officer exclaimed in alarm, rapidly switching between data displays.
"Identify them," Cole ordered calmly. The Auspex Officer hurried to comply. "Confirming now." But soon, mechanical astonishment showed in his cybernetic eye.
"Captain... sir, they are—!"
"We are the Ultramarines Chapter's expeditionary fleet. I am Mikael Fabian, commander of the Ultramarines Chapter's Third Company. By order of Chapter Master Calgar, I have led the sons of Guilliman's combined fleet here to aid you."
The deep voice echoed over the communications channel.
"In the name of the Emperor and the Primarch, we will crush the Xenos."
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