"Inform Captain Alyona that she may begin orbital bombardment with her Frost Wolf. Once that is complete, have Repentant Fire descend to the surface of Suli IV. They are authorized to deploy Thunderclouds, one hundred units. They have two hours to kill every traitor on that planet."
"Dispatch two frigate squadrons and Captain Rudolf Erisbon's Calamity to intercept the enemy ships charging out of the rift. Boarding actions are not permitted. Use the newly installed Composite Magic Cannons and blast them apart for me."
"Have the Alicia Airborne Regiment prepare. They will drop onto the surface of Suli V, with the combat objective of sowing chaos in the local command headquarters. The Cadian 714th Regiment and 717th Regiment will pilot war mechs to assist them. Inform Jaghatai Khan that he and his sons may ride once more."
The mage sat in his chair, his expression as usual as he issued order after order. Roboute Guilliman stood beside the star map, frowning as he considered the overall state of the war. He had to admit that he could not predict the exact course this campaign would take.
The Suli System and its moons were an insignificant cluster of worlds. Among the scattered records that could be found within the Empire, most descriptions of this place shared one key word—barren.
Thousands of years ago, it might once have been prosperous, but after unceasing extraction, it had become like the Empire's other non-garden worlds: a place where environmental pollution was horrifyingly severe, and where the surface had collapsed from continual mineral excavation. From Suli I to Suli VII, they were all the same.
The only thing worth mentioning was perhaps that the local planetary governors and lords had been very sensible. Their tithes had been paid very, very punctually—but that had been before