"We need to prepare for the worst."
Ozrax needed reinforcements, but they had no idea how far the Chaos Warband outside Ozrax had advanced, whether the fighting had already begun, or how long they could hold out. They had to prepare for the worst.
Then there was the threat posed by the Chaos Beacon. It had been shining for a long time, and with each passing day, an unimaginable number of Chaos forces gathered. For Gamma World, it was a danger that could erupt at any moment.
Finally, there was the Tau Empire fleet's attempt to seize the fortress world. If they left the fortress world, the enemy could take it back at any moment, and all their previous efforts would be for nothing.
Enemies on all sides.
That was the way of the galaxy—and a reflection of the Imperium.
In this war,
every minute and every second of progress they made was precious.
The Imperium's honor, humanity's future, the Emperor's will, and the governor's plans would all be put to the test on the battlefield.
This was a race against the clock, a war against time.
It was a war to secure a foothold, and a war that would determine the future.
They needed to resolve the trouble in front of them as quickly as possible, then reinforce Ozrax and Governor Cisrain.
There was no time to delay. They had to move with lightning speed.
If they let things drag on,
they would be trapped in a war of attrition without end.
The enemy had plenty of reinforcements, soldiers, weapons, machines, and cannon fodder.
Their own development, meanwhile, would grind to a halt.
What Gamma World lacked most right now was a brief period of peace.
Two resource fortress worlds—and the technology they could develop using the resources from both—could yield incredibly powerful advances: complete Necron Technology, the Tau Empire's artificial intelligence, Chaos Psionics, the Resurrection Protocol, the Soul Protocol, and the Megastructure Colossus Project.
They had to create a stable period of development for Cisrain.
"We have only one choice left, brothers."
"Boarding action!"
"Boarding action!"
The Salamander and Cyrus spoke almost simultaneously.
Clearly, they both considered the tactic viable.
A boarding action meant forcing the enemy to fight on their terms, then using their wealth of combat experience to battle the enemy for their lives aboard the enemy's ship.
There would be no retreat and no other choice.
They could only fight their way through, killing until they reached the end!
A boarding action meant heavy casualties. It meant accepting death.
It meant entering the enemy's strategic heartland and facing an even fiercer counterattack.
It also meant using the last weapon in their arsenal.
The governor made it sound easy enough.
But in reality, the crisis they faced was even graver than the one they were dealing with now.
If the Chaos Warband completely overran Ozrax, the battle lines Gamma World had built would collapse in an instant. The Chaos Space Marines would run rampant across Gamma World, unstoppable. All their efforts and sacrifices would go up in flames with the collapse of the front line—not to mention any hopes of further development.
"I'll have the Salamanders join you on this planet. Before that, we need to plan our preparations carefully and gather all the intelligence we have on the Xenos fleet."
"Yalta, have them prepare the drop craft as well!"
"Yes, Captain."
They urgently needed the research vessel's ability to deploy troops.
For the boarding action to work, the research vessel had to get close to the enemy. They needed to board before the enemy could react—or, if the enemy did react, force their way aboard before they could stop them and compel them to fight.
The Imperium had won one seemingly impossible war after another with tactics like these.
The problem was that the research vessel might not survive the enemy's anti-air defenses.
So,
they had to kill the enemy commander and wipe out the entire enemy fleet's leadership as quickly as possible.
They also had to make it back to Ozrax before the deadline.
There was no time to lose.
The Salamander's gaze was icy.
At that moment, the merciful Salamander wanted to return and reinforce Ozrax even more than Cyrus's squad did.
A Chapter that had once inherited honor had become a fallen Chaos Warband.
They had desecrated the Salamanders' honor, defiled the glory of the Lord of Fire Dragons, betrayed the Emperor's hopes, and become the Daemon's lackeys.
They had brought shame upon the entire Salamanders Chapter.
The traitors had to wash away their disgrace with their own bodies and blood, and the fire of the Melta Guns forged by the Salamanders' fury. The eternal flame would burn away their sins, and they would offer their loyalty to the Emperor and the returning Lord of Fire Dragons.
They were not merely enemies of the Imperium. They were enemies the Salamanders had to destroy.
A stubborn blight on their honor that they had to purge.
The Salamanders Chapter's warriors strode through the research lab.
Through the transparent window, they looked into the ICU.
Precise, complex instruments worked tirelessly to stitch the Captain back together. Combined with the powerful healing he had inherited from the Lord of Fire Dragons, the fist-sized wound in his body was closing at an incomprehensible speed.
Mysterious instruments of unknown origin swept over Vulkan's body, recording their readings in a database. They could not match them to any known technology, and could only keep stimulating his cells to grow and repair themselves at an accelerated rate.
The complex, mysterious organs implanted by the Imperium were at work inside him.
While the Salamanders waited,
Captain Vulkan awoke.
He looked at the dense array of tubes inserted into his body.
He yanked them out. Some alloy needles were half a meter long, buried deep beneath his skin. Others were embedded in his nerves, stimulating the synthesis of nerve cells, or inserted into certain modified organs.
Vulkan saw the Salamanders standing outside. While unconscious, he admitted, he had seen something he should never have seen.
He had seen the Dragon Chaos Warband!
He had seen the Salamanders' traitors!
He had seen his former brothers abducting boys and girls from worlds across the galaxy.
They imprisoned them in the Daemonic machinery of Chaos servitors, injected stolen Gene-seed into the girls, then tormented the boys with corrupted methods that had extinguished their Conscience and stripped them of all mercy. At the end, they coldly and mercilessly slit open each boy's abdomen with a knife.
Even the cold, ruthless Third Company would have found the sight unbearable.
"Captain! Captain!"
"You're awake!"
"Where are the Chaos Warband's men?"
Vulkan's fury flared once more.
This time, it was rage at the traitors, rage at those who had desecrated their honor.
He had to set things right.
Even if it cost him his life.
The other Salamanders did not know how the Captain had found out, but his recovery was good news. He seemed to be completely unharmed. It must have been the Emperor's power blessing him.
The Emperor be praised.
"Captain, the Chaos Warband is at Ozrax."
"But before we go to Ozrax, we have a mission to carry out."
In the void,
pale blue plasma scorched the darkness,
sending ripples through the void.
"Chapter Master, we've detected another probe."
"Leave it alone. It's just another place for them to keep their livestock."
He reached out.
Beyond the ship's forward deck, a young sun was doing its best to send its light farther out.
But across the vast universe, light was always enveloped by a more majestic, eternal darkness.
As though it lay in the palm of his hand.
"Once, I was unswervingly loyal. But now, I'm tired of being betrayed again and again."
"The false Imperium built its walls of honor from flesh and pain. I'm tired of it all."
"The False Emperor is destined to fail, and so is the Imperium of Man. When the storm of Chaos rises once more, the False Emperor and his hypocritical lackeys will realize their mistake all over again."
Happy New Year to all Star Generals of the Astra Militarum, Chapter Masters of the Space Marine Chapters, Canonesses of the Adepta Sororitas, Wolf Lords of the Space Wolves, High Marshals of the Black Templars, Custodes Marshals, Grey Knights Grand Masters, Mechanicus Knights, High Kings of the Imperial Knights, the Emperor's Chosen, Imperial Commanders, the Ynnari, Lord Regent's consorts, Synapse Creatures of the Hive Mind, Chaos Knights, Champions of Chaos, Daemon Princes, Daemon Princes, Warband Lords, Votann League Kindred leaders, senior councilors of the Tau Empire, Ork Warbosses, Phaerons of the Space Dynasties, Deathmarks, the Old Ones, and the C'tan! May all your wishes come true in the New Year. May 2025 bring you smooth sailing, great wealth, and great achievements!
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