Night fell over Terra, but what shrouded the hive cities was not peace, but a suffocating, storm-before-the-storm air of slaughter.
Deep within the Imperial Palace of Terra, Guilliman's temporary command center blazed with light like the eye of a storm.
Guilliman stood before an enormous holographic star map, but his gaze was not fixed upon the vast galaxy. Instead, it focused on Terra's intricate map of power structures.
It was densely marked with names, positions, factions, and... scarlet indicators.
The scope of those implicated was vast, covering nearly half the Ministry of the Interior, the Department of Justice, the upper ranks of the Ecclesiarchy, the remnants of the Senate, and several key departments.
These people were the most stubborn tumors in the Imperium's bureaucratic system, the core of the conservatives who had tried to restrain him during the Volus Incident, and the greatest obstacle to any future reforms.
"The numbers... are greater than expected." Guilliman's voice was icy, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
His original plan had been to launch an expedition, lure them out, gather evidence of the unrest they stirred up, and strip them of their authority.
But now, Obi-Wan's counsel had acted like a catalyst, making him completely abandon any illusion of conciliation.
He knew these bureaucrats who had occupied high office for so long all too well.
Once they lost power, they would never wait meekly for death.
To preserve their power, wealth, and even their lives, they would not hesitate to take desperate risks, sell their souls to Chaos, and offer Terra's core secrets, defensive deployments, even the Emperor's safety as tribute!
By then, the forces of Chaos would gain an excellent chance to tear Terra apart from within, causing damage far greater than any frontal assault.
He could not wait! He could not give