A Small Opening Doesn't Count as an Opening

The galaxy jumps within the Maelstrom were incredibly fast. Usually, it only took one or two hours to arrive.

Even though Sagan II was on the edge of the Maelstrom, extremely far away, they still reached the vicinity of the planet two hours later.

"Lord Inquisitor, we've arrived at the target location."

The crew switched the holoprojection on the bridge to an external view.

Amid tens of thousands of asteroids, Sagan II lay directly ahead.

The Lord Inquisitor stood before the bridge viewport, staring outside while his fingers tapped incessantly against his elbow.

For some reason, he had an ominous feeling.

But the Minotaurs were one of the most disciplined Chapters in the Imperium. They shouldn't cause any trouble from here on.

Probably.

The planet grew closer.

Sagan II was a dim, lightless rogue planet, suspended in the darkness at the edge of the Maelstrom.

The Inquisitor's warship began an orbital scan.

But that scan immediately revealed a problem.

The Minotaurs' temporary spaceport had been dismantled. Now, only two ships were parked in orbit around Sagan II.

One was a pitch-black warship without any markings.

The other was the Lamenters' Battle Barge, the monastery ship Mother of Tears.

Huh???

What was going on? Where were the Minotaurs???

"Continue scanning. See if there are any other ships nearby."

The scanning lines continued to sweep across the screen.

After scanning several times, the identification data on the display still showed only two entries.

Two ships. No Minotaurs.

"My lord, there are no signals from any other ships in orbit."

The Lord Inquisitor stood on the bridge, and his bad feeling suddenly grew heavier.

He whipped around and waved sharply at the communications officer. "Contact the Minotaurs immediately!!!"

The communications officer's fingers flew across the communications panel, and he immediately contacted the Minotaurs.