Less Than a Year Away

"This planet is called Pollia. It's a small agricultural world in the Hades System, mostly devoted to livestock. I fought Greenskins on it before..."

"This Forge World is called Mezoa. It belongs exclusively to the Blood Angels. There used to be Greenskins here too... Now that we've reached it, we're close to Baal..."

As they passed planets where he had once spent time, Lin En enthusiastically introduced them to the Lamenters.

"Wow..." The Lamenters crowded around the viewport, their faces full of longing.

If only we'd been under his command back then...

Once they passed Mezoa, Baal was close.

The two warships arrived at Baal with the Aeldari Craftworld in tow.

By then, Dante had already received word from the Lord Regent that the Tyranids were coming. The Blood Angels had thrown everything they had into strengthening Baal's defenses.

Countless overlapping fields of fire now ringed Baal's planetary defense orbit, along with more than a hundred armed platforms. Add the Blood Angels' own fleet on constant patrol, and even an unregistered space moth would have trouble getting through.

That day, the Blood Angels manning Baal's defenses received a message relayed through layer after layer of communications stations from the Front Shield outposts.

Two warships, it said, had sailed straight through the Front Shield with an Aeldari Craftworld in tow and were heading for Baal.

Baal Defense Force: "...Huh???"

"What? What are they towing?"

"An Aeldari Craftworld."

"...Front Shield, what's going on? Didn't you try to stop them?"

The defense forces of the Hades System and Cryptus System replied, "Our outposts questioned the two warships. They said they were, uh... bringing Lord Dante a pretty ornament."

"What?????"

The Front Shield outpost sounded rather uncertain too. "They said... a pretty ornament. You know... something you put on display because it looks nice?"