Above Constantine Satellite, the Imperial Fleet waited silently for news from the surface.
The satellite that had once been set like a pearl within the Ultramarian Domain now appeared on the Sensors screens as a mottled, horrifying shadow.
Thick smoke rose from the surface, obscuring the outline of the entire continental shelf. Viewed from orbit, it resembled a map burned through with holes.
The former cities, starports, fortresses, and settlements had all vanished into flames and ruins. Only the occasional flash of an explosion reminded everyone on the bridge that something was still struggling below.
The fleet did not fire.
They were waiting for news.
The final report from the surface would confirm that not a single life remained on that satellite that could be saved, that the Rebel Forces had trampled the last defensive line beneath their iron heels, and that the conditions for initiating exterminatus had been met.
Once that message arrived, the guns in orbit would burn the entire satellite to ash.
The atmosphere on the bridge was grim. Officers reported their data in hushed voices, while the gunners held their fingers above the firing controls, waiting for the final order.
The entire fleet was like a bow drawn taut, trembling slightly as it waited for the moment of release.
Meanwhile, on Constantine Satellite, the Iron Hands Legion had already deployed their most terrifying weapons.
Daemon Titans had been unleashed upon the battlefield.
Led by the Flame Salamander Titan Legion's three Warlord Titans, the three colossal machines slowly emerged from the smoke. Every step shattered the ground and made the surrounding air rumble under the pressure.
Their desecrated, modified bodies were covered in inscriptions of Chaos, twisted metal interwoven with flesh.
Once noble war machines of the Imperium, they had now been willingly offered to the warp