The Endurance hung motionless in the dim orbit of Barbarus, its hull massive and low-slung, thick armour plates layered over its shell. Dark rust, formed by years of oxidation, seeped from every seam.
The engine exhaust stained the space behind its stern a dull orange-red. In that glow, the scars across the Endurance stood out with particular clarity.
It was a ship that had endured countless battles. Its prow armour bore solidified ripples where lasers had melted it, several macro-cannon emplacements along both flanks still carried shell holes that had not been fully repaired, and even the hull beneath the bridge showed a vast crack stretching from starboard to port.
And now this scarred behemoth was the only warship in the entire Death Guard Legion Fleet battlegroup that still belonged to them.
The other ships, the warships that had once served beneath the Death Guard banner, now all lay in the distant formation adorned with the heraldry of the Sons of Horus. They lined up one after another before the entrance to the Warp, their prows slowly turning into that churning vortex of clouds.
Mortarion stood on the bridge of the Endurance, watching the scene outside through the thick, murky observation window.
His figure looked especially tall in the gloom. A thin film of moisture had condensed on his dark Power Armour, a mark left aboard the ship by the perpetually damp air of Barbarus.
His respirator covered half his face, its filtration assembly giving off a low, rhythmic hiss with every breath.
He neither spoke nor moved. He merely watched in silence as the Sons of Horus warships vanished one by one through the gate into the Warp.
With every ship that disappeared, his silence grew heavier.
Vorx stood beside him, likewise saying nothing.
His hands hung at his