Chapter Master Korolia stood on the observation platform projecting from the factory's main control tower. In the dark red glow rising from the enormous furnaces below and the intermittent flashes of distant Orbit explosions, his deep blue armor took on a cold, hard sheen.
He tilted his head back, his gaze beneath his enclosed Helmet piercing the murky atmosphere laden with industrial smoke and dust to watch the silent theater of death far above.
In Orbit, the Imperium's warships burned and shattered like metal moths crushed in an invisible giant's hand.
The distorted silhouettes of the Rangdan Xenos' ships flickered in and out of sight amid the explosions, like sharks prowling among corpses.
Every friendly warship that became a ball of light meant the end of a vessel and hundreds, even thousands, of Imperial Navy personnel.
Yet no ripple of emotion crossed Korolia's genetically enhanced face, tempered by countless brushes with death.
There was no fear, no grief or rage, not even the usual regret for the fallen. Only a calm as still as a deep pool.
At that moment, his superhuman Astartes mind worked like the most efficient Cogitator array, filtering out useless emotional interference and devoting itself entirely to analyzing the battle.
He assessed how much longer the Orbit defenses could hold, calculated how much the ground batteries needed to increase their firepower to compensate for the weakening Orbit support, and projected possible Rangdan landing sites.
And...
Where and when best to deploy the precious combined assault force of Raven Guard and White Scars under his command.
Sacrifice was a constant of war. Victory alone was a meaningful tribute to it.
Just then, a low, calm voice belonging to one of the Raven Guard came through his Helmet's encrypted communications channel.
It was his first sergeant, Carlyle, code-named