Warp Route
The light inside the Bridge remained steady and soft. Only the void beyond the enormous Main Observation Window kept changing, stained with eerie colors by warp storms and scattered exchanges of fire.
A holographic Star Chart hovered above the central tactical platform. The vast point of light representing the Law of Faith led a torrent of steel formed from the elite warships of the Word Bearers, War Hounds, and Death Guard. Like a red-hot knife, it sliced and thrust almost brutally through the overlapping red virtual rings representing the Rangdan blockade.
Lorgar Aurelian stood before the Star Chart, his dark gray Power Armour gleaming coldly beneath countless indicator lights and streams of data.
With his hands clasped behind his back, his golden eyes watched the red region ahead being steadily peeled apart. His expression was focused and composed, but there was little of the relief of approaching victory in his brow.
This joint raid had progressed so smoothly that it had surpassed even the most optimistic prewar projections.
Three Primarchs with vastly different styles—Lorgar, Angron, and Mortarion—commanded the operation. Combining Lorgar's strategic coordination, Angron's furious advances, and the precise predictions of the system Mortarion stubbornly called "numerology," the Fleet tore through one Rangdan Defense Line after another with astonishing efficiency, driving straight into the heart of the enemy's strategic rear.
It was going smoothly. A little too smoothly.
Just then, a communications request protected by multiple layers of encryption abruptly appeared on the tactical platform. Its source was none other than Lion El'Jonson, whose coordinates placed him tens of thousands of light-years away in the central war zone.
Lorgar raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly and gestured for the connection to be opened.
The instant the communications screen unfolded, Lion El'Jonson's commanding voice thundered across the Bridge. It carried