"Please proceed to integrated Docking Deck G-7 and berth there. Repeat, Deck G-7. The area has been cleared, and guidance is active."
Cold, precise navigation instructions, devoid of any unnecessary emotion, arrived from the outer defenses of the Colchis System and fed into the medium-sized transport cautiously approaching, its hull emblazoned with a massive Adeptus Mechanicus cog Insignia and Martian serial codes.
The vessel had an archaic design with a distinctly Martian aesthetic. Its hull bristled with sensor arrays and additional, ritually consecrated armor plates, indicating both the exalted status of its passengers and the unusual nature of their mission.
Under automated guidance and the "escort" of fighter craft, the transport slowly adjusted its attitude before landing smoothly on a designated G-7 open Docking Deck, unusually broad and empty, along the flank of the Law of Faith's hull, which was as vast as a small continent.
Its landing gear met the alloy deck with a dull thud and a hiss of venting pressure.
The hatch slowly opened, and a telescoping gangway descended without a sound.
Three figures in sumptuous crimson Mechanicus robes, trimmed with gold and inscribed with data-scripture, emerged from the hatch one after another and stepped onto the Word Bearers' deck.
Their degrees of mechanical augmentation varied, but each radiated the characteristic air of a high-ranking Tech-Priest: ancient authority, meticulous logic, and an unquestionable sense of intellectual superiority.
Leading them was Kelbor-Hal, the favored pupil of Fabricator-General Utio and a prominent contender in the Martian succession.
Beside him were Archmagos Armstrong and Archmagos Alexeyevich.
As the three descended the gangway, their optical lenses and bionic eyes automatically adjusted their focus and light sensitivity, preparing to "observe" and "evaluate" the Primarch and his Legion in the most orthodox, information-efficient Mechanicus fashion. They had been ordered here to "negotiate" with