After leaving the Dreaming Stars, the enormous combined fleet disbanded.
This time, the Second Fleet truly departed, requisitioning all the ships that had come to provide support before plunging back into the fighting on the Dark Side.
The Dark Angels escorted The Rock back toward Imperium Sanctus. Without the Tuchulcha Engine, it could no longer roam freely through the Warp and deploy as swiftly as before.
The Rock was now the slowest vessel in the assembled fleets when it came to Warp travel.
Lion El'Jonson had only just returned and still needed to sort out the Dark Angels' affairs anew. Many of the Fallen needed their names cleared. He needed to gather his strength.
Guilliman told him that a large contingent of Greyshields Astartes remained on Mars, and that he could draw on them for reinforcements if necessary.
Whether Lion El'Jonson accepted was entirely up to him.
As a Primarch of the Imperium, Lion El'Jonson could make his own decisions. Guilliman had no desire to force the hand of a brother with whom he had never gotten along particularly well.
The two held a discussion that lasted several days.
For the first time, Lion El'Jonson came to understand the dire situation facing the entire Imperium.
When Guilliman asked him to help deal with matters on the Dark Side after he had finished regrouping, Lion El'Jonson refused without hesitation. With an utterly sincere expression, he praised Guilliman's administrative abilities for the first time and voiced his approval of Dante, a loyal son of Sanguinius. He then earnestly told Guilliman that he had to uncover Chaos's schemes and therefore had no time.
Dante was doing an excellent job, and those matters could remain in his hands.
Standing nearby, Dante, whom Guilliman had summoned, bowed slightly at Lion El'Jonson's praise. Then, without a