The shrill alarms were still screaming. The molten hole in the adamantium wall radiated searing heat and an acrid stench.
Inside the side hall, the air felt as heavy as lead, the tension almost enough to throw sparks.
Trajann Valoris stood at the forefront, his gaze sweeping over the panicked technical attendants and the melted wall before finally settling on Aurellion.
Aurellion remained in the process of disarming. Most of his Power Armour had been removed, revealing the close-fitting black combat suit underneath and the perfect, powerful contours of his body.
The offending Hellray Pistol was still lodged in the damaged section of auramite armour that had already been removed. A technician was carefully extracting the astonishingly powerful weapon from its shattered housing.
"Calm down!"
Trajann's low, commanding voice cut through the alarms and the commotion.
"This was an accident! A technical error! Stand down from maximum alert! All squads, return to your assigned positions and increase patrols of the palace's inner perimeter! Assess the damage to the wall and begin emergency repairs immediately! Everyone else, withdraw!"
For the Adeptus Custodes, obedience to orders was an instinct etched into their bones.
Though their eyes remained wary, they swiftly lowered their weapons and withdrew from the side hall in orderly ranks, like an ebbing tide. Only Trajann, several senior Custodians, the shaken technical attendants, and the ancient Dreadnought with its low, resonant hum remained.
The mortal guards also withdrew under their senior officers' sharp commands, but the hurried footsteps and tense communications outside the hall made it clear that the alert level had not fallen.
The chaos subsided quickly.
Trajann turned to Aurellion, about to offer an explanation or reassurance.
Yet Aurellion's gaze pierced the withdrawing crowd like a precision probe, locking onto an ordinary Custodian who had rushed in moments