"Set sail. Leave orbit and head for the nearest Mandeville Point. Open a Warp Route and enter the Warp."
Corax's command received an immediate response.
"Command acknowledged. Sub-light Engine activated. Special clearance for the defense zone confirmed. Preparing to enter the Warp Route directly."
The synthesized voice came from beneath the hooded robe. The figure bowed slightly, then followed behind Corax.
By the faint glow of the corridor's emergency lights, Corax glimpsed what lay beneath the robe—not flesh and blood, but a finely crafted alloy skeleton and intricate servo mechanisms gleaming coldly.
It was a mechanical unit similar to the attendant Men of Iron he had seen aboard the Titan Ship, though its mechanisms seemed somewhat cruder. The unusual hooded robe cleverly concealed its inhuman nature, leaving only an indescribable sense of stillness.
The ship's internal layout differed greatly from that of Imperial Ships. Many standard compartments had been reduced or converted, crammed with unknown machinery whose indicator lights flickered an eerie blue.
They soon reached the bridge. It was deserted, with no helmsman or Navigator, only cold consoles and an enormous central holographic star map operating in silence.
The ship's Intelligence Core had taken over everything.
Beyond the enormous viewport, Earth gradually receded, surrounded by the imposing formations of the Imperium's Solar System defense network.
The Sin displayed an agility at odds with its cumbersome appearance, weaving precisely through the authorized corridors within the Solar System's restricted defense zones.
Then the Radiant Conqueror, the Titan Ship that had remained stationed at the outskirts of the Solar System, yanked it clear with a Gravity Tow. An opening into the Warp was forcibly torn through the cold void.
Like a stone fired from a slingshot, the Sin vanished into that bizarre, dazzling entrance in an instant.
The moment it entered the