The interior of the base was a labyrinth. Without a map to guide them, it should have been theoretically impossible for intruders to reach the room where Vulkan was held.
Patrol checkpoints, automated defensive turrets, emergency alarm systems...
It was the most heavily defended and secure location in the entire base.
But the ones infiltrating it today were Cabal agents, and their psychic powers turned the impossible into possible.
John's psychic mind-reading allowed him to sense Vulkan's agonized heart within the stasis field, so he followed that pain to find the correct direction.
Using psychic mind-reading on the base's mortal personnel also allowed him to learn how most of the defensive systems operated.
His empathic abilities continuously absorbed Vulkan's pain. With a troubled expression, he clutched his head and forced himself onward, while Narek, the Word Bearers Astartes who had silently followed them all along, supported him at the right moments.
"He's here. We found him."
After feeling their way through the base for half an hour, the three finally found the room where Vulkan was being held.
Even after the base commander had deployed other guard forces, two Ultramarines still stood guard outside this room. They were elite veterans clad in strong-force interaction armor, and Narek knew full well how terrifying such enemies were.
Ordinary attacks were useless against them. Physically speaking, these warriors were almost without rivals.
Only overwhelming destructive bombardment or psychic attacks could quickly bring them down and kill them.
Normally, they would have operated alongside a squad of Untouchables, much like the Emperor's most trusted force—the Emperor's Claws—where Custodians, equally unmatched in physical combat, fought beside the Sisters of Silence.
Fortunately, they had John's help. He implanted carefully woven details into the minds of the two Ultramarines veterans, intending to lure them away.
"Everyone, proceed