The Imperial Fist's premonition and judgment had been correct. Not long after his Huscarl captain, Achamus, departed, even worse news arrived.
An urgent astropathic plea for aid came from the Hydra satellite fortress in Pluto's lonely orbit. A fleet of the Alpha Legion had silently arrived in Pluto's region of space.
These cunning enemies had most likely extinguished their engines, shut down every system, and coasted on inertia to evade the surveillance of dozens of system checkpoints.
Rogal Dorn did not even need more intelligence. He could imagine how those troublesome Alpha Legionnaires had infiltrated and assassinated the isolated outposts, then spent a long time sending false information to the Solar System's defensive forces.
"Activate the Phalanx. Reinforce Hydra."
The Imperial Fists' primarch wasted no time. He briefly entrusted his duties to the Solar Commander, Sukasan, a highly decorated mortal who had once served as Jupiter's naval admiral and was also Rogal Dorn's reliable assistant.
"Yes, my lord." Sukasan watched Dorn depart with resolute eyes. The Imperial Fists' primarch was the Emperor's most steadfast and unyielding son. Nothing could defeat Lord Dorn.
In the void between Terra and Luna, the engines of a warship the size of an asteroid spewed countless ghostly blue pillars of plasma. Even an Emperor-class battleship's exhaust trails would not have been much larger than those discharged by its engines. Hundreds of church-spire-like towers and arched bridges intertwined across its hull.
This colossal warship, constructed by humanity during the Long Night, was the largest starship recorded by the Imperium. Its forward deck alone could dock dozens of heavy cruisers, while two wings swept backward from its hull, their directional vanes trailing like long gilded feathers.
Just as Dorn urgently drove the Phalanx toward Pluto's aid, a cruel and bloody void battle erupted in the space near