In the low orbit of Planet Borman IV, the battleship Phoenician Sword slipped into orbit, followed by more than a dozen cruisers of various sizes that continuously deployed forces toward the planet's surface.
The planet's orbital defense systems had long been battered into ruin by years of war, and its garrison had been completely wiped out by this Emperor's Children rebel force.
Countless pieces of space junk and wreckage drifted along the gravitational threshold. These hard scraps could not be burned away by atmospheric friction, forming a gleaming ring around the planet.
From time to time, space debris knocked off course would plunge into the atmosphere, or miraculously slam into the armor of hovering rebel warships, leaving tiny dents in the hard ceramite and plasteel, as though the spirits of the fallen warriors were still attacking the rebels after death.
On the bridge of the Phoenician Sword, an Emperor's Children commander stood at his command station, clad in Mark IV Maximus power armor adorned with ornate, intricate patterns.
His splendid decorations reflected the aesthetic style unique to the Emperor's Children. This Lord Commander of the Emperor's Children Legion, Flavius Aelkenax, had come under the Warmaster's orders to seize this planet and eliminate its stubborn loyalists.
Compared to the Imperium's forces, Horus's rebels lacked sufficiently stable supplies. Though the Dark Mechanicum led by Kelbor-Hal had fallen to Chaos and provided endless support to the Warmaster's armies, the effects of distance across space and time made it difficult for rebel supplies to reach designated locations on schedule.
Thus, these rebels had no choice but to constantly plunder Imperial worlds within the Beta-Garmon Cluster. Resources, population, and energy—all were desperately needed by the rebels.
Ever since the great internal purge at Isstvan III, Aelkenax had earned the primarch's favor. Fulgrim personally promoted him