As Lox, Oll Persson, and Malcador tried to dissuade the Emperor in a laboratory on Ganymede, Terra's central command was already abuzz with voices.
A colossal holographic projection displayed intelligence gathered from beyond the Solar System. Countless points of light trembled and flashed every second, and those hundreds of millions of points represented living Imperial units.
Led by Lion El'Jonson, Sanguinius, Jaghatai Khan, Rogal Dorn, and Leman Russ stood around the immense strategic table, sternly watching the changing battle situation.
As the greatest contributor to getting the Emperor off the Golden Throne again, Konrad Curze had voluntarily declined to attend such a high-level meeting.
Though the Nostraman was a primarch, and his brain could support this level of intense strategic thought, Curze was Curze. He refused to think.
After all, he had an external brain.
Thus, Sevatar, known as the Prince of Crows, had taken Curze's place and joined the meeting.
He possessed an exceptionally unique advantage over the other primarchs: he had only just returned to the Imperium from the rebels and was extraordinarily familiar with their internal situation.
Besides him, representatives from the Five Hundred Worlds were also present: Eannid Hill, Sukasan from the upper echelons of the Imperial Navy, and members of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Without anyone noticing, the forces loyal to the Emperor had fallen back to Terra to the greatest extent possible. Things were far better now than at the beginning, when only Rogal Dorn had guarded the Solar System's defenses.
The Dark Angels, Blood Angels, and Ultramarines numbered around one hundred thousand. The three legions had originally reached that figure when they rushed to Terra's aid from the Five Hundred Worlds, but heavy losses in the bloody battle of Beta-Garmon had nearly exhausted their newly replenished strength.
Jaghatai Khan's White Scars numbered roughly fifty