The Righteous Protector emerged from the Warp once again.
There was no telling how many times it had done so by now.
Inquisitor Arlith continued recording everything she saw and heard.
Her experiences lately had been remarkably varied. Even most Inquisitors of the Imperium had not seen as much as she had.
A Rebel Company from ten thousand years ago.
A Chaos Warmaster from ten thousand years ago.
A Crown Prince from ten thousand years ago.
They hardly seemed to belong to this world, like antiques from ten thousand years in the past.
Horus Lupercal, the Chaos Warmaster who had unleashed the Horus Heresy.
The Ecclesiarchy alone had used practically every derogatory word imaginable to describe Horus, yet her observations over this period told a different story.
Horus was an extraordinarily charismatic man. Whatever the occasion, he could effortlessly liven up the atmosphere and gradually coax those around him into lowering their guard.
He also listened patiently when others spoke. Were it not for his towering stature, he would often have been easy to overlook.
And when he spoke, his rich, resonant voice delivered words that were elegant yet humorous, and almost always perfectly judged.
By just about any measure, Horus Lupercal was an exceptional individual, perhaps even outstanding among the Primarchs.
Then there was the other man...
Bona Plena.
Someone Arlith could not see through.
His strength inspired awe, his handsome features admiration, his physique respect, and his intelligence astonishment.
His psyker power was immense, yet he could control every fraction of it with the precision of an ant queen, allowing destruction and order to coexist.
He could even meet with the Chaos Gods and the Emperor.
Though Arlith did not know what he was thinking, she could always sense a faint sadness about him.
One thing was certain, however: Bona had ideas of his own, and his will was slowly but surely driving him toward that goal, step by step.
Suddenly, a tremor ran through the entire ship. The Inquisitor watched the Rosarius on her desk bounce wildly.
When Arlith reached the bridge, she found Bona issuing combat orders.
"Captain Dakan, hold the Relic Room at all costs. Even if the entire ship goes down, do not leave it."
The towering Thunder Warrior held his right hand flat against his chest in salute, then strode away.
"Captain Spire, you need to prepare for the possibility of losing the engine rooms and similar areas."
"We will remain here to ensure the bridge's safety."
Spire nodded.
"Understood."
Bona turned, his black eyes settling on Arlith.
"Ah, Inquisitor."
"You've come at just the right time. Ten minutes ago, Aeldari torpedoes destroyed half our propulsion engines. They should begin boarding us soon."
Beside him, Spire wore a grave expression.
"We've detected three Drukhari battleships and seven cruisers. They're surrounding us."
Arlith's eyes widened in shock.
A lousy glass orb really did draw the Drukhari here.
She was about to speak, but Bona raised an index finger for silence, and she held her tongue.
Suddenly, interference swept through the bridge's Cogitator array, and an arrogant, lilting voice rang out.
"You ignorant monkeys. You actually dared to lay hands on our sacred relic."
"Hand it over now, and we'll grant you a quick death."
"You will get nothing from us," Admiral Spire said sternly.
"We shall see, monkey."
An emergency transmission came through immediately afterward.
"Admiral, the enemy has launched a boarding assault. We've lost contact with sector C-3."
Having anticipated this, Admiral Spire promptly issued his orders.
"Order our troops to pull back to a tighter defensive perimeter. Abandon all nonessential areas."
"Yes, sir."
Bullets and the Drukhari's distinctive Klaives flew back and forth through the narrow corridors.
But it was clear that the valiant Imperial Navy soldiers were no match for these Kabalite Warriors. One after another, they fell screaming to the deck.
Drukhari pirates were the most active pirate bands in the universe.
Unlike before, however, these Kabalite Warriors had no appetite for slowly tormenting their opponents. They raced toward the warship's Relic Room.
After cutting down every enemy in their path regardless of their own casualties, they were finally met with a fierce, precise hail of gunfire.
The Thunder Warriors gunned down the ghostlike figures with expertly placed volleys.
Their reflexes now fell short even of the Astartes', let alone those of these phantomlike Aeldari.
But ten thousand years of bitter fighting had long since taught them how to deal with such enemies. The unspoken coordination between brothers was on full display.
One brother would cut off a Drukhari's routes with repeated short bursts, while another placed a precise Bolter shot into the Aeldari warrior who now had nowhere to dodge.
In the ship's cramped passageways, the once-fierce and agile Kabalite Warriors became fragile, lumbering targets, cut down to the last by the Thunder Warriors.
"Damn these stupid monkeys!"
Dalk, the Kabal's mastermind, roared in fury.
"Adunus, Mink, hold this position."
"The rest of you, come with me. We're going to butcher that coward hiding on the bridge."
When Arlith learned that the Kabal was fighting its way toward the bridge, she had to admit she was a little rattled.
To ensure the plan's success, almost every elite unit had been sent to guard the Relic Room, leaving the bridge undefended.
The only capable fighters were the Storm Troopers under Arlith's command, but the Kabalite Warriors outnumbered them dozens to one.
Yet when she saw Horus wearing a suit of armor that could only be described as crude, she felt her worries might have been unnecessary.
Bona could not help frowning at the armor, which looked as though it had been dragged through a Syrian war zone.
"What is that supposed to be?"
"I need something on me to stop the Drukhari's Klaives. Having those things stuck in you isn't pleasant."
Completely unnecessary.
Bona grumbled inwardly.
Teresa, standing beside him, was visibly growing excited. She looked eagerly toward the hatch.
A second later, the hatch crashed to the deck.
At the head of the attackers, Dalk licked his blood-covered blade and surveyed everyone on the bridge with interest.
"Hello there, monkeys."
"You still have..."
In the blink of an eye, Dalk saw a figure suddenly appear right in front of him.
His pupils contracted sharply.
So fast.
The next second, he flew backward like a cannonball, bowling over a host of unsuspecting Kabalite Warriors.
Before the warriors could react, the towering, ferocious figure swept through them like a reaper. The oversized human was even using an empty ammunition crate as a brick to smash them with.
Dalk abandoned his Kabalite Warriors and used his secret treasure to save his own worthless hide.
He fled back to his warship and glared furiously at the Righteous Protector.
"Tow that thing back for me."
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