Tarankd III

When the fleet's shadow loomed in orbit above the planet, Planetary Governor Kangmuse began to panic.

"There's no reason for this! Haven't we... given them everything they wanted on time? Why are they still attacking us?"

The planetary general stood off to one side.

"My lord, should we still muster our forces?"

"Muster what forces? How could those PDF troops possibly beat them?"

"Then..." the planetary general asked cautiously.

"Should we call upon His Majesty's warriors?"

The Planetary Governor's face clouded with worry. He paced back and forth, weighing his options.

"No, we can't let them into the Hive City."

"For now... they can only organize defenses outside the Hive City. They must not be allowed inside."

"There must still be a chance to negotiate. There must..."

The PDF were forces found throughout the Imperium's worlds. Usually recruited by the local Planetary Governor, they owed their loyalty to him, not necessarily to the Emperor. They could also be considered the Planetary Governor's private army.

Compared with His Majesty's currency-the Astra Militarum-these PDF forces varied wildly in both numbers and quality.

Carefully trained PDF forces were not much weaker than the Astra Militarum. When ambitious Planetary Governors rebelled, the PDF under their command caused the Imperium no end of trouble.

As for the PDF on those dirt-poor worlds...

Even the local bandits could grind them into dust.

As it happened, the PDF of the settled world of Tarankd III fell somewhere between those extremes.

As a newly developed and remote world, Tarankd III had always been considered something of a backwater by both the Imperium and Chaos. Through the maneuvering of its local nobles, it had successfully played the Imperium, Chaos, and Xenos against one another.

The Imperium only cared whether it received the Imperial Tithe, while Chaos only cared whether a world could provide supplies.

And so the fighting strength of Tarankd III's PDF was just enough to defeat rebel armies of oppressed refugees.

Kangmuse still harbored a little hope. What if this Chaos Fleet was merely passing through and did not yet understand the situation here?

At worst, he could order the PDF to join the lords of Chaos in a two-sided assault and wipe out this Astra Militarum force. Once the lords of Chaos departed, he could pretend he had distinguished himself fighting against Chaos.

But when he saw the "rain" falling from the sky, he lost all hope.

"Quick, call upon His Majesty's warriors!"

The Dreadclaw Drop Pods unique to the forces of Chaos soon pierced the atmosphere and hurtled toward the ground.

These Drop Pods, handed down from the age of 30K, had always been a mainstay of Chaos forces and were far more advanced than the standard Drop Pods currently used by the Imperium.

One major reason the Imperium had abandoned the Dreadclaw was a design flaw that made its machine spirit too intelligent, resulting in frequent safety incidents.

Yet this batch of Dreadclaws was unusually quiet. Their volatile, clever machine spirits had become as quiet and docile as rabbits.

The defending PDF on the ground watched in despair as the mass of Drop Pods tore through the barely existent antiaircraft fire of Taranckd's Primary Hive City and slammed down inside.

Before the smoke had cleared, pairs of red eyes shone from within, accompanied by the sounds of Bolter fire that filled them with terror.

The Astartes landed precisely at one strategic position after another. They swiftly cleared out the PDF troops, whose morale had utterly collapsed, and carried out their assigned objectives.

These superhuman warriors displayed extraordinary efficiency. They thundered down the streets like runaway locomotives. The PDF manning street barricades were often blasted to pieces by a Bolt before they even caught sight of the enemy.

The numerous PDF troops were like a flock of gentle, helpless sheep. The wolfish Astartes swept freely through their ranks, surrounding and routing them.

Horus personally led a group of Astartes in an assault on the command post. But when he fought his way there and kicked the adamantium doors apart...

The vast, luxurious command post had already been deserted.

The only figure still moving was a Servitor without any self-awareness, still delivering documents mechanically according to his programmed orders.

Horus picked up a wineglass that was still warm. Its red wine had spilled across the desk.

"I gave this rabble far too much credit. Even starving, freezing refugees who have taken up arms are better at commanding a battle than they are."

"Come. Let's meet this world's Planetary Governor."

Outside the city-

Everyone in the Third Regiment of Norsd watched silently as the Chaos Drop Pods descended into the Hive City. Colonel Sakot's expression turned ugly.

"That stupid bastard would rather leave us outside the city to be shelled than let us in to fight for the Emperor," the adjutant beside him cursed.

The Commissar beside them also looked grim. His hand rested on his Bolter, his fingers tapping its grip uneasily.

Sakot silently watched the enormous black shadows overhead.

He wondered why the Chaos Fleet had launched its attack without bombarding them outside the city.

The entire Third Regiment of Norsd was outside the Hive City, after all. Without the protection of its enormous planetary shield, they could easily be blasted to pieces by the fleet's guns.

Yet the Chaos scum seemed to have ignored them and attacked the Hive City directly.

"Prepare to blast the gate open. We're going in," Sakot ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

"Wait, Colonel. There's no need," the adjutant said.

The colonel looked over in confusion. The Hive City's gates were slowly opening, and several PDF generals came running out in a panic.

Hauling their bulging bellies along, they raced up to the colonel, gasping for breath.

Then they slid to a stop and dropped to their knees.

Although these PDF generals all outranked the colonel and commanded dozens of times as many soldiers as he did,

Colonel Sakot was a warrior of the God-Emperor, while they were merely the Planetary Governor's private soldiers. Even if Colonel Sakot pressed a gun to their foreheads, they would have to smile, nod, and bow.

"Colonel Sakot, Lord Kangmuse requests that you save the Emperor's subjects and defeat the great enemy, Chaos!"

"There are many Chaos Astartes inside. They've already routed us!"

At those words, the adjutant's face darkened.

"When you need us, we're warriors of the God-Emperor. When you don't, you lock us outside the gates?"

"Is that how your Lord Kangmuse conducts himself?"

"Since we arrived on Tarankd III, our soldiers haven't been allowed to set so much as one foot through the Hive City's gates!"

The PDF generals froze, looking at one another without knowing what to say.

But Colonel Sakot raised a hand to stop him.

He straightened his cap.

"Enough, Wenstein."

"It is our duty to serve the Emperor."

"Third Regiment of Norsd, sound the bugles."

"For the Emperor, destroy the enemy!"