But this time, the alarm had not come from the Webway. It had come from space.
Warning: large-scale Warp translation signatures detected! Warning: multiple high-intensity fleet signatures detected emerging from the Warp! Identifying signatures... matching against database...
Leo jerked his head up. At that moment, the data he possessed as Sage "Kastor Alpha" proved its worth.
Signature match successful! Identified as... Imperial Navy.
Leo's electronic eyes flashed with disbelief. "The Imperium? What are they doing here?!"
He immediately switched to the Tomb World's skyward observation array. High above the planet, space tore open like a curtain.
One ship. Ten ships. A hundred ships.
Hundreds of gleaming golden warships, emblazoned with crimson blood drops and wings, emerged solemnly from the Warp, alongside an equal number bearing the stern emblems of the Iron Hands and the noble insignia of the Ultramarines.
At their head was a magnificent flagship like a golden cathedral, one Leo would never forget as long as he lived. It was... the Red Tear.
Leo's core... stopped beating.
"Holy... shit..." He stared at the flagship, at its insignia.
He needed to know why they had appeared at this exact location! Using Castor's highest-level clearance, he immediately and silently "logged in" to the Imperial Fleet's internal network.
He soon found... the expedition's "mission briefing."
[Top secret: Dawn Crusade (under Terra's direct authority). Mission codename: Rescue] [Authorization level: Primarch] [Mission objective: enter the Orpheus Sector, Segmentum Tempestus. Locate and rescue Imperial hero, Tech-Sage Kastor Alpha.] [Orders issued by: the Master of Mankind, the Emperor.] [Fleet commander: Primarch Sanguinius.] [Core fleet composition: Blood Angels, Iron Hands Legion, Ultramarines Legion, Imperial Army, Imperial Navy]
As Liu Zhipeng stared at the mission briefing, his living metal jaw quite literally dropped into the scrap heap with a clang.
His