In the Segmentum Solar, the Abyss-class battleship Monarch's Blade, flagship of Lucius, translated out of the Warp and entered the Cthonia system.
Another Abyss-class vessel, the Indomitable Monarch, flagship of Nathaniel Garro, also arrived at its realspace anchor.
On the bridge of the Fist of Cthonia, massive warning icons flashed persistently across the viewport.
Captain Sergio leaned forward in his command throne, urgently demanding: "Proximity alert."
"It's a ship... I've never seen anything like it."
"Open the viewport," Sergio ordered.
With a click, the void beyond was revealed.
Sergio saw a purple vessel, shaped like a trident.
Three massive decks extended from the hull, like the prongs of a trident.
It was turning, revealing its port side, emblazoned with a pitch-black blade.
Sergio frowned, he had never seen that insignia before.
A piercing red flash filled his world.
"By the Lupercal..." Sergio drew a sharp breath. "Forward shields, maximum power!"
The first volley of fire struck.
A row of consoles to Sergio's right exploded, shrapnel carved through four servitors and incinerated thirteen officers.
The bridge shuddered violently; officers clung to their stations; servitors sprayed foam onto the flames.
"All power to the lance!" Sergio roared.
His mind reacted to the situation at hand.
The enemy's first salvo had pierced the void shields at standard power, inflicting substantial damage on the bridge.
His vessel could not withstand that fearsome firepower. To maximize the damage dealt, he gave an order entirely different from his first.
"Send a warning to the surface, we are already lost."
Sergio's gaze followed the blazing beam as it struck its target.
The light faded, but the fire he had hoped for did not appear.
'It... did not divert power from its void shields to offense.'
Crimson light engulfed the Fist of Cthonia. The Abyss-class battleship forged by Fabricator General Kelbor-Hal for the Warmaster, its first kill was a Son of Horus.
...…..
Cthonia Prime, the Hive of the Lupercal's Gate.
At the pinnacle of the hive-spire, a black throne stood. Captain Boros Kurn sat upon the seat from which his father had once ruled Cthonia.
"Lord Kurn, the orbital fleet has been destroyed. How should we proceed with our defense?"
"Abandon all other strategic points. Dispatch six squads each to guard the Lupercal's Gate Hive and the Terminal Atlas," Kurn ordered.
The enemy had destroyed the orbital fleet the moment they appeared, clearly, they were a formidable force.
Cthonia was defended by only two companies and one Word Bearers company, they could not possibly withstand such power.
"All other squads disperse immediately and sabotage every critical system. Cripple the infrastructure and industrial facilities, let the Imperium claim nothing but a ruin."
"Afterward, we will wage a protracted war against them from the underground caverns."
The Sons of Horus and Word Bearers officers saluted in unison: "As you command."
At the Terminal Atlas, two Word Bearer lieutenants led sixty warriors down from a Stormbird.
"Primary objective, destroy the power nodes and cripple the transit facilities. Secondary objective, secure the network, " Before the lieutenant could finish, a cascade of warning runes flared across his tactical visor.
The Word Bearers looked up, teardrop-shaped drop pods were slicing through the thick dust clouds, howling toward their position.
"Spread out by squad, move!"
The two lieutenants exchanged a glance and opened their command channel.
"Coincidence?"
"We only just received orders and arrived at the Terminal Atlas, the enemy could not have known our plan."
"The Terminal Atlas is the largest transfer hub between surface and orbit. It's only natural for them to include it as a target."
The lieutenants quickly recovered from their shock and charged toward their objectives.
One lieutenant's visor showed the distance to the augury network node closing rapidly.
"Prepare the melta bombs."
The Techmarine's servo-arms swung, sparks crackling, adjusting the melta bombs' timers.
BOOM!!
The ground shuddered, a purple-and-gold drop pod slammed down.
Lord Commander Vespasian of the Emperor's Children was the first to leap to the ground, he raised an archaeotech pistol recovered from the armories of Mondus Gamma.
His Techmarine had spray-painted it purple and engraved a golden Palatine Aquila upon it.
Vespasian's aim was instant, a beam of magma-fire, drawn from the heart of Tarsis Plateau on Mars, lanced forth.
The deadly ray struck the sprinting Word Bearer lieutenant with surgical precision, searing through Mark IV power armor, piercing his skin, and detonating inside his body.
Bang!
The Word Bearer's body exploded into a charred mass, his armor toppled, ash spilling onto the ground.
Vespasian pulled the trigger again and again, each shot felled another enemy.
Runes in varying colors scrolled across his tactical display: [14th Company has secured Hive U-71, repelled the Sons of Horus squad attacking the power nodes.]
[19th Company has completed its drop at Hive P-21, engaging Word Bearers attacking the augury network.]
[23rd Company has secured Hive B-12, prevented the Sons of Horus squad from planting melta bombs in the forge.]
[...]
Twenty-five minutes later, Vespasian stood in the main control room and opened his comm.
"Lucius, I have secured the Terminal Atlas. All Word Bearers eliminated."
"The other companies have completed their drops and prevented the Sons of Horus and Word Bearers from destroying key assets in the hives."
'Lucius had anticipated the enemy's plans.'
Before Isstvan, Vespasian had little contact with Lucius.
In the past, he had only heard that Lucius's swordsmanship was exceptional, second only to Akurduana, and that he served as Lord Commander Eidolon's sparring partner.
He had never shown any particular brilliance in command, perhaps slightly better than Akurduana, but far behind Solomon Demeter and others.
Since the great escape from Isstvan III, Lucius had repeatedly upended Vespasian's expectations.
His combat prowess was far greater than Vespasian had anticipated, and even more astonishing were his tactical deployments and strategic abilities.
Lucius had led them to destroy Mondus Gamma, the largest forge complex on Mars, and to evacuate the highest-productivity assets from Mundus Occulam.
He had also led them to seize two powerful Abyss-class battleships. In the void battle just past, the Monarch's Blade had annihilated the Sons of Horus fleet with devastating force.
'Lucius once said that all he had achieved came from Lord Nareth's teachings.'
'I truly hope to meet Lord Nareth soon, he will surely lead us to victory in this war.' Vespasian thought, full of hope.
"Nathaniel," Lucius's voice came over the comm.
"I need you to breach the Lupercal's Gate."
....
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