The massive fusion engines spewed dazzling light, propelling Graia's primary forge network, the Crown of Graia, to break free from the planet's gravitational pull.
The green machines standing upon the Crown of Graia, glittering in the void, turned their bodies, facing the same direction.
An elegant Aquila with spread wings shimmered on countless view screens.
Censers diffused incense, hymns to the Omnissiah were sung, and joyous paeans echoed through the vox channels.
"The Beloved of the Omnissiah, the Eternal Ally of Graia, the Primarch of the Shadow of Order, the Ever-Victorious One over the Enemies of Mankind, Lord Nareth."
From the comfortable leather seat of the black Aquila, Nareth looked down upon hundreds of steel war machines scattered around the massive forge.
Swamps of promethium slurry powered the industrial zones, keeping the forges rumbling.
Tiny figures in red robes, like ants, busily directed servitors in the mining areas, coordinating the transport of precious adamantium deposits.
Nelson, the Primarch's personal pilot, followed the guidance signal and landed the Aquila Lander on the landing pad.
The landing gear deployed, and Nareth descended the ramp with Etrich and four members of the Honour Guard.
Twelve Tech-Priests carrying green-glowing censers stood on either side.
Wilshire of the Second Chapter and Ramsey of the Tenth Chapter walked briskly from the ranks.
Behind Wilshire followed his guard and a black-armored warrior with a Falcon short sword at his waist. He was slightly shorter than Etrich but still much taller than an average man.
Ramsey came only with his Honour Guard members. The negative Omega-grade chieftain stood five hundred meters away, at the edge of the landing pad area, awaiting his employer's summons.
As the two Chapter Master approached him, the rings of unease collided and merged like bubbles.
The Shadows of Order felt their skin tingle as their fervent thoughts ebbed like a tide.
The biomancer Ramsey even saw, within his field of vision, candles of flesh and blood melting rapidly.
His obsidian eyes, identical to Nareth's, shifted, landing on the black-armored warrior bearing the Dionysian Spear behind the Black Emperor.
The black spears shooting towards his perception made him realize that the Blank behind the Black Emperor was noticeably more unsettling than his own and possessed a stronger suppressive force against psychic powers.
Ramsey pushed his Thelema mindstate of mind from the First Level to the Third, calming the throbbing needles at his temples. He and Wilshire, who was at the First Level, spoke in unison.
"My lord."
Nareth nodded with a smile and led the two men towards the Archmagos Intendant of Graia.
Dgoes-12, holding the Staff of the Omnissiah, his vocal array within his sacred mechanical body booming with impassioned address.
["My close friend/this unit thanks the Omnissiah for guiding/our reunion//Last time we signed our eternal covenant aboard your Shadow's Sovereignty//Now we welcome your arrival upon the Crown of Wonders."]
["Graia salutes you/the Crown rejoices in its machine-soul for your coming."]
"Dgoes, it is an honor to accept your invitation." Nareth's face held a smile as he spoke admiringly:
"The Crown truly lives up to its name of Wonder."
The Crown of Graia was an industrial miracle in every sense.
Gloriana-class battleships like the Shadow's Sovereignty could serve as the flagship of an expedition fleet, providing support in weapons manufacturing and other wartime needs, but they relied on resupply for raw materials.
Ramilles-class starforts could serve as a lynchpin for an entire warzone, maintaining and supplying the whole fleet, drastically shortening the course of a war.
The Crown of Graia, however, was a mobile Forge World. As one of the Imperium's eight largest future Forge Worlds, its primary forge network's output far surpassed that of Forge Worlds like Incaladion.
It was itself a mobile industrial nation, an industrial complex capable of meeting all needs, even continuing to construct warships and Titans during wartime.
["Thanks to the favor of the Omnissiah//Our sacred covenant/We have retrieved a fragment of the Machine God's mortal relic from the Orks' Attack Moon."] Dgoes-12 raised his arm, and a green holographic image was projected before Nareth.
A ring-shaped device radiated brilliant light. Deep underground shafts were filled with mechanical cables.
Nareth gazed at the artificial device displayed by the Archmagos Intendant for a few seconds. "A gravity well."
["As you can see/the twelve gravity wells deployed by the Crown/reduced the separation procedure by thirty-six hours twenty-nine minutes/void flight energy consumption in a solar-like system reduced by an average of 40.7 percent."]
["All technical data has been shared/pursuant to the agreement//delivered to the Forge Lord."]
Nareth knew that the energy consumption of the fusion reactors supporting void flight depended on the overall gravity within a star system, so energy consumption varied in different systems and different orbits.
His eyes lit up. The Orks' Attack Moons and the Rangdan's War-moon were two long-term research projects.
Compared to the war-moons, which incorporated psychic technology, the Orks' psychic Waaagh! technology was far more difficult to understand.
The artificial gravity well was the first major breakthrough.
Nareth nodded, satisfied. 'One step closer to having the capability to build mobile stellar fortresses.'
Grandmaster Hurzeler, clad in deep crimson armor, walked up to Nareth.
"Lord Nareth, the Dark Fire reports for duty as ordered. Ninety-four God-machines await your command."
Hurzeler's face radiated battle-readiness. News of the Lord of Ruins Titan Legion following Lord Horus to victory after victory continuously reached Stygies VIII.
The Dark Fire, stationed at the sacred Forge World, had only been sporadically summoned by Lord Nareth before, gaining scant glory that did not befit them.
Now, at last, the Dark Fire had its opportunity.
They would be led by Lord Nareth, the Beloved of the Omnissiah, who had recovered countless sacred STCs for the Imperium.
Hurzeler looked up at the Primarch, standing like a marble statue before him. He was more imposing than the Warmaster Titan hidden deep within the forge sanctuary.
"Hurzeler, good to see you." Nareth looked at the target he intended to "corrode," a smile on his face.
After exchanging salutes, he boarded a Land Speeder prepared for him by Graia and headed towards the steel forges.
Light and shadow flickered in the Primarch's eyes, passing through layers of black specks.
His spread consciousness passed the roaring, hot forges around him, the war machines taking shape in the rising smoke, and seeped into a weighty area.
It was one of the twelve evenly spaced gravity wells. Dense generators emitted gravitational waves, concentrated within a constrained shaft.
The shaft pierced tens of thousands of meters through the strata, and on the opposite side of the Crown of Graia, regular repulsive vibrations erupted.
'Not bad. Quite stable.'
As Nareth withdrew his consciousness, the Land Speeder stopped before an opening gate.
He stepped off the speeder and followed Dgoes-12 to the holographic strategic platform at the center of the sanctum.
Tech-Priests stood before chattering machinery, their mechadendrites swaying as they analyzed scrolling binary code.
A massive green holographic map of the Belt of Iron filled the central area, showing individual celestial bodies.
Dgoes-12 stepped onto the platform. His mechanical Staff of the Omnissiah emitted a deep green beam.
The holographic map rapidly zoomed in, and dense, flickering red and green runes appeared before Nareth.
Dgoes-12 retracted his mechadendrites, the synthesized voice from his chest-mounted vocal array tinged with wrath.
["Valia-Maximal poses a huge threat to the entire Belt of Iron//and to Graia/their Hunters have raided Narindi, Holaj..."]
Nareth focused on Narindi, prominently marked in deep green among the thirteen highlighted worlds. He knew this agri-world was Graia's food supply and critically important.
As he pondered, the Archmagos Intendant continued the briefing: ["Currently identified/one hundred four Titans from the Legio Laniaskara..."]
After listening to Dgoes-12's briefing, Nareth turned his gaze to Hoff Albion. He raised his hand, pointing to the star marked by crimson runes.
"I want to know the situation on Hoff Albion."
After a two-second delay, Dgoes-12's vocal array answered Nareth's question.
["Hoff Albion is the core territory of the Hydrinoxis Conclave//The Hydrinoxis Conclave was a nation composed of both humans and xenos//Valia-Maximal wiped it out during a long war."]
Nareth nodded. 'Could the Hydrinoxis Conclave have some connection to Be'lakor's fragment?'
He speculated silently, then spoke aloud.
"The Second and Tenth Chapters will act as two blades, striking at Narindi and Holaj."
Dgoes-12's bionic eye flared with red and green light. Nareth's decision to strike quickly at Narindi aligned perfectly with the calculations of his logic engine.
He was eager to reclaim the vital agri-world and secure his food supply.
"Astraman and Volcanum I will strike at the Legio Laniaskara."
"Hurzeler, you will lead fifteen Titans and accompany me to Hoff Albion."
Hurzeler's eyes gleamed. "I shall follow your command."
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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