The aftermath of the Chaos invasion was not so easy to deal with.
Destroyed warships needed to be scrapped; while it wasn't impossible to tow them away for purification and recycling, the Imperial Navy generally didn't want such things.
The most crucial factor was that the warship's keel needed to be intact and undamaged, still possessing value for repair and reconstruction.
After all, a warship's keel was usually made of adamantium; even if the ship sank, the keel wouldn't break. If salvaged, a new ship could be built simply by removing the damaged parts.
However, some ship hulls that were heavily contaminated by Chaos or eroded by Warp energy, even if perfectly intact, would not be salvaged but would only be pushed into a star for destruction.
(Doing so is not a permanent solution; a space hulk contaminated by Nurgle was pushed into a star, and then the star turned green.)
As for these two Khorne Warband Chaos warships, although the Warp energy erosion and Chaos contamination were not particularly severe, a Nova Cannon shot from 32 severely twisted the keels of both ships, making them essentially unrecoverable.
Although the precious metals on the hull or instruments and equipment with repair value were worth salvaging, after much discussion, both ships were still pushed into the Rostov System's star and completely destroyed.
Along with them, the bodies of the Chaos Warband and their cultists, and everything else deemed contaminated by Chaos, were also thrown in.
When dealing with Chaos contamination, caution is never excessive.
After completing these tasks, Luka also reported the Chaos invasion to the Mariupol Sector Capital.
It was fortunate that Luka's planet was special, possessing sufficient planetary defense forces. Otherwise, a Chaos Warband and two Chaos warships could truly ravage an entire planet, slaughtering over a billion people to sacrifice them to Khorne.
After all, which planet would normally have three Space Marine Chapters stationed there for no reason?
Even if Deathwatch was only a ten-man kill team, it still represented a Chapter.
Luka didn't think that being invaded by Chaos and repelling them was anything worth caring about; such troublesome incidents were as normal as encountering monsters spawning in a game.
But while he didn't care, the Ecclesiarchy, the Inquisition, and even the Star District Governor of the Mariupol Sector were almost scared to death. This matter was even reported by the Mariupol Sector's Department of Military Affairs to Terra.
The reason was simple: the sanctus wine previously purchased by the Inquisition and the Ecclesiarchy had played a crucial role in several key situations over the past few years, helping the Imperium uncover many hidden degenerates.
This led to the sanctus wine now being highly valued by Holy Terra. The Mariupol Sector even received a star-message from Holy Terra, demanding that they do everything possible to ensure the production of sanctus wine, as it had now become an important resource for the Imperium.
Originally, such an item, which could only identify heretics and degenerates, was not scarce for the Imperium, nor was it something that could influence the Imperium's situation.
Apart from the Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition, who had a genuine need, no one really took it seriously.
The Imperium's territory was too vast, and it produced many good things, but often due to the Imperium's scale, it was difficult to promote or apply these good things across the entire Imperium.
However, an event occurred that forced Holy Terra to take the production of sanctus wine seriously.
That was when a box of sanctus wine was sent to Holy Terra, then specially received by the Adeptus Custodes, who escorted it into the Throne Room.
The political signal of this event was extremely strong, almost an explicit declaration.
The Emperor had not shown signs of being alive in the Imperium for too long, although the ringing of the Soul-Lost Bell hanging high outside the Imperial Palace indicated that the Emperor still sat upon the Golden Throne.
But for ten thousand years, the Emperor's influence on the Imperium, and even on Holy Terra, had been decreasing day by day.
As for Imperial Edicts? Since the Emperor ascended the Golden Throne, the last explicit Imperial Edict from the Throne Room, a Planetary Governor appointment letter, was his only one.
Now, the blessed wine from that planet was sent into the Throne Room again. What this symbolized was truly intriguing and thought-provoking.
For these political creatures of the High Lords of Terra, this was certainly not the Emperor craving wine and wanting someone to brew it for him, but a clear political signal.
The Ecclesiarchy even interpreted it as a sign of the Emperor's imminent return, after all, it had been ten thousand years. Even if the Emperor truly craved wine, it meant he had at least recovered the ability to drink, and was no longer a dried corpse on the Throne.
However, sanctus wine had just been sent into the Throne Room, and then the planet producing sanctus wine was immediately invaded by Chaos?
This was not hitting Governor Luka's backside; it was trampling the face of the entire Imperium, the face of the High Lords of Terra, by Chaos!
Especially since Luka was not derelict in his duty; he repelled the Chaos Warband's invasion, destroyed two Chaos cruisers, and annihilated the entire Chaos Warband!
Therefore, Luka bore no responsibility!
In the Imperium, failure needs no words, victory needs no words!
Since the Governor had no responsibility, whose responsibility was it then?
It was self-evident.
The High Lords could not control when Chaos invaded, nor did they have the ability to do so.
If they could control it, the Imperium would not be in its current state.
What the High Lords could control was how the Imperium responded to Chaos invasions.
Thus, things became simpler. The High Lords still had the final say on matters on the Imperium's side. Some of them might even feel they could command a Primarch, but it had to be acknowledged that the High Lords of Terra indeed possessed supreme authority.
So, the Terra Ecclesiarchy Headquarters allocated funds, requesting the Mariupol Sector to help Rostov II build an Orbital Ring and strengthen the planet's defenses.
The Mars Mechanicus also sent a letter to the Mariupol Forge World, requesting the local Mechanicus to provide necessary assistance for the planet's defense.
The Imperial Navy investigated the situation of the Mariupol Sector's naval fleet and, upon learning that the area was already within naval patrol range and even a logistics supply point, made no further adjustments.
They merely selected three excellent candidates from among the Navy's idle or retired officers, assigned them to the three moon-class cruisers ordered by the Ecclesiarchy for Luka, and provided each of these three ships with a group of shrewd and capable officers.
The Department of Military Affairs, however, had no such elaborate plans. They simply tallied the forces currently available to the Department of Military Affairs, looked at Rostov's situation, selected two regiments from them, and dispatched them to Rostov II.
One Armageddon Steel Legion mechanized infantry regiment and one Tallarn Desert Raiders armored regiment.
-----------------------------
The story doesn't end here 😉 The next chapter is already up on Patreon, you can read it here: [patreon.com/TripleCrown07]