Julius stood before the holographic map of the galaxy, entire zones obscured by simulations of chaotic energy. He turned to Samuel Hayden, now in his complete Seraphim form, whose mere presence calmed the space around him.
"During the Great Crusade, Warp rifts were unstable access points to the Immaterium, primarily around the Eye of Terror, which was already a massive Warp storm," Julius explained, pointing to a region of space pulsing with a sickly, violet light on the map. "Other unstable Warp passage points exist, scattered across the galaxy, and some systems are more difficult to traverse than others due to their proximity to such anomalies. Warp activity was broadly controlled by the Emperor, but the most unstable zones remained mortal dangers for travel and a permanent source of daemonic incursions."
He crossed his arms, his expression grave. "For now, the greatest concentration of this energy is in the Eye of Terror. But there are others, smaller, more discreet. I cannot give you their precise coordinates, as they are shifting and poorly charted. I can only provide you with a specially modified ship so you can find them yourself."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "You will need to be extremely careful. Extremely. You-Know-Who must not notice you. His gaze is everywhere, and although his attention is elsewhere for now, a disturbance of your magnitude in the Warp could alert Him. Discretion is your greatest weapon."
"Your mission is twofold," he continued. "First, locate a rift stable enough to establish our outpost. Secondly, and this is just as crucial, you must hunt Space Hulks."
A new icon appeared on the map, representing clusters of twisted, fused spacecraft. "They are mostly the remnants of starships that were caught in a storm during their Warp travel. If the storm wasn't enough to destroy the ship, its crew could lose control, or even perish during the turbulent event. The Space Hulk then becomes nothing more than a giant debris field drifting with the Warp's currents. The tides of the Immaterium can eject the vessel back into realspace or suck it in again."
A smile played on Julius's lips. "And that is where their value lies. One often finds artifacts from bygone eras, lost technologies, and even... particular forms of life, trapped there for centuries. These wrecks are time capsules and treasure troves. And since you will have the power of a Maykr to modify them at will... you can turn them into the foundation stones of our fortress, or the foundries for our future fleet. A single Space Hulk contains enough raw material to build an entire flotilla."
Samuel Hayden inclined his luminous head, his silver eyes analyzing the data with calm assurance.
"I understand the mission, Julius Braveheart. A ship to hunt for rifts and wrecks. I will navigate these currents with the caution of a Seraphim. They will not see me coming. And I will find the materials to forge your bastion in the very heart of chaos."