In the Warp, a fleet was making its way onward.
Originally, this fleet's destination had been another star system, where it was meant to carry out a mission.
But then, without warning, it received orders to immediately proceed to a lifeless star system.
No matter how one looked at it, it was a barren, remote stretch of space, the kind of region even Rogue Traders would not bother passing through. There was no profit to be found there.
No one could understand why they had been sent to that system.
But an order was an order, and orders from the Imperium always had meaning.
On the fleet's flagship, an Astartes tactical squad had also come aboard, one belonging to the Salamanders Chapter.
The order had been delivered by that Astartes squad just one day earlier.
"Everyone, confirm your weapons and equipment again!"
Arieth, the Salamanders tactical squad leader, gave the order in a low voice.
They were now very close to their destination. They would soon emerge from the Warp into the material universe.
With one minute left before arrival, the engines of the assault craft they were in also powered up, ready to detach from the cruiser's hangar at any moment.
This assault craft, carrying the Astartes along with part of the Death Korps of Krieg, had one purpose: to board the enemy's stronghold and destroy the enemy starship by any means necessary.
It could be said that this mission was nearly a one-way trip.
The fleet they currently had was simply too small. To face the enemy force described in the intelligence report was practically the same as marching to their deaths.
And reinforcements from other star systems would never arrive in time.
It was here.
Warp transit ended, and they entered the destination system.
Then, in the same instant, a sudden disturbance struck. It was like a brutal emergency stop, and the machinery aboard the cruiser let out shrill mechanical screams.
Information was immediately relayed from the cruiser's command bridge: they had nearly slammed straight into a planet.
"The planet shifted from its original orbit?"
It was precisely because it was no longer in its original orbit that, after emerging from the Warp, they had nearly phased right into the planet itself.
More information followed at once. This system was about to suffer a catastrophic disaster.
The planets had been deliberately forced out of their original trajectories. They would end up colliding chaotically, and in the end all of them would plunge into the star, potentially triggering a supernova explosion.
And the culprit behind all of it had already been identified.
It was a planet-sized warship, accompanied by quite a few other vessels.
"Sir, wh-what is going on? Isn't that a greenskin Attack Moon?"
The voice of the cruiser's commander came through, trembling slightly.
After all, the mission briefing had not given any specific details. No one had been told the enemy possessed a war fortress on the level of an Attack Moon.
A small fleet like theirs was nothing but a suicide force.
Perhaps he had not dared refuse, but there might have been hesitation. And they were racing against time.
"Correct. Pursue it."
That order made the commander seem to stop breathing for a moment, his expression freezing in place.
After two seconds of eye contact across the hololithic projection, he gave a bitter smile, dropped back into his chair from where he had stood up, and then issued the order to charge ahead in a hoarse, ghostly voice.
Naturally, that movement by the fleet was spotted by the greenskins as well, and the Ork fleet around the Attack Moon also began to turn around.
If the Attack Moon itself joined the battle and opened fire at full force, they would probably be annihilated in an instant.
About a minute before the two sides were due to exchange fire, the assault craft being used for boarding prepared to detach from the cruiser.
"Abnormal spatial gravity detected. Reading positive two..."
The shared intelligence made even Arieth tense up.
An abnormal gravitational fluctuation had been detected, and it was coming from the direction of the Attack Moon.
The changing values were skyrocketing at a shocking rate, as if a planet-scale gravitational field were forming there.
Was this the doing of the Orks' Attack Moon?
Were they about to unleash some kind of superweapon?
And yet, the Ork fleet charging toward them in the display suddenly began acting strangely as well.
The giant roaring face on the Attack Moon, which had originally been turned toward them, suddenly shifted away and rotated to the other side.
Not only that, the Ork fleet also began turning around.
What was happening?
"It-it's a planet! The thirteenth planet, one that doesn't exist on the star charts for this system!!!"
The voice of an observer from the cruiser rang out over the channel, stunned and panicked.
Right there, a planet seemed to emerge straight out of the void.
No, more accurately, that planet had been there the whole time. It had simply been wrapped inside a colossal veil like optical camouflage.
Now that veil was dispersing, peeling away like the skin of a fruit and exposing the planet hidden within.
As for the surface of that planet, from the look of it, it seemed as though it had been struck by atmospheric incineration torpedoes. The surface had been scorched into a vitrified glaze.
Was that the Orks' handiwork?
No, it was not. If it were, they would not be reacting like this.
But at this moment, the Attack Moon and that planet were far too close. They were practically already within the reach of the Attack Moon's gravitational field.
"Start the Warp engine immediately. Force-jump straight into the middle of the Ork fleet."
Arieth instantly gave an even more extreme suicidal order.
A jump like that carried serious inaccuracy. They might directly overlap with one of the enemy ships.
But at this point, only something that extreme would do, because that planet was the one the Archmagos had said must be protected at all costs.
So with a suicidal jump like this, the best-case result would be to ram them straight into the interior of the Attack Moon, right into its power engines, and blow the whole thing apart.
That thing was not as sturdy as it looked. If its power source was destroyed, it would break apart and collapse.
"Ah?"
"Execute the order!!!"
"Captain, wait!"
Rauls suddenly stopped him, making Arieth frown.
Then his brow lifted again, because he had been pulled into a newly encrypted internal communication channel for a private discussion.
And when a very familiar voice sounded from within, he froze for a moment.
"Order suspended for the moment!"
Arieth immediately issued that new command to the cruiser's commander.
He had already guessed it might have something to do with that kid again, but actually receiving his contact still surprised him a little.
As for why the message had reached Rauls, that was because before they had separated last time, they had given him the dedicated communicator for this tactical squad, and Rauls had been in charge of maintaining contact.
And now that kid was inside that seemingly impossible planet that had just appeared out of nowhere. He had told them not to approach the Attack Moon, because they had a way to deal with it over there.
And what way was that?
The Attack Moon was already close enough. It had already hurled out gravitational tendrils and stabbed them into the planet, hooking onto it.
And at that exact moment, the mutation appeared.
That planet, which had not existed on the star charts, began to split open in a grotesque manner.
As though some star-sized beast were opening a gigantic, blood-soaked maw.
(End of Chapter)
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