With a slight rumble, the Dark Knights crusade fleet finally arrived at their destination.
From the Warp, a large fleet appear at one of the Elysia Sector rear system, a system that already ravaged by the Black Legion.
While this crusade fleet that Atharion assemble is not as large as the one he assemble for the Orks at Octarius, it is the strongest one that he have direct control.
Ten battle barges, sixteen strike cruisers, twelve Vanguard strike cruisers and seventy escorts.
But the conventional warships were not the only assets Atharion had brought with him.
Among the fleet travelled one of the Ramilies-class Star Forts.
The immense mobile fortress translated into realspace alongside the rest of the fleet, its vast structure dwarfing even the largest vessels accompanying it.
Atharion had deliberately included the Star Fort because of the distance between the Elysia Sector and Camelarion.
The Dark Knights could not rely upon their usual supply routes.
Their closest allied Forge Worlds were far away, and transporting replacement armour, ammunition, weapons, vehicle components, and other necessities across such a vast distance would be both inefficient and dangerously slow.
The Ramilies would therefore serve as the heart of the expedition.
The star fort stores large numbers of equipments, ammos and spare parts for everything that will be used by the crusade force.
And to ensure that none of these supplies would ever run dry, a small forge was installed within the Star Fort itself, allowing it to manufacture the equipment, ammunition, spare parts, and other necessities required by the expedition.
But the largest modification—and, in the eyes of many Tech-Priests, the most radical and bordering dangerously close to heresy—was the reconstruction of one entire quadrant.
Almost everything within it was stripped away. The weapons batteries, ammunition stores, and much of the original internal machinery were removed and replaced with vast engines, power systems, and an independent Warp drive.
It was a design that few within the Mechanicus would have willingly attempted.
But Atharion had always dreamed of creating a vessel comparable to either the Imperial Fists' Phalanx or the Dark Angels' Rock—a massive fortress capable of travelling through both realspace and the Immaterium without relying upon another vessel to tow or escort it.
While in his pursuit, the Raptorus Rex have provided a massive helps in the research with its ancient design.
The venerable vessel had provided Atharion and Nine with a wealth of knowledge regarding the construction of enormous mobile fortresses, their power requirements, internal systems, and, most importantly, the problems involved in allowing such a structure to navigate the Warp under its own power.
Yet knowledge alone was not enough.
Atharion wanted to see whether his theories could actually work.
Thus, Atharion had tasked Nine with either constructing a new Ramilies-class Star Fort or rebuilding an existing one, using the designs and concepts Atharion had developed during his years of contemplation within his chamber following the Crusade of Plague.
The result was the Fortis Aeterna.
And, if Atharion's vision proved correct, the first step toward creating something capable of standing alongside the great mobile fortresses of the Imperium.
Standing upon the bridge, Atharion looked around the chamber with immense satisfaction.
The bridge still retained many of the features one would expect to find aboard a conventional Imperial vessel. Banks of ancient cogitators lined the walls, while servitors moved between stations, feeding information into the vast machinery that surrounded them.
Yet much had been changed.
Many of the ancient machines had been refined, their systems upgraded or replaced with newer mechanisms. Atharion had ordered the bridge to be redesigned around a concept far more familiar to him than the traditional command decks of Imperial vessels.
In his eyes, the chamber resembled something closer to the combat information centres of the warships of the Third Millennium.
It was cleaner.
More organised.
And, most importantly, information could be gathered and distributed far more rapidly.
Now, as the Fortis Aeterna entered the system, the entire bridge was alive with activity.
Astropaths stood within their stations, receiving and transmitting messages across the system. Servitors relayed information to the cogitator banks while officers called out reports as streams of data poured into the command network.
Every scrap of information was collected.
Fleet movements.
Planetary communications.
Astropathic transmissions.
Naval dispositions.
Military activity.
Reports of merchant vessels entering and leaving the system.
Even fragments of information that would normally have taken hours, if not days, to gather were being processed and categorised.
The cogitators absorbed the data almost faster than the human personnel could comprehend it.
At the centre of the bridge, the massive hololithic projector came alive.
Light spread across the chamber as an enormous three-dimensional representation of the sector appeared above the command dais.
Worlds emerged one after another.
Warp routes illuminated between them.
Fleet formations appeared as clusters of symbols, while streams of information accompanied each system, displaying everything the Fortis Aeterna had been able to acquire.
The hololith continued to expand as more information poured into it.
Atharion watched in silence, trying to take in all the information so that he can make the best decision.
As he looking around, he found the information that he wanted.
Venators and Warhawks, both Chapters that answer the call of help from Elysia Sector and ended in the full destruction of both Chapters.
Now, both of the Chapters have enter the sector approximately three months ago, and currently, both Chapters are fighting their way towards their end, Tanrith.
But, other than the two Chapters, there's also rumor from his allies in Ordo Astartes that Astral Claws also have answer the call of aid and begin their journey towards the sector.
Atharion turned away from the hololith.
"Order the Swords of Avalon to begin the reclamation of the southern systems of the sector."
The aide standing beside him immediately straightened.
"Yes, my lord."
"Destroy any traitors they encounter," Atharion continued. "But preserve the worlds whenever possible. I do not want to see them reduced to ruins simply because their defenders have fallen."
His gaze returned to the hololith.
"Take the worlds intact."
The aide bow slighty before turning towards the vox station to relay the order to the Swords of Avalon.
Only a few seconds passed.
Then Atharion watched as the formation displayed upon the hololith began to change.
Three Battle Barges detached from the main fleet, their massive icons moving away from the formation. Five Strike Cruisers followed, accompanied by twenty-three escort vessels that broke away from the fleet and formed a protective screen around the larger warships.
"Continue our journey," Atharion said as he see that the Swords of Avalon enter the warp for their transition to their target. "we need to reach Chalica before it fall."
===
Chalica was the sector capital of the Elysia Sector.
Located in the southern reaches of the sector, the world occupied a position of considerable strategic importance, serving as the primary connection between the Elysia Sector, the Forge World of Lucius, and the wider Imperium beyond.
Chalica itself was not particularly populous.
Nor was it among the wealthiest worlds in the region.
Its importance had never come from its population, its industries, or its natural resources.
Instead, Chalica's significance came from its location.
During the Great Crusade, the world had served as a major transit and supply point for the Expeditionary Fleets advancing ever deeper into the northern reaches of the galaxy from Segmentum Ultima. Fleets would gather upon Chalica before continuing their journeys, replenishing their supplies and taking on replacements before pushing farther into regions that had yet to be brought beneath the rule of the Imperium.
For a time, the world had been an important artery of the Great Crusade.
But even before the Horus Heresy began, Chalica had already begun to lose much of its importance.
As the Great Crusade pushed beyond the light of the Astronomican, the number of Expeditionary Fleets operating in the region steadily declined. The Imperium's attention increasingly turned back toward the worlds already illuminated by the Astronomican, leaving the distant territories beyond its reach increasingly isolated.
Then came the Horus Heresy.
And afterward, the region surrounding Chalica was reorganised into what became known as the Elysia Sector.
The sector occupied a peculiar position upon the edge of the Halo Zone, incorporating numerous worlds that had been discovered and brought into the Imperium during the Great Crusade.
By conventional standards, the Elysia Sector was enormous.
Yet despite its immense size, it contained fewer inhabited worlds than most sectors of comparable scale.
Many of its worlds were scattered across vast distances, isolated from one another by dangerous Warp routes and immense stretches of empty space.
For centuries, Chalica remained the administrative heart of this distant region.
But it was not Chalica that became the most famous world in the sector.
That distinction belonged to Tarinth.
Or, more precisely, to the ancient Imperial city of Kasyr Lutien.
The city had existed for millennia and had become one of the most important Imperial settlements in the region. Its ancient fortifications, vast military archives, and immense stockpiles of equipment had made it a prize of considerable value.
When the Despoiler's forces descended upon the Elysia Sector, Kasyr Lutien became one of their principal targets.
But Abaddon did not limit his ambitions to Tarinth.
While his forces descended upon Kasyr Lutien, another invasion fleet was dispatched toward Chalica.
The world possessed something the Despoiler desperately wanted.
Weapons.
Armour.
Vehicles.
Ammunition.
A vast quantities of military equipment accumulated over centuries.
The stockpiles stored upon Chalica were so enormous that, according to Departmento Munitorum estimate, they were sufficient to equip almost a hundred standard Astra Militarum regiments.
For an Imperial commander desperate to sustain a massive offensive, such a stockpile was invaluable.
For the Despoiler, it was a prize that could not be ignored.
===
"Send out all the fighters," Atharion ordered as the void battle raged before him.
Across the hololithic display, hundreds of hostile contacts moved among the stars, their formations converging upon the Imperial fleet defending Chalica. Lance beams flashed across the darkness while torpedoes streaked between warships, their trails illuminating the void for brief moments before vanishing into the darkness.
Atharion watched the engagement without blinking.
"Prepare the Starhawks," he continued. "I want them out there the moment they're ready."
"Aye, my lord."
Throughout the Fortis Aeterna, the order was relayed.
Deep within the vast Star Fort, launch bays came alive.
Pilots and crews rushed toward their waiting craft while servitors began removing the restraints securing the fighters to their launch rails. Engines roared to life one after another, filling the cavernous hangars with noise as the Starhawks prepared for combat.
Atharion's gaze remained fixed upon the battle.
The defenders of Chalica were already being pushed back.
The Chalica Defence Fleet consisted of only two Lunar-class cruisers, three squadrons of Sword-class frigates, and two squadrons of Cobra-class destroyers.
It was still a formidable force, capable of defending the world against most conventional threats.
But against the fleet now bearing down upon it, the defenders were hopelessly outmatched.
Two Hades-class heavy cruisers led the traitor formation, supported by two Devastation-class cruisers and three Murder-class cruisers. Behind them came seventy-three escorts, forming a vast screen around the larger vessels.
They possessed both the numbers and the firepower to overwhelm the Chalica Defence Fleet.
The hololith displayed the battle in real time.
Imperial vessels attempted to maintain their formation as lance beams and macrocannon shells tore through the void around them. Several Sword-class frigates darted between the larger ships, attempting to harass the traitor escorts, while the two Lunar-class cruisers desperately concentrated their fire upon the advancing Hades-class vessels.
It was not enough.
The traitors were slowly forcing their way through the Imperial line.
Then, beside Atharion, another hololithic figure appeared.
The Grand Master of the Star Seeker materialised first, followed moments later by the other Grand Masters and Masters accompanying the expedition.
The image of each commander stood around the central hololith, their faces illuminated by the constantly shifting light of the battle.
The Grand Master of the Star Seeker looked toward the display.
"Looks like we just arrived in time."
Atharion glanced toward him.
"Indeed."
His attention shifted toward the two Grand Masters standing among the other Grand Masters and Masters.
"Star Seeker. Star Chaser," Atharion said, looking between them. "Deal with the traitor fleet. If possible, try to capture at least one Murder-class cruiser."
Both Grand Masters exchanged a brief glance.
"Why a Murder?" one of them asked.
"Its design may prove useful to us," Atharion replied. "If we can capture one intact, Nine and the Tech-Priests can study it and determine whether any of its systems can be adapted to strengthen our own fleet."
Before either Grand Master could respond, another voice came from the place where the Grand Master and Masters of Swords of Avalon standing.
"But, Supreme Grand Master, can't we simply request the ship's blueprints from Cypra Mundi?"
The speaker was the Master of the Seventh Company of the Swords of Avalon.
Atharion looked toward the young Astartes.
Before he could answer, Sevran spoke.
"Well, young one," he said, his voice carrying a hint of amusement, "even after we provided them with ten Chalices, twenty Lunars, and a couple hundred escort ships, they didn't exactly offer us their complete collection of ship designs in return."
The Master of the Seventh Company fell silent.
Sevran folded his arms.
"Cypra Mundi is generous when it comes to selling warships."
He paused.
"Not so generous when it comes to explaining how to build them."
A few of the them gave faint smiles.
Atharion, however, remained focused on the hololith.
"Proceed with your mission," Atharion said. "I don't want the traitors to destroy the Defence Fleet. They will serve as a great diversion for us."
The Grand Masters and Masters of the Star Seeker and Star Chaser bowed their heads before their hololithic images de-materialised.
Atharion turned his attention back toward the battlefield.
"What's the situation on the ground?"
"From the information we have received through Auspex readings and intercepted transmissions," Aldarion begin.
The hololith that had previously displayed the void battle shifted.
The image descended toward the planet below, passing through layers of atmosphere before transforming into a detailed map of Chalica.
At its center was the capital hive.
Around it, hundreds of smaller settlements and industrial districts were displayed, many of them marked with warning symbols.
"A massive Chaos cult uprising has begun across the world," Aldarion continued. "Many of the population centres outside the hive have already fallen completely to the cultists. The underhive is also under siege."
Several regions of the hololith changed colour, marking areas where Imperial authority had been lost.
"PDF units are still attempting to contain the uprising, but their forces are becoming increasingly fragmented. Several garrisons have already lost contact with the planetary command."
Aldarion gestured toward another section of the display.
The hololith changed again.
An icon appeared, followed by an image captured by an Auspex system.
It showed a squad of Space Marines moving through the streets.
Their armour was corrupted, their forms distorted by the excesses of Chaos.
Around them lay the bodies of PDF soldiers.
Some were still holding their weapons.
None were still alive.
"Other than the cultists, there have also been multiple sightings of a Traitor Astartes warband."
The image enlarged, revealing the markings upon the armour.
"We believe they belong to the Emperor's Children."