Creed stood within the underground command post of Kasr Kraf. He had temporarily returned from the front lines, and the headquarters was a beehive of frantic activity, with battle reports from across the globe being thrust into his hands one after another.
He frowned as he read the reports, then slammed them onto the table. He lit a cigar and took a long, deep drag. "Sigh, I don't understand..."
The nearby Commissar immediately asked, "What happened? Has the situation worsened?"
"No. Since those elite reinforcements arrived, half of our positions have gained a breathing room." Creed exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. "But I don't understand why the Despoiler is so hell-bent on clearing Cadia. What is he after?"
He tapped the tactical map. "Having essentially dealt with our navy, they could have pushed straight into the heart of the Segmentum toward the Throne World. Yet now, that massive Black Fleet is stubbornly grinding itself against Cadia's orbit."
"For the Blackstone structures," a male voice suddenly echoed through the command post, drawing everyone's attention to the entrance.
Creed looked up at the man standing in the doorway. He wore a crisp military uniform and a faint smile, looking as high-spirited as if he were attending a noble gala rather than standing on the most dangerous world in the galaxy. An expressionless Inquisitor followed closely behind him.
"My Lord Governor, you cannot enter without clearance!" A Cadian guard was clutching Alexei's arm, trying to halt his progress. However, the man's strength was beyond imagination; he dragged the guard into the room as if the soldier weighed nothing at all.
Facing the Lord Castellan's piercing gaze, Alexei offered a formal salute. "Greetings, Lord Castellan. I am Alexei, Governor of Aiur, here to support Cadia."
Creed was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected the leader of those hundred thousand elite troops to be so young. He waved his hand, signaling the guard to release Alexei. "I am glad to meet you. I truly didn't think anyone could actually break through the blockade to reach us. Also—what did you mean by 'Blackstone structures'?"
Alexei didn't speak immediately; instead, he glanced at the nearby Tech-Priest Magus, Klarn. "Someone will explain all of this to us, but he hasn't arrived yet. He should be here soon, though."
"Fine. I hate people who talk in riddles," Creed grunted.
"I need to know the current state of the war so I can best deploy my legions," Alexei said, looking around at the Cadian officers observing him. "I believe I have already proven their excellence."
"Yes, you have." Creed waved a hand and pulled out several reports. "Apologies, but I am exhausted and truly have no spare time for a detailed briefing. These are the current battle reports; you may see for yourself."
Alexei didn't mind. He led Diana to an empty seat and sat down, carefully scanning the documents.
As he expected, with the addition of the Aiur Guard, the wings of the butterfly had begun to flap. Positions that should have fallen were holding out unexpectedly—from the Great Cleft and the southern fortresses to the northern curtain walls and the shield generators.
However, the world outside the bastions remained a ruin. Aside from the positions held by the Space Wolves and the battered cruisers guarded by the Sons of the Lion, most areas were silent graveyards.
In the original timeline, the shield generator defenders would have been slaughtered by Abaddon's "Hounds," the Null Array would have been destroyed, and the ensuing chaos would have broken the lines until Trazyn and Saint Celestine arrived to stem the tide.
Then would come the reinforcements, the destruction of the Blackstone Fortress, Abaddon's personal landing, and the final collision of the fortress wreckage into Cadia.
But now, Alexei's presence had blocked Abaddon's talons outside the high walls. Damaging the Null Array was now an impossible task for the traitors. Although the final outcome might remain unchanged, the forces of Aiur would make Abaddon choke on his pride before then.
"So, the only remaining breakthrough point for them is the Eastern Flank... the Titan Legion of the Fire Wasps," Alexei muttered, putting down the reports. He was certain Abaddon would strike there.
He only wondered where Cawl was now. He needed to strike up a friendship with the Archmagos to ensure he was taken along to Macragge.
---
In the void of the Cadian system, the brutal space battle continued.
The Imperial Navy, at an absolute disadvantage in numbers and firepower, could only use the vastness of space to play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the traitors.
Brand stood in the command deck of his ship. A bandage was wrapped around his head, covering one eye with seepages of blood. His expression was grim. During the forced warp jump, nearly a thousand of their ships and transports had been crushed into scrap in the Immaterium due to unstable engines. The only silver lining was that their flagship and command systems remained intact.
His eye had been lost when he slammed into a table corner during a spatial tremor. Even with medical aid, the eye was gone; he would eventually need a cybernetic replacement.
"Damn it! Are these bastards obsessed with us?!" Brand slammed the holographic table in frustration. The screen showed nearly a hundred traitor vessels of various classes stubbornly chasing their tail. "The Imperial Navy has more ships, yet they insist on hunting us."
What Brand didn't know was that their escape had left the Black Fleet utterly incensed.
The Aiur fleet appeared trapped. They had circled almost the entire Cadian system and were now forced back toward the main battlefield, hoping to find safety among the surviving Imperial Navy elements.
As they reached the Mandeville point of the Cadian system, a violent battle was already underway. The remnants of the Imperial Navy were surrounded, with the Black Fleet systematically picking them apart.
The addition of the twenty-odd ships from the Aiur Navy was a mere drop in the bucket.
As Brand pushed his tactical command to the limit to fight within the shrinking space, a massive surge of energy erupted from the Mandeville point.
The Adjutant in the command deck began blaring warnings:
"Warning! Warning! Unknown massive object approaching. Please clear the area immediately! Warning! Warning!..."
This time, Brand didn't mute the Adjutant. Everyone on the bridge was staring out the observation window at an octagonal vessel so massive it defied belief.
"Emperor above... what... what is that..." Brand began to stammer. The majesty of the ship before him surpassed his wildest imagination; it was a mobile asteroid. Even a Gorgon-class Battlecruiser looked like a common fly next to it.
As they watched in awe, the giant ship opened fire on the Black Fleet. Even a flagship like the Vengeful Spirit was forced to yield to its devastating broadsides.
If Alexei were there, he would have known the ship's name instantly. The Phalanx. The Sons of Dorn had arrived.