The roar of engines echoed across the wasteland as the convoy formed a long, serpentine line of steel, rolling over the gravel towards the mining pit in the northeast.
Standing on the base's stone walls, Bro G and Cogboy watched the convoy disappear into the distance.
"How much do you think they'll bring back from this run?" Cogboy asked.
"Imperial Coins? Hard to say." Bro G kept his eyes on the taillights vanishing into the morning mist. "But as for Zeke's enhancement progress... I bet my last dollar his basic physique will hit Type-III 100% within five days."
"That optimistic?"
"He's got this ruthless streak in his bones. He's hard on others, but he's even harder on himself."
Just as the convoy departed, the two thousand one hundred and thirty-seven workers gathered in the open space at the center of the base had finished their breakfast. It was still the same nutrient paste gruel, but today it had been mixed with some synthetic protein powder redeemed from the System Shop, making it taste better and pack more nutrition.
Aska stood at the front of the crowd, ready to assign the day's tasks as he had discussed with Zeke the night before: reclaiming new land, maintaining the water purification equipment, gathering firewood, tending to the potato sprouts...
But Blood Angel walked over.
"Aska, hold on a moment," Blood Angel said. He turned and faced the massive sea of people.
He was dressed differently today. Gone was his combat gear, replaced by a simple, dark-grey long coat exchanged from the shop—resembling the attire of an old-world intellectual from the last century.
He held no weapons, only a single "book" in his hand.
"Fellow workers," Blood Angel began. His voice wasn't loud, but by deliberately using his psychic abilities to subtly vibrate the air, it reached everyone's ears with absolute clarity.
The crowd fell silent, over two thousand pairs of eyes fixing on him.
"Before we assign today's tasks, I want to say a few words."
Blood Angel's gaze swept over the crowd, passing over faces that were numb and exhausted, yet still held a faint glimmer of hope deep within.
"My name is Blood Angel, and I am a warrior of the Crimson Dawn Chapter."
"Like our Chapter Master, Zeke, I come from... a very faraway place."
He paused, as if organizing his thoughts.
"Before coming here, I had heard of Aurelian IV."
"They say it's a prosperous planet, rich in promethium reserves, with magnificent Hives—a shining jewel on the frontier of the Imperium."
Blood Angel's voice gradually rose. "But what did I see?"
"I saw a man in Red Town sell his wife and daughter for five hundred Aurelian Coins—just enough to buy five tubes of nutrient paste."
"And four hours later, he died in a scrap heap outside of town, still clutching the unspent chips in his hand."
A low murmur rippled through the crowd. Many workers lowered their heads, having seen similar tragedies, or perhaps even experienced them firsthand.
"I saw factories owned by the Aru Group where workers labored for eighteen hours a day, sorting radioactive ore with their bare hands, with an overseer's power whip ready to fall on their backs at any moment."
"Got injured?"
"Throw them in the medicae bay. If they survive, they go back to work. If they can't, drag them to the incinerator."
"I saw children in the underhives with bellies swollen like balloons from drinking contaminated water for years. That wasn't from eating until they were full—that was edema. That was parasites gnawing at their innards."
Blood Angel's voice began to tremble with anger—not a performance, but genuine fury surging from the bottom of his heart.
"How did a perfectly good planet turn into this?"
"Where are the ordinary citizens of the Imperium supposed to go? What are they supposed to do?"
"Aurelian has abundant mineral wealth, a complete industrial foundation, and enough mining potential to feed fifty billion people!"
"So why do the vast majority live worse than the mutant rats in the underhives?"
He took a step forward and pointed toward the east, in the direction of the Aru Hive.
"Because those high and mighty lords, knight scions, merchants, psykers, and Tech-Priests have monopolized everything!"
"They monopolized the mines! For every piece of ore a miner digs up, ninety percent of the profit goes straight into their pockets, leaving the miners with nothing but moldy nutrient paste and a body full of occupational diseases!"
"They control the food and the water! In underhive families, parents and children take turns eating because there is never enough food!"
"They control the military force! Whoever disobeys, whoever resists, is met with power whips, lasguns, tanks, and mechs!"
With the amplification of his psychic powers, Blood Angel's voice rolled across the wasteland like thunder.
"They claim this is the Emperor's will! That this is the order of the Imperium of Man!"
"But is the Emperor's will to have mortals butcher each other? To have fathers sell their daughters? To have children starve to death in the streets?"
He suddenly swung his arm, pointing toward the Crimson Dawn flag flying above the base's stone wall—a crimson sun rising from a dark horizon.
"No! The Emperor's will is the unity of humanity! It is the resurgence of mankind! It is ensuring that every single mortal can live with dignity!"
"And those parasites—those leeches sucking the blood of the twenty-three billion people on Aurelian IV—have twisted the Emperor's will and turned it into an instrument of oppression!"
The crowd began to stir. Workers whispered among themselves, a certain fire igniting in their eyes.
Standing at the very front, Aska's fists were clenched so tightly his veins bulged.
He thought of his father, who had died in the mines, and his younger sister, who was dragged away by the Aru Group enforcers and never returned.
"Crimson Dawn did not come here to become your new lords, your new masters."
Though the players knew the Emperor didn't actually care about these ordinary mortals, they still had to borrow his name a little. After all, the awe inspired by the Emperor's crusade forces was no less than a god descending upon the world.
Blood Angel's voice softened, but his tone grew even more resolute.
"Our Crimson Dawn Chapter has descended upon Aurelian IV carrying the true will of the Emperor."
"We are here to tell everyone who is oppressed: you do not have to kneel forever!"
"Labor should be exchanged for food and warmth, not slavery!"
"Effort should be rewarded with respect, not the lash of a whip!"
"Life should be lived with dignity, not consumed like disposable batteries!"
He spread his arms wide, as if to embrace them all.
"In this base, there are no overseer's power whips, no docked wages, and no senseless slaughter!"
"The land you reclaim, the food you grow, belongs to you!"
"The houses you build to shelter yourselves from the storm belong to you!"
"The order you maintain, the families you protect, belong to you!"
Blood Angel took a deep breath and roared with every ounce of strength he had:
"And Crimson Dawn will stand in front of you!"
"We will use our guns to block the bullets fired by those who seek to plunder you!"
"We will use our blood to pave a road to dignity for you!"
"Until the day comes when no one on Aurelian IV has to sell their children out of hunger, no one dies in the streets out of poverty, and no one... is ever treated like livestock again!"
"Because we are comrades! We are brothers fighting side-by-side! We are companions who will welcome the dawn together!"
Dead silence.
And then, an explosive cheer erupted from the crowd.
The workers pumped their fists into the air, screaming and crying, as if venting decades—generations—of pent-up humiliation and rage all at once.
Aska was the first to rush forward. He grabbed Blood Angel's hand, tears streaming down his face. "My Lord... My Lord... Can we... Can we really..."
"We can."
Blood Angel gripped his calloused hand tightly, his voice unwavering. "But only if all of us stand up. No more kneeling. Grip tightly to everything in your own hands, and use your own strength to fight for a brighter future."