By the time the sky over Aurelian IV began to lighten, all fighting had ceased.
Twenty-five hive cities. Twenty-five completely one-sided, crushing victories.
The Crimson Dawn's broadcast signal blanketed the entire planet simultaneously. Every single vox-caster and loudhailer that still functioned blared the exact same voice.
"Attention, all citizens of Aurelian IV."
"This is the Planetary Governor's Office, the Crimson Dawn."
"Within the past twelve hours, the illegal ruling syndicates of the former Sycamore, Aru, Holmes, and the other twenty-two hive cities have been completely purged."
"All former officials, aristocrats, and Adeptus Mechanicus personnel involved in crimes of corruption, oppression, and rebellion have been detained."
"Effective immediately, the entirety of Aurelian IV is under the unified administration of the Crimson Dawn."
"All hive cities are hereby placed under martial law. The former administrative systems are suspended."
"A new governing body will be established within three days, at which time specific governance plans will be announced."
"I repeat, the entirety of Aurelian IV..."
The broadcast echoed through the skies of every single hive city.
Down in the underhive, workers just clocking in for their shifts looked up at the blaring loudhailers, their faces written with utter bewilderment.
They were too far from the upper hive for the sounds of battle to reach them. As for the residents of the mid and upper hives, they already had their suspicions.
The sun slowly began to rise.
Right before the eyes of every player who had just ceased fighting, a line of text abruptly popped up.
It hovered dead center in their fields of vision.
[System Announcement]
[The First Closed Beta of "Epoch 40k: Mecha" is concluding.]
[Remaining Online Time: 168 hours.]
[After 168 hours, all players will be automatically logged out, and the servers will enter a maintenance and update phase.]
[Players may log back in once the update is complete.]
[Specific update details and Second Closed Beta information will be announced separately on the official website.]
[Thank you to all players for participating in the First Closed Beta.]
[May the Dawn be with you.]
The players exchanged bewildered glances before the regional chat completely exploded.
[Have You Been Loyal Today?]: "Holy shit? 168 hours? Seven days?"
[Did White Scars Speed Today?]: "The first beta is ending just like that? I haven't even driven a Baneblade yet!"
[The Last God of Gamblers of the Imperium of Man]: "It's over, it's all over. I didn't even get a chance to teach Nurgle how to play..."
[Execute Old Man the War Criminal]: "Seven days... So we have to stabilize the entire fucking planet in seven days?"
[Paradox Player Not a War Criminal]: "Tight schedule and a heavy task, brothers."
[Blood Angels' Second Emperor]: "Cut the crap and get moving!"
–
Paul's voice broadcasted via the vox-net from aboard the Light of Dawn, carrying to every player across the planet.
"Brothers! My deepest thanks to everyone who continues to keep this world in their thoughts, even now. With the game updating in seven days, you will all be logged out. What happens during this maintenance period is completely unknown."
He took a brief pause, his tone shifting into one of unyielding iron.
"But I swear to you right here and now... I will protect your physical bodies. I will protect the foundation we've bled to build. I will protect every hard-won ounce of hope on this planet. I will absolutely not fail the blood and sweat you've poured into this place over the past half-year, and I won't fail the effort you're about to put in over these next seven days."
Striking his left breastplate with his right fist, Paul's power armor emitted a heavy, echoing thud.
This time, the players refrained from their customary disruptive cheers or bizarre behavior.
They simply stood quietly across the planet's various hive cities, listening to the voice of the man who had led them all the way from being a ragtag group of five thousand vagrants to where they were today.
In unison, they pounded their right fists against their left breastplates.
That silent promise carried more weight than any spoken oath ever could.
--
Six days later. Kent Hive, the deepest reaches of the underhive.
This area had originally been an abandoned mining pit, over twelve thousand meters below sea level. Now, it had been completely renovated into a massive subterranean facility.
Codename: Dawn's Slumbering Palace.
At this moment, over four thousand stasis pods were neatly arranged in rows across the palace's main hall.
Each pod was cast from high-strength alloy, glowing with dark blue energy veins tracing across their surfaces.
The players filed into the hall one by one, finding their designated pods by serial number.
There weren't many words of farewell.
[Have You Been Loyal Today?] patted [Did White Scars Speed Today?] on the shoulder. "Bro, next time we log on, let's race Thunderhawks."
"What's the bet?"
"Loser buys drinks for the whole Chapter."
"Deal."
[The Last God of Gamblers of the Imperium of Man] shoved a deck of iron poker cards into Paul's hand. "Hold onto these for me. When I get back, I'm teaching Tzeentch how to play Texas Hold'em."
Paul just offered a faint smile and accepted them.
The last ones to enter the hall were Cogboy, Blood Angel, and Schrödinger Bro.
The four of them stood at the entrance, watching all the players lie down in their pods, watching the hatches slowly seal shut, and watching the stasis coolant pump in.
"Is everything set?" Paul asked.
"It's handled," Schrödinger Bro nodded. "All the welfare benefits for the players in the real world have been finalized. The tech reverse-engineering team is officially established, and the first batch of funding hit our accounts yesterday."
"What about the Slumbering Palace's defense systems?" Paul looked at Cogboy.
"Two layers of void shields, two hundred automated defense turrets, and Helovia personally holding the fort," Cogboy's bionic eyes flickered with streams of data. "Unless an entire Astartes company launches a full-frontal assault, we are absolutely secure."
"Helovia..." Paul recalled the young girl.
After purifying her father, her psychic level had increased once more. Coupled with her Magical Girl Transformation Device...
She was now the strongest psyker in the Crimson Dawn aside from Paul himself. Having her guard the Slumbering Palace truly offered peace of mind.
Time ticked by, second by second. Cogboy, Blood Angel, and Schrödinger Bro laid down in their stasis pods one after another.
Finally, the countdown hit zero.
Paul walked to the center of the hall.
He looked around. The four thousand-plus pods were lined up in perfect arrays, even though they varied wildly in size to accommodate the players' different forms.
Inside each and every pod slept a member of the Crimson Dawn—a comrade who had bled and sweat for their cause.
"I will protect you," Paul said softly, his voice echoing through the cavernous hall. "I'll protect the Crimson Dawn. I'll protect the future we all believe in."
He turned and walked toward the hall's exit.
The heavy alloy doors slowly slid shut behind him. Locked. Encrypted. Three layers of armor plating slammed down in sequence.
Outside the doors, Helovia stood quietly.
The little girl had grown slightly taller. She gripped that silver staff in her hand, her eyes shining with a maturity far beyond her years.
"Brother," she said softly, "I'll guard this place well."
Paul ruffled her hair. "I know."