With the reinforcement fleet and the Black Templars gone, Axion's days aboard the Indomitable had become somewhat tedious.
The two Dark Angels, adhering to their solemn silence, checked Axion's position once daily.
The two Mechanicus Magos had not appeared since their last exchange, in which they traded a mountain of historical data for an Energy Compression Technology from Axion.
Axion clearly recalled the words of the two Magos as they studied the technical schematics:
"By the Omnissiah! This is a most Divine discovery, its mysteries must be deciphered with pious hearts, for the glory of the Great Machine God and the benefit of Mankind."
The two then vanished in a fit of ecstatic madness.
For Axion, the transaction only gave him a shallow understanding of the Imperium and raised more troubling questions.
Nevertheless, to maintain the performance of his chassis, Axion, having completed his data analysis, paid a visit to the ship's maintenance center for a check-up and service of his bionic arm.
The data interfaces and information formats used by the Cult Mechanicus were utterly different from those of the ancient era. Axion could not directly transfer the information electronically.
He was forced to manually transcribe the technical data into a tome using seven hundred parchment scrolls and forty-five vials of so-called "blessed" ink.
He then had it bound and delivered to the Magos.
To ensure the knowledge would not be tampered with or suffer other unknown interference, a Priest of the Ecclesiarchy and several attendants were present throughout the process, continuously chanting prayers and holy hymns.
The moment Axion finished the volume, they immediately performed a blessing ritual on the book itself and affixed various Imperial seals and stamps.
To avoid such issues in the future, Axion reluctantly began to research the data interfaces currently utilized by the Cult Mechanicus.
Just as Axion settled into boredom, a heavily damaged Imperial Navy fleet appeared near the space station.
One ship, in particular, completely lost power the moment it dropped out of Warp travel.
Through the viewport of the Indomitable, Axion clearly saw the four remaining vessels of the fleet. The ship that had been immediately paralyzed upon exiting the Warp had a completely different livery.
The conspicuous emblem upon it resembled a stylized horseshoe.
Axion recognized the mark from the data provided by the Magos.
It was the symbol of the Ultramarines.
Based on the vessel's size and profile, it appeared to be a modified Strike Cruiser. Its exterior possessed the hallmarks of the Ultramarines style: a blue-and-white livery, a massive Chapter badge, and a bow decoration subtly different from other Imperial Navy warships.
Just as Axion watched the paralyzed ship, dozens of kilometers away, with keen interest using optical zoom, a massive flash of explosion erupted from the cruiser's stern.
A deluge of hull fragments scattered into space.
Simultaneously, the three other vessels, Imperial Navy Destroyers, suddenly fired several large torpedoes at each other.
Fortunately, the vessels' automated point-defence weaponry was still functional, and several automated close-in weapons successfully detonated the torpedoes in the void.
What followed struck Axion as baffling.
The automated turrets on the three Destroyers began firing at the other gun batteries on their own hulls. Certain batteries likewise commenced counter-fire.
It looked like self-destruction.
Interleaving explosions constantly flashed.
Axion, watching the spectacle from the viewport, was utterly perplexed.
What kind of theatrical performance was this?
The crippled Ultramarines Cruiser quickly launched several Thunderhawk Gunships towards the Destroyers.
A few point-defence weapons turned to rake the Thunderhawks with fire, but they were swiftly destroyed by other nearby turrets.
Following the Thunderhawks' boarding, the three Destroyers quickly settled back into silence.
The three Destroyers then deployed three massive tow cables, fastening them to the disabled Cruiser.
They began dragging it toward the space station.
Only then was the Captain of the Indomitable successfully able to open communications with the four vessels.
The Scythe and other ships had departed with the earlier support fleet, leaving only the Oberon-class Battleship Indomitable in the area.
The space station had only just recovered basic functionality. If these four ships posed any risk, the Indomitable had the authority to open fire immediately.
After all, a single disabled Cruiser and three heavily damaged Destroyers could all be reduced to space debris by a single salvo of Lance battery fire and torpedoes.
"This is the Cruiser Morning Light. We belong to the Ultramarines. The three surrounding Destroyers are attached ships. We were ordered to the vicinity of Vostroya to investigate the recent rebel attacks and Xenos infestations."
"During Warp transit, we were subjected to both Daemon-in-the-Machine infiltration and Warp-borne daemon attack. We were forced to drop out of the Warp at the nearest Astropathic signal. All ships are severely damaged and require immediate local repair."
The Captain of the Indomitable was not easily convinced.
"Maintain your distance. Shut down your engines. You are permitted to dock at the space station's void-port for emergency repairs only after inspection. Any further approach is forbidden until status is confirmed, or I reserve the right to open fire and destroy you."
The prior skirmish had clearly been noted by the Indomitable.
Warp incursions were inherently insidious.
Daemons-in-the-Machine would infiltrate ship controls, and the ship's Machine Spirit could be affected or even outright corrupted.
Even Space Marine vessels were not immune.
However, given that the ships belonged to the Ultramarines, normal estimates suggested that the Cruiser would carry at least two companies of Astartes.
To ensure safety, the Captain contacted the two Dark Angels aboard the ship.
"My Lords, a small Ultramarines fleet, having suffered a Warp attack, has emergency-exited the Immaterium near us. Although their Captain provided a verified manifest, for safety, we require personnel to investigate the fleet's status."
"Given that I saw no Astartes brothers from the Ultramarines during the communication, I request your assistance."
Clearly, assigning mortal soldiers in this situation would be pointless; the Captain would not have been so anxious if Ultramarines had appeared in the initial communication.
But if the ships had been compromised and were filled with Warp entities, docking them with the station would lead to a catastrophe far worse than the previous Ork attack.
Requesting the two Dark Angels to deploy was the optimal choice.
Even if they did not survive, the Captain trusted they could transmit the necessary information. When necessary, he was prepared to open fire and destroy both the personnel and the ships.
The two Dark Angels exchanged a look, then accepted the Captain's request. Aided by several Serfs, they began donning their Power Armour.
They then boarded the Thunderhawk Gunship, emblazoned with their Chapter's iconography, and flew toward the paralyzed Ultramarines Cruiser in the distance.
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