With the subsidence of Warp interference, the myriad systems across the Imperial fleet finally returned to full operational status.
However, both the Space Wolves and the White Scars were struck by the strangeness of their surroundings. Having just followed the Iron Men out of the Warp, their navigational cogitators were updating with disorienting speed. They were deep within the Segmentum Ultima, within the abandoned Prospero system, yet the density of friendly signals appearing on their augurs was bordering on the absurd.
Jaghatai Khan peered through the bridge viewport, surveying the void, his brow furrowed in confusion. But his gaze soon settled on a singular, ominous silhouette.
In the nearby starfield, a supernatural world saturated with profane energies was embroiled in an eruption of light. A war was raging.
Axion, too, had identified the anomalous planet via the Void Sword's sensors. Its profile matched the data forcibly extracted from the Iron Warriors' captured memories with chilling precision. Correlating the intelligence, Axion immediately understood why a massive spatial vortex remained where the Planet of the Sorcerers had once been, and why the Void Sword had emerged exactly here after exiting the Warp.
Yet, the strategic intent remained an enigma. Had the enemy foreseen their arrival? Was Magnus attempting an exodus? But moving an entire planet into Imperial space was a tactic of such sheer, visible audacity that it defied logic. After exhaustive probability iterations, Axion settled on the only remaining conclusion: a coincidence of cataclysmic proportions.
The sudden arrival of the Punitive Expedition fleet into realspace instantly drew the attention of the warring Ultramarines and their traitorous adversaries. Calgar watched the massive Titan-class vessel materialize, then glanced at his own flagship, the Macragge's Honour, his mood darkening. The fact that the Iron Men were escorted not by their usual automaton cohorts, but by a sprawling array of Imperial vessels, left him deeply unsettled.
He immediately opened a vox-channel. The figures that materialized on the display were unexpected: Logan Grimnar, Jaghatai Khan, and a digital construct representing the Iron Men.
A brief exchange of intelligence revealed the truth. The Punitive Expedition had never intended to involve the Imperium; the Khan had joined of his own accord, and the Wolves had simply forced their way aboard. Unlike Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade, the Iron Men's expedition lacked any concept of mobilization or reliance upon the "fragile lifeforms" of the Imperium. It was a crusade intended to remain in the shadows, at least until now.
Calgar was stunned to hear Grimnar boasting of how the fleet had razed an Iron Warriors' fortress-world and even captured the daemon-tainted primarch, Perturabo.
The mood shifted to one of grim urgency as the Iron Men shared their data. The Thousand Sons had used forbidden sorcery to forcibly extract Perturabo before he could be executed, vanishing into the aether. The Iron Men had been pursuing them to the Planet of the Sorcerers, only to find a spatial vortex in its place, a vortex that had deposited them here. The aberrant planet now looming over Prospero was, beyond doubt, their quarry.
Calgar's expression stiffened. Jaghatai Khan, observing through the vox-feed, sensed the shift in his brother's progeny, even if the stoic, rigid mask of the Ultramarines Chapter Master betrayed nothing to the likes of Grimnar.
"What is it?" the Khan asked.
Calgar relayed the recent developments within the Prospero system, his voice tight. "What are the statistical odds of two traitor primarchs being present on that world?"
The mechanical, synthesized voice of the Iron Man echoed through the channel.
"Data analysis of orbital defense platforms and war-fortresses confirms the signature of the Traitor Legion: Iron Warriors. Based on behavioral projections, the probability of Perturabo's presence on the planet is 63.15%. Secondary calculation, factoring in Perturabo's presence, places Magnus the Red's probability at 44.32%. If Perturabo's physical activity is confirmed, the probability of Magnus's presence increases to 89.66%. Current aggregated probability of two traitor primarchs on-site: 27.98%. Further data is required for a conclusive assessment."
The report weighed heavily on Calgar. "Damnation. The Emperor preserve them."
Calgar admitted he had already deployed numerous reconnaissance detachments to the surface. If even one of those primarchs was dug in, those scouts were walking into a slaughter.
It had been ten thousand years since the primarchs had vanished; the Imperial commanders were struggling to adapt to a battlefield where the old rules of engagement no longer applied. They were accustomed to standard attrition; attrition against Chaos fortresses was not new. Usually, they would engage the enemy in the void while simultaneously dropping ground forces to cripple orbital defenses, followed by sustained bombardment.
But this was different. Unlike Angron, who would have already descended to rend flesh and shatter line-breakers, Perturabo and Magnus were neither mindless nor brutes. They had mustered their sons, layered their defenses, and anchored themselves behind the esoteric defenses of a planet saturated with the Warp.
Unless the Imperium committed a full-scale legionary assault, spearheaded by armored columns or Titan maniples, only a primarch could hope to challenge a primarch. The Imperial fleet was currently stalled by orbital defenses, and the Planet of the Sorcerers remained ominously silent. Even an Ork would have sensed the trap.
Axion, however, felt no such hesitation. The Void Sword shifted, its engines roaring as it adjusted its firing solution.
A torrent of devastating energy erupted from beyond the system's edge. The sheer brilliance of the discharge eclipsed the surrounding stars. Beams of raw destruction streaked toward the orbital defense platforms and surface fortresses that had been trading fire with the Imperial fleet. The firepower of a single Titan-class vessel surpassed the entire Imperial battlegroup by an order of magnitude.
Yet, Axion refrained from utilizing its cataclysmic weaponry. In the absence of definitive intelligence, there was no way to pinpoint the location of the traitor primarchs. The Iron Man had no desire to erase his targets along with the collateral terrain.
But as the Void Sword opened fire, the Planet of the Sorcerers, floating in the void beside Prospero, suddenly blazed with an abyssal light.
Azure, arcane sorcery enveloped the traitorous fortresses. Every incoming volley was eroded and dissipated, dissolving into ripples of void-shield energy that vanished into the cold embrace of the warp-touched dark.
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