After leaving the armory, Soshyan walked through a wide passage and reached the area at the rear of the battleship.
After leaving the passage, a lobby with a black stone dome appeared in front. At the other end of the lobby was a series of huge windows.
There was nothing in the middle of the window. From it, Soshyan saw an orange-yellow trail outside gradually blending into the colorful torrent, and the vortex in the distance was also dyed with a touch of pink - all colors in the subspace It cannot be directly defined in language.
The edges of the windows in the lobby were painted with images of Space Marines, and the Emperor was everywhere.
He looks down from a niche, supported by carefully arranged stone pillars, pointing his sword toward the sky.
This is the church on the Starfire, and it is also the temporary monastery of the Space Marines.
There may be no weapons on the Imperial warships, but there must be churches. This is the best way to maintain the loyalty and morale of the sailors during the long voyage, and it is also another guarantee for the warp voyage - the Emperor's eyes will be watching these voyages. Ships in dangerous seas.
Most of the works on the dome depict scenes of Space Marines engaged in warfare, training, craftsmanship, and sacrifice.
On the face of the emperor, who occupies a prominent position, there is an indescribable sadness, which directly hits Soshyan's soul.
He was looking down, his left hand stretched forward, blessing his heirs.
Soshyan continued to move forward. The place was empty without any servants or servitors, because the monastery was the spiritual home of the Space Marines and their most private place, and it was impossible for mortals to set foot in it.
Then, a black steel door was opened, and Soshyan entered a small chapel - there are many such chapels in the monastery, where Space Marines who are confused in their hearts will confess to the priest.
A lone beam of light passed through the thick wall and shone in the center of the chapel. On the other side, thirty yards away, was a rose-colored window.
The walls here are carved from black stone, inlaid with many rare minerals, and gold and silver adorn everything.
Soshyan stopped in the center of the light, knelt down on one knee, and looked up at the golden Eagle emblem.
Under the eagle emblem, there are six flags, one of which is the regimental flag of the battle group, and the other five are the company flags of the first company, the third company, the fourth company, the sixth company and the seventh company. These are all from the wreckage of the world engine. Recycled from China, none of them are complete.
Soshyan said nothing, just watched quietly.
Until half an hour later, the sound of slight footsteps interrupted him.
"I'm here to meditate."
Soshyan didn't look back, he knew who was coming.
"With all due respect, you've spent enough time on this, and as mortals always say, bygones are bygones."
Yazdan Shahinyan, wearing a skull helmet and his power armor dyed black, appeared behind Soshyan.
"Now that you are our Chapter Master, you must hold yourself accountable."
Soshyan stood up and turned to look at Yazdan Shahhinyan, the Chapter's Chaplain.
His power armor has been completely dyed black, covering every inch, and is engraved with dense prayers from his boots to his neck.
In his right metal glove, he holds a priest's staff with a golden imperial eagle on the top. The unactivated stand shines in the dim light.
"Losa just told me that Ma'kande No. 2 is approaching."
Yazdan continued:
"Are you ready, Chapter Master?"
As the Chapter Chaplain, in principle Yazdan is under the jurisdiction of Soshyan, but in fact he is divorced from the simple superior-subordinate relationship.
Because he is responsible for the soul and thoughts of the entire battle group, including Soshyan's.
"I'm ready."
Soshyan answered forcefully and met Yazdan's serious gaze.
"The chapter needs leadership now, strong leadership, Soshyan, you cannot fall into confusion at this time."
"I will always keep a clear mind"
"This mission is very important."
Yazdan's whisper echoed through the monastery's inner sanctum.
"Our battle group is now like a person who is seriously ill and has not recovered. The body has been completely dried up. We cannot accept the smallest failure. We must seize every nutrient."
"I will take back all those supplies for the sake of the war group."
"This will be your first true test as Chapter Master."
"Then I welcome it, Reverend."
————————
Forge World Ma'kande II, Terra Standard Time 0200
"These documents encapsulate a review of the agenda."
General Sola, the commander of the Orbital Defense Station, rubbed his chubby hands, then turned around and said:
"Any more questions? Padre Lorcan."
These words pulled him out of the boredom that had occupied his mind for the past two hours. The red-robed Mechanicus priest shook his head, which had not yet installed too many mechanical plug-ins.
The strategy room was quiet, and the image screen behind the stationmaster was glowing, but the light was still dim.
The clicking of the scribe servitor in the corner stopped, for its automatic quill had finished recording minutes ago, and the other SADF officers were staring at him.
"No problem, sir."
Loken spread his hands and said dryly:
"A comprehensive and sophisticated review that, as ever, is as rigorous as a meditator's calculator."
"Really?"
A young officer with his military cap tilted at an angle suddenly asked. The man's ruthless eyes were as powerful as the blunt blows Loken liked to inflict on the servitors.
"It's such a relief to have your approval, and I'll be sure to tell Priest Farah of your important points the next time I share a holographic briefing with him."
The other thirteen local defense force officers did not react, but Loken could feel their secret joy.
He was enraged, and most of his body was still weak organic matter, so it was normal for him to be unable to control his emotions.
Loken suppressed his anger and turned it into a respectful nod.
He was originally the archbishop's favorite apprentice, but after his mentor died in an "accident", he naturally lost power and was driven from the promising ordnance factory to the defensive track, just like an abandoned Same as defective products.
Those who were hostile to him were waiting for his few metal prosthetics to rust in the dust. Even the defense forces, who had ignored him in the past, began to wink at him.
"So."
The stationmaster looked at Loken with a very kind smile and said:
"Priest Lorcan, could you please shed more light on the last point I mentioned?"
"Last bit, sir?"
Loken tilted his head and pretended not to understand. He had been listening to binary music in the built-in headphones.
"Yes, mentioned less than a minute ago."
Loken said nothing, and the silence in the room stretched to painful, unnatural lengths.
Finally, the cabin door was broken by a knock. Loken really wanted to keep the person who opened the door and kiss him hard, anoint him with holy oil, and then make an exception and recite a hymn to him.
"who!"
The stationmaster's affable façade was immediately torn to pieces, and he roared loudly, but his gaze never left Loken.
The knock on the door sounded again. The stationmaster frowned and opened the lock with a flick of his sensor rod.
The hatch slid open, and a young man wearing the uniform of the apocalypse department quickly walked in.
"What's up?"
the stationmaster scolded, and the man gave a quick salute.
"Emergency briefing from the captain, sir! The sensor just sounded. The outpost auspicious device on the edge of the galaxy trajectory monitoring station detected an independent ship breaking into the real universe from subspace!"
"identity?"
"We're still verifying this, sir, but preliminary scans of the keel markings and identification codes indicate that it... may be the New Pharos."
"New Pharos?"
The stationmaster frowned.
"Didn't it set sail for the Extreme Star Territory a week ago?"
Although the planet Ma'kande II has declined for a long time, it is still a forging world. The High Lords Council of Terra will still issue production quotas to provide light weapons to some fortress worlds and Astra Militarum legions.
Moreover, Ma'kande II is also one of the few forge worlds that can still produce Malcador heavy tanks. Although this tank is relatively outdated, there are still some Astra Militarum equipment.
"Yes sir, that's what the captain said, we've tried to signal it but got no reply... the communications may have been blocked by the asteroid field, but they definitely got our message."
"How far is she?"
"Just entering the star belt, sir. Once past the anchorage it's only three hours' sail."
"Gentlemen, it seems we have a situation."
The station commander said to the assembled officers:
"The defense system immediately entered combat readiness."
