Phalanx, the largest space fortress known to the Imperium of Man, is now the home of the Imperial Fists.
It floated in Terra's orbit like a silent but steadfast sentinel, its towering spiers piercing the stars and reflecting the sun's rays, and vast docks and flight decks extending from all sides of it, which Soshyan had seen in the past. The countless fortresses and battleships are nothing to mention in front of it. Even Mars and Jupiter are not such magnificent creations. The moon in the same orbit as it seems to be slightly smaller in comparison.
The origin of this huge space fortress is basically known to everyone. When Dorn and the Emperor met for the first time, Dorn, the original body of the Imperial Fist, dedicated the mountain formation to the Emperor, but later the Emperor returned it to the Emperor. Dorn, it has been proudly serving the Empire and the Imperial Fists Legion ever since. This huge star fortress is completely autonomous and can travel through the warp. The warriors of the 7th Legion often rode it during the Great Crusade era. Move throughout the galaxy.
According to descriptions in countless archives and classics, the Phalanx is not only an extremely strong fortress, but also an indestructible war machine. Its firepower is enough to rival an entire expedition fleet, and it can sweep across the entire galaxy with its own power.
At the height of the Horus Heresy, when the rebels launched an attack on Terra and the Imperial Palace, the Phalanx had been severely damaged and had to leave Terra's orbit and head to the outer reaches of the solar system, thus allowing it to escape the fate of destruction.
But when I look at it now, the mountain formation is a bit bleak. Many areas of it are shrouded in complete darkness. Even the docks are mostly closed. Only less than half of the forts are active and guarding the surroundings. A considerable number of The fort lay on the emplacement like a dead plant.
Over the past ten thousand years, constant vigilance operations and wars have caused some inevitable damage to the Mountain Formation. Although the Imperial Fists continue to work hard to maintain the Mountain Formation, it is too difficult and difficult to maintain the former legion weapons by one battle group alone. Reluctantly, as time passed, more and more powerful fortress systems failed, and the skills required to repair them had long since disappeared from the Techmarines' databases.
Once, the phalanx shone in the stars like a giant, but now its peak has long passed, like an aging knight, stubbornly guarding the dilapidated castle - just like this empire.
However, today's mountain formation is bleaker than in the past.
Because it lost another knight, a knight covered in scars who watched over humans and the children of Dorne in the political whirlpool of Terra in the dark 41st millennium.
Kaka——
Along with the scream of the metal gate, the servants in black robes on both sides of the passage bent down and lowered their heads. Then two servo skulls holding incense burners floated out from inside, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps.
Wearing power armor and a black robe, Soshiyang appeared in the light with a solemn face, followed by the company commanders in the battle group, and then the soldiers, each of whom had their armor covered with black gauze. The burqa made of it also represents the purpose of their trip——
Condolences.
They are now located in the waiting area behind the airport of the mountain formation. From the outside, you may not be able to intuitively appreciate its size and grandeur. When you walk in, everyone in the Astral Knights is amazed at the scale of this ancient fortress.
This waiting area alone was probably the same size as their monastery fortress on Nessen IV, and even hung from the barely visible rafters on the deck were Imperial Fists decommissioned aircraft from the days of the Legion to the present, preserved and Display to commemorate past victories and those who fought and died on these aircraft.
Between the airport and the corridor leading to the foredeck hung huge flags, each four meters wide and eight meters high, representing each battle company of the Imperial Fists, each with its own unique decorative crest. Chapters and prayers.
Above the battle company banner is a larger chapter banner, with a golden background inlaid with shiny black and blood red, with "VII" engraved on it - remembering the Emperor's seventh victory in the Great Crusade. The origins of the Legion.
Passing through the foredeck, you enter the Memorial Hall. It is only a hundred meters high. The dome is decorated with the victories of legions and chapters. There is a 30-meter-wide diamond on the top of the dome. There are beautiful reliefs on the walls. The marble floors are also decorated with Imperial Fists mosaics, and the walls are lined with ancient mementos and huge murals depicting famous battles from the Imperial Fists Chronicles. Some ancient weapons and armor date back to the days of the Great Crusade and During the Horus Heresy, they were permanently preserved, reverently displayed there after time had robbed them of the possibility of use, and each piece of weapon and armor was carefully noted with its provenance.
At the other end of the memorial hall is a huge staircase. Various trophies are placed in the hall, from the heads of huge alien beasts to enemy weapons and armor, all to highlight the past of the Seventh Legion and the Imperial Fist. glory.
Finally, the team arrived at the Heart of Sigismund, which is also the center of the mountain formation. It was also the strategic room where the Imperial Fist Legion executed its war plan. It is more than one kilometer wide and is surrounded by various murals and flags. There is also a huge statue of the Primarch.
During the Chapter's era, it was also the site of major events for the Imperial Fists.
At this time, the warriors of all the companies of the Imperial Fists gathered here, helmets under their arms, gathered around the statue of the original body, and under the statue of the original body was a marble coffin.
When the Astral Knight arrived, all the warriors of the Imperial Fists turned their attention to him.
Soshyan stepped forward solemnly, holding a cluster of flowers picked from his robe, which he had specially prepared in Jupiter and consisted of yellow and white flowers.
Then he walked to the coffin. In the dense mist, a scarred warrior lay quietly in the coffin. He was wearing a simple white robe and holding a sharp sword in both hands.
Soshiyang lowered his head and closed his eyes. He did not expect that the first meeting between him and the senior who had helped him a lot at the feast of blades would actually be the last. When we met again, we were already separated forever. Originally, he thought Take this trip to Terra as an opportunity to catch up with each other.
With sadness, he stepped forward and placed the flower in his hand on the opponent's sword.
"Chapter Commander Pew, you have fulfilled your duty, go on your way."
Then, the warriors of the Imperial Fists hit the breastplate hard with their fists three times.
Immediately afterwards, the servants carried the coffin away. It would stay at the temporary parking place of the mountain formation for a short period of time, and then be sent to the tomb under the Terrababu Fortress to be buried with many martyrs of the Imperial Fist.
At this time, Soshyan finally knew who the new Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists was, but it was not Lysander he had guessed, but the former Second Company Commander Vaughan Hagen!
What happened in the middle was hard to find out by Soshiyang, but he guessed that Lysander himself gave up his position as Chapter Master. During the several years of getting along with each other during the Maelstrom Expedition, Soshiyang discovered that Lysander seemed to have a different attitude toward the Iron Warriors. Ordinary hatred, this kind of hatred is much stronger than other Imperial Fist warriors——
Perhaps Lysander has regarded revenge as his lifelong mission, which makes him unable to shoulder the responsibility of leading the chapter.
Of course, this is all Soshyan's own guess.
"Captain Soshyan, Chapter Commander Pew often praised your abilities and charisma in the past. He believes you are the best son of Dorne in this millennium. To be honest, this comment makes me a little jealous."
When Vaughan Hagen shook hands with Soshyan and said these words, Soshyan couldn't help but smile. Although the new chapter leader also looked unsmiling, he was not a rigid person.
Soshyan replied softly:
"Everything is as the Emperor wishes."
Vaughan Hagen has the standard face shape of the Imperial Fists, with clear lines like a knife and an axe, and his eyes are always very calm. He has served as the second company commander of the Imperial Fists for more than three hundred years, and his influence is only inferior to that of Laishan. Virtue. (In fact, after searching for a long time, Lao Mo was unable to find out which company commanders Wernhagen was before. He could only infer that he was the commander of the second company, because Thor Garadon was suddenly transferred from the third company to the second company at a certain period. Long, this is the only personnel change that can be explained)
He then introduced the other leaders of the Imperial Fist to Soshyan, including the new 2nd Captain Thor Garadon, 3rd Captain Ishara, 4th Captain Alars Lidoro, and 5th Captain Dravat. S. Fani, Sixth Company Commander Antalos, Seventh Company Commander Regor Desian, Eighth Company Commander Quit Karam, Ninth Company Commander Kaheren, Tenth Company Commander Lucien, and Chief Hermit, Director of the Think Tank et al.
Afterwards, Soshyan held a separate three-person meeting with Lysander and Vaughan Hagen, mainly to explain the current situation of Terra, especially the high lords.
It can be said that Pew's death was unfortunate. Originally, as a member of the High Lords Council, he could exert influence to help Soshyan in this situation. However, with his death, the current chapter leader Since Vaughn Hagen had just taken over, he had little influence in Terra's political game. After all, Pew's political influence had not been inherited.
This means that the Imperial Fist can now give Soshyan very little political help.
This situation was actually not surprising to Soshyan, but his keen political sense smelled a strange smell, and he thought of the sudden recurrence of the high lord's affairs about the Mantis Warriors, and soon realized that this was by no means isolated. incident, nine of the high-ranking seats are fixed, and only three are non-fixed. After Pew dies, the non-permanent seat he holds will obviously be taken away, and such actions are often accompanied by political attacks. , the incident with the Mantis Warrior was just a signal.
I'm afraid there are more things to come later.
However, according to Soshyan's observation, Vaughn Hagen probably has no intention of inheriting Pew's political assets. His thoughts about the future of the Imperial Fists are more about how to fight and expedition, so he did not take the initiative to propose it. These things.
(End of chapter)
