"How long until we arrive at Tri-Six?" Atharion asked as he sat upon the command throne, his gaze sweeping across the bridge of his ship.
"Approximately another ten minutes, my Lord," the Navigator replied through the vox.
Atharion nodded before turning his attention back to the reports displayed before him.
"What about the Warp stability around Tri-Six?"
He reviewed the latest report provided by the Knights of Tempest concerning their plan to assault the altars and eliminate the Plaguecaster responsible for the ritual.
"Is there any significant deterioration?"
The Navigator was silent for several seconds.
"There are signs of corruption around the system," the Navigator answered slowly, "but it appears to be slowly dispersing."
"Understood."
Atharion slowly raised his head, his gaze settling upon the hololith of the Tri-Six System.
The swirling Warp disturbances surrounding the system were gradually diminishing, though faint traces of unnatural energy remained scattered across the display.
"Continue to guide our fleet toward the system," Atharion ordered. "I do not want any accidents."
"Of course, my Lord."
The Navigator closed the vox-channel.
Atharion remained silent for a moment, studying the hololith.
If the corruption was truly dispersing, then perhaps the alters have already been dealt with.
"Well, perhaps they're successful after all," Orion speak nonchalantly. "it seem you just worry too much."
"One cannot worry too much, Master Orion," Vitaris replied. "Especially when the enemy is connected to the Great Corruptor."
Vitaris, Grand Master of the Apothecarion, rarely left Avalon.
Unlike many of the other senior officers of the Chapter, his duties kept him almost permanently within the Chapter's Apothecarion and gene-seed vaults. He oversaw the preservation and purity of their gene-seed, supervised the implantation of gene-seed organs into new Neophytes, and maintained the countless biological records accumulated throughout the Chapter's history.
His work extended beyond simple preservation.
Vitaris spent much of his time researching viruses, diseases, and other biological agents encountered throughout the Imperium. The Death Guard and their servants had made such knowledge an unfortunate necessity.
Every strain of plague they encountered was catalogued.
Every mutation was studied.
Every cure was tested.
Every potential countermeasure was preserved for the day the Chapter might face it again.
"While no matter, even if there's still some of the traitors living, then we will simply destroyed them."
"Indeed, with our current strength, we can simply destroy them especially with the Grey Knights and the other soften them up."
Atharion turn his head towards the two new addition of the Round Table, Grand Master Corvin and Nicanor.
Both of them are not part of the Dark Knights, instead both are from a new Chapter.
Seeing that threat from the rear of Camelarion are true, though in reality, its just Atharion simply forgeted that Chaos and even most of the xenos can come from the so called safe back, Atharion after informing the Thirteen, formed another two Chapters that will also form the shield of Camelarion, with both of them are a fleet-based one.
Star Seeker and Star Chaser, other than black on the pauldron, both Chapters mainly use white color as their main color to signify their position within the Dark Knights system as Chapter that task to excel in void and zero gravity combat.
Another that providing them five Battle barges and ten Strike Cruisers, Atharion also give them each one Ramilies-class Star Fort to serve as their fortress-monastery and their moving base as the star forts are heavily customized according to the research that both Nine and Atharion have done on the Rapturous Rex.
But, due to the suddenness of the founding, both Chapters hasn't receive any of the void assets as promised other than two Strike Cruisers.
Both Chapters are also not in their full strength as both currently only have 120 battle brothers, with 20 of them are Terminators.
For the specialist, they also only received one Chief Apothecaries, two Apothecaries and ten Helix Adepts with the personals for Librarium, Forge and Reclusiam are still being prepared.
The two Chapters main mission are to form the mobile response reinforcement that will response to any threat coming towards Camelarion. Either sally forth from the realm or setting up ambush for them.
Both the previous two shield Chapters are also been given new additional void asset other than the vanguard strike cruiser, they now also given one Battle barge and five strike cruisers as this crisis have show that both shield chapters that Atharion have high hope to defending the realm have been dampen due their lack of void vessels to transport them to the front line.
"While we should held high hopes on our brothers and cousins," Atharion said. "we must remain vigilant as the Archenemy have the ability to alter anything, this might just be a trap for us and those before us have already fail."
"Prepare the men," Atharion said. "ready the Nova cannons to fire the moment we confirm the threat."
All of those within the chamber rise up and bow slightly towards Atharion before leaving.
Before long, the vessel slightly shake as it mean that they are exiting the Warp now.
As the shaking begin to subside, the Shipmaster contacted Atharion, who's already making his way toward the bridge.
"Yes, what's the matter?" Atharion said as he enter the elevator with four Argent Wardens.
"My lord, the auspex show that all the allies forces that you have briefed us are still there, but...." the Shipmaster stuttered a bit. "all three Tri-Six worlds are currently...."
"No need to continue, Shipmaster," Atharion said as he exited the elevator, "I can already see what happen to them."
Atharion said the last sentence as he stand beside the Shipmaster, not through the vox.
The three worlds are all destroyed.
The two, Tri-Six Secundus and Tertius are up in flame as both worlds are hit with Phosphex torpedoes.
With Phosphex able to burn anything it touch, Atharion decided to use it as exterminatus weapon to combat the most troublesome enemies, the Plague of Nurgle as it not only a thing that made of realspace thing but also of Warp.
This resulting to purge the existence of the Plague or virus, Imperial force need more time and effort to deal with it. Or simply choose the Inquisition method.
So, before this war begin, Atharion already wonder if the Phospex are able to burn them out.
But, those two worlds are not Atharion concern as while both worlds are designated as hive world, both didn't have any large veins of raw resources to be mine.
Tri-Six Primus, the jewel of the system is not in flame, instead have already destroyed into pieces.
"Prepare a meeting," Athariion said as he still staring at those floating rocks that formerly form a planet. "I want to know what happen on that rock."
After the requests are relay to all the other Chapters, Atharion move to the chamber where the meeting will be made.
While Atharion are not happy with what's happen in Tri-Six, he have no choice but to accept what have happen.
Before long, the chamber already full of the officers of each Chapters.
Looking around, Atharion see the familiar face from the successor Chapters, but those from the Sanguine Wardens, he's not familiar with any of one of them.
As each new Chapter founded, the Grand Master and the Masters of the new Chapters are all require personal permission from the Round Table so he will definitely meet everyone of those holding the important position.
But Atharion didn't plan to address that now, now, the most important matter is to find out what happen.
Then, each of them begin to give a brief version of what's happen, the plan, execution of said plan, and the results of each of their attack on the alters.
After all given their words, all turn their eyes towards the only one who hasn't spoken, the new Grand Master of Sanguine Wardens.
The young Astartes, clad in ornate power armour that marked his position of leadership, looked almost out of place among the gathered Masters.
He possessed a youthful, unscarred face, lacking the centuries of battle scars that marked many of the other Chapter Masters around the table. Yet there was nothing uncertain about his bearing. He sat straight, his hands resting upon the table as he calmly met Atharion's gaze.
Atharion studied him for a moment.
"Grand Master," he said.
The young Astartes immediately rose.
"My Lord."
"Sanguine Wardens have been assign for the underground assault, tasked with destroying one of the three underground alters upon Tri-Six Primus."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Then, tell us what happen down there."
Then, the young Grand Master begin to explain what happen.
He started with the orders given by his predecessor before the battle—the deployment of each company, the assignments given to the Lord Sergeants, and the division of the Chapter's forces between the different entrances into the target mine.
"Our forces landed around the designated mining complex," he explained. "From there, each company began advancing toward the assigned routes."
He paused.
"The mine was considerably larger than our initial intelligence suggested. It consisted of multiple interconnected shafts, industrial chambers, abandoned excavation sites, and maintenance tunnels. Worse, much of the complex had been heavily transformed by the corruption."
"The traitors had also fortified several sections of the mine," he continued. "We encountered barricades, automated weapons, corrupted Skitarii, and Death Guard positions throughout our advance."
Several of the gathered Chapter Masters listened in silence.
"Each Lord Sergeant had an Epistolary assigned to his force to serve as a guide. The underground network was too large and complex to navigate conventionally, and with the corruption altering portions of the mine and the traitors constructing new fortifications, conventional maps were becoming useless."
He glanced briefly toward his Epistolary representative before continuing.
"The psykers were able to detect the psychic resonance of the ritual and use it to determine the general direction of the altars."
"General direction?" Atharion asked.
"Yes, my Lord. The deeper we went, the less reliable the readings became."
He paused.
"But they were sufficient."
The young Grand Master folded his hands upon the table.
"For approximately five hours, we fought our way through the mine."
His expression hardened as he recalled the fighting.
"Every advance was contested. We encountered Poxwalkers in numbers beyond anything our intelligence had predicted. Death Guard squads had established defensive positions throughout the tunnels, while corrupted Skitarii used the mining machinery and narrow passages to create killing zones."
"After approximately five hours, we received a transmission from one of the Lord Sergeants."
The young Grand Master looked toward Atharion.
"He reported that his Epistolary had detected the altar."
A faint murmur passed through the chamber.
"At last, we had a confirmed location."
He continued.
"All of our forces were ordered to converge upon his position. The Masters began redirecting their companies through the mine, abandoning several previously assigned routes so that we could concentrate our strength around the altar."
He paused.
"That was when things began to change."
"The force I was accompanying encountered a large group of Plague Ogryns, accompanied by even more Plague Marines and Dark Skitarii."
His expression hardened.
"We suffered heavy losses during the engagement. The Plague Ogryns were being used as living battering rams, charging directly into our formations while the Plague Marines provided covering fire. The Dark Skitarii positioned themselves behind them and continued firing into our ranks whenever we attempted to reorganize."
He briefly looked down at the table.
"We managed to destroy them, but only after committing almost every available squad to the engagement."
"And the other forces?" Atharion asked.
"That was when we began receiving fragmented vox transmissions from the other Lord Sergeants."
His voice became more solemn.
"At first, their reports were similar to ours. They had encountered unexpectedly large concentrations of enemy forces attempting to prevent them from reaching the altar."
He paused.
"Then the transmissions became increasingly desperate."
The chamber remained silent.
"One Lord Sergeant reported that his force had been completely surrounded. Another claimed that entire companies of Death Guard had emerged from previously empty tunnels."
The young Grand Master shook his head.
"And then we began losing contact with them."
"One transmission simply ended in the middle of a sentence. Another was replaced by screaming and weapons fire before the channel went silent."
He looked toward Atharion.
"Several of the Lord Sergeants never responded again."
"Overrun?" one of the Masters asked.
"Most likely."
The Grand Master hesitated.
"But we cannot confirm it."
He continued.
"Eventually, only a handful of our forces were still maintaining communication. We continued toward the altar despite the losses."
His eyes hardened.
"We believed the enemy was simply throwing everything it had at us to prevent us from reaching the ritual site."
Atharion leaned slightly forward.
"But you never reached it."
"No, my Lord."
The Grand Master shook his head.
"Because before we could reach the destination, we received an order from the Grand Master to retreat from the mine."
A murmur passed through the chamber.
"After the transmission ended, we were unable to contact the Grand Master again. Nor could we establish contact with the Masters of the First and Second Companies."
"So," the Flesh Tearers Captain suddenly interrupted, his voice carrying a sharp edge, "you didn't go back and search for your Chapter Master? You simply ran?"
The young Grand Master remained silent for several seconds.
"We did try to find the Grand Master."
His voice was calm, but there was a noticeable weight behind his words.
"We turned back and attempted to retrace our route. But by then, the corruption within the mine had become significantly worse."
He looked down at his hands.
"Some of our brothers simply died the moment they came into contact with the green ooze that had begun spreading throughout the tunnels."
Several of the Masters exchanged uneasy glances.
"It wasn't simply poisonous," the Grand Master continued. "Our Apothecaries could not identify it. Armor provided almost no protection. Even some of the seals on our Terminator plate began to fail after prolonged exposure."
He clenched his fist.
"We eventually realized that remaining underground would accomplish nothing. We had already lost contact with most of our forces, our route was collapsing behind us, and the corruption was spreading faster than we could advance."
"And that was when you withdrew."
"Yes, my Lord."
The Flesh Tearers Captain leaned back, apparently dissatisfied, but said nothing further.
Atharion remained silent for a moment.
"Then that is the reason you all ultimately decided to destroy the world."
The words were directed at the entire chamber.
No one answered.
They did not need to.
One by one, the gathered officers nodded.
Atharion slowly exhaled.
He had no desire to destroy Tri-Six Primus.
But by the time his fleet arrived, there had been no other choice.
If the plague had spread beyond the mining complex, allowing the world to survive could have condemned the entire system—and potentially far more than the system.
"Understand," Atharion said as he rose from his chair.
Everyone in the chamber turned toward him.
"While the ending was not what any of us desired, I thank every one of you who came here and fought to protect Camelarion."
His gaze moved from one Astarte to another.
"You came when you were called."
"You fought when the enemy came."
"And many of your brothers will never return."
Atharion placed both hands upon the table.
"I, Atharion, Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Knights, will remember those who lent us a helping hand when Camelarion was threatened."
He paused.
"Your sacrifice will not be forgotten."
The gathered Astartes rose from their seats.
No one spoke.
They simply struck their fist against their breastplate in salute.
After this, the everyone one of them begin to leave and return to their vessels as with the batte concluded, they all are needed at the other battle around the Imperium.
Even the Dark Knight successors departed.
All except the Sanguine Wardens.
Only their young Grand Master remained seated within the chamber.
"Is there something you need?" Atharion asked him.
"No, my Lord." The young Grand Master rose and moved closer to Atharion. "While we were unable to save the former Grand Master, we were able to retrieve a message that he sent to our Battle Barge. The message was directed to you."
When he reached Atharion, he withdrew a small data-crystal from within his wargear. Under the watchful gaze of the Argent Wardens standing behind Atharion, he placed it upon the table.
Then he bowed to Atharion before turning and leaving the chamber.
Atharion remained motionless.
His eyes settled upon the data-crystal.
Somewhere within it lay the final words of the former Grand Master.
And Atharion had the uneasy feeling that the message would provide the answers to what had truly happened within the mine—and, more importantly, what had become of the six hundred and fifty Sanguine Wardens who had fallen there.