=== Darth Vader ===
The control chamber of the SunEater was filled with massive hololithic projections displaying the countless battles raging across Mandalore's surface and throughout the surrounding void. Entire fleet formations shifted constantly across the glowing tactical displays while alarms blared in overlapping waves from every level of the station.
Officers hurried between command consoles with pale, exhausted faces while rows of technicians struggled desperately to maintain firing speeds, shield integrity, and communications with the collapsing front lines below. Outside the enormous viewport stretching across the front of the chamber, space itself had become a graveyard of burning wreckage. Star destroyers drifted crippled and aflame while thousands upon thousands of fighters tore across the void in endless streams of green, blue, and red weapons fire.
The Dark Lord had only just returned from the arena-like room in the SunEater's depths, yet already the war had worsened dramatically in his absence. His black cape hung motionless behind him while the crimson glow of tactical hololiths reflected faintly across his armor. The officers around him could feel the rage radiating from him even without looking directly at him.
Tarkin stood nearby with his hands clasped behind his back, though even the Grand Moff looked more strained than usual. The old officer's composure remained intact outwardly, but the battle unfolding around them had clearly shaken even him.
"The situation on Mandalore has deteriorated significantly, my Lord," Tarkin began carefully, his voice measured despite the chaos around them. "The Imperial front lines continue to collapse sector by sector. The Astartes reinforcements that emerged from hyperspace have completely destabilized our offensive operations."
A hololithic display shifted to show the battlefield below. Entire sections of the Empire's forces were simply gone.
Where once billions of clone troopers and stormtroopers had pushed toward the capital, now massive gaps scarred the front lines. Burning walkers littered the wastelands while artillery positions vanished beneath orbital bombardment. In one region alone, Vulkan and the Salamanders were visibly tearing through entire divisions of Imperial armor, leaving only fire and wreckage behind them.
"The Primarch Vulkan has become the centerpiece of the enemy counteroffensive," Tarkin continued grimly. "Our troops are routing at the sight of him. Morale degradation is spreading faster than we can contain it."
"Our casualties have exceeded projections by nearly four hundred percent," Tarkin admitted. "And that is only on the surface."
Vader said nothing.
The Dark Lord simply stared through the massive viewport at the void battle unfolding beyond the station. In the distance, the newly arrived battle barge of the Imperium carved through Imperial formations like a predator among wounded prey. Its colossal weapons batteries unleashed devastating volleys that split star destroyers apart with horrifying efficiency while thousands of Imperial fighters poured from its launch bays in endless waves.
Another violent tremor ran through the SunEater as warning sirens flared throughout the command chamber.
One of the tactical officers turned sharply. "Direct impact against the lower western shield array!" he shouted. "Enemy macro batteries continue targeting station infrastructure!"
The hololith zoomed outward toward the battle barge itself.
Its guns were firing directly upon the SunEater now.
Each shell that struck the station caused entire districts within the massive battle station to shake violently while shield integrity slowly began to drop.
"They are attempting to board us," Tarkin said darkly. "Multiple strike craft have already breached the outer defensive perimeter. Internal security teams are responding, but..." He hesitated slightly. "The enemy Astartes appear intent on taking the station itself."
Still Vader remained silent.
He slowly stepped closer toward the viewport, looking down upon Mandalore far below. The planet burned beneath the weight of war. Entire continents were scarred with firestorms visible even from orbit while countless ships descended endlessly into the atmosphere only to erupt into flames moments later. The Empire had arrived expecting conquest. Instead they had found annihilation.
Vader's gloved hand slowly clenched into a fist.
Hairline fractures began to spread across the massive transparisteel viewport with loud cracking sounds, causing nearby officers to recoil in alarm as invisible pressure crushed against the reinforced material. Consoles flickered violently while several crew members instinctively backed farther away from the Dark Lord.
For several long moments Vader simply stood there, staring at the battlefield as his rage threatened to physically tear the chamber apart around him.
Then slowly, he released his fist.
"Prepare Reaper Unit."
Tarkin's eyes narrowed slightly. "For deployment to the surface, my Emperor?"
"Yes," Vader answered.
At last he turned from the viewport.
"The Imperium has hidden my children from me," Vader continued coldly. "But the Force tells me they are alive, and that Reaper Squad will find them down there."
"Deploy Reaper immediately. They will infiltrate the Imperium sectors surrounding the children and secure them before the enemy can relocate them again."
Tarkin gave a short nod. "It will be done."
Vader's gaze drifted back toward the stars beyond the viewport. Somewhere aboard the station.
The Dark Lord could feel the galaxy spiraling toward a single catastrophic point.
Then the entire SunEater suddenly lurched violently.
The impact was so immense that several officers were thrown from their stations while alarms exploded throughout every deck of the command chamber. One side of the viewport darkened briefly as emergency shields activated, and deep beneath the station came the unmistakable roar of internal detonations.
"Multiple hull breaches!" a technician screamed. "Enemy boarding torpedoes have penetrated the outer defense grid!"
Another officer turned pale as data flooded his console. "Astartes boarding parties detected across sectors fourteen through nineteen! Repeat, enemy Astartes have breached the station!"
=== Sebastian ===
The Salamanders advanced beside the Black Templar in fury, their armor blackened by smoke and scorched by blaster fire, but never slowing, never breaking formation as they carved through waves of clone troopers and Imperial stormtroopers.
Vulkan was ahead of them like a moving disaster, each swing of his hammer collapsing armored walkers, cratering ground fortifications, and sending entire squads vanishing in bursts of gore.
Above them, the sky itself was changing as the Blood Angels' assault on the SunEater intensified, distant flashes turning the upper atmosphere into a strobing horizon of fire and rupture. Imperial formations began to shift in response, units breaking off ground engagements and retreating toward orbital assets, and for the first time since the invasion began, Sebastian felt the pressure on Mandalore itself loosen just slightly.
A ship descended from orbit and directed itself towards where Vulkan stood.
He noticed it, his gaze lifting briefly before he planted his hammer into the ground hard enough to fracture the terrain beneath him.
A figure in Golden armor stepped out, his armor gleaming against the ash-choked battlefield, his presence alone forcing nearby combat to hesitate for the briefest moment. Atheon of the Custodian Guard lowered his head in respect toward Vulkan before speaking. "Primarch Vulkan, I bring word from Sanguinius. The Blood Angels request your full legion's immediate support in the assault on the SunEater. The engagement in orbit has begun. Coordination between surface and void forces is now critical."
Vulkan did not hesitate. His hammer rose again, and his voice carried across the field like the breaking of mountains. "Salamanders, board the transports! We answer my brother's call!"
The roar that followed was enormous, as warriors who had endured hell itself moved as one toward the descending ships. Engines thundered overhead as vast troop carriers cut through the atmosphere, collecting entire companies in synchronized waves, lifting them toward the greater war waiting above. Atheon watched the mobilization, then turned his attention fully to Vulkan and Sebastian.
"I have been dispatched directly by the Emperor," he said, voice unchanged despite the scale of war unfolding around them. "My directive is the protection of two children currently under your custody. I require immediate access to their location and escort to their position." The words were not a request. Vulkan turned his gaze toward Sebastian without hesitation, the decision already made before it was spoken. "You will escort him." the Primarch said firmly. "Ensure they are secured. Once complete, you will rejoin us at the SunEaterl."
Sebastian struck his chest in salute, armor ringing faintly, before turning toward Atheon and gesturing forward. "Please, follow me honored Custodian."
The two departed at once, leaving behind the roaring battlefield and the fading thunder of departing Salamander forces.
Mandalore's burning horizon stretched around them as they moved through ruined corridors of war-torn infrastructure, the city still alive with distant fighting but no longer the center of gravity it had been only hours before. Eventually they reached the inner settlement where Sienn was already gathering supplies and tending to the children.
"Is this Xeno responsible for caring for the children?" The Custodian asked, almost sounding displeased. "She is, my lord." Sebastian answered.
Atheon's stepped into the room. "Prepare for immediate extraction. Take only what is necessary. We are leaving this world." There was no room for debate in his tone. Sienn froze for a fraction of a second, then looked to Sebastian, who simply gave a single confirming nod. That was enough. She moved quickly after that, packing essential medical and personal supplies into a reinforced crate, her hands shaking only slightly as she worked. Ten minutes later she was already moving through the settlement, gathering attendants and guiding them toward evacuation routes.
When she returned, the children were secured in her arms, and the crate of supplies was ready. Atheon lifted it without effort, as if weight itself had no meaning to him, and turned toward the hangar. "We leave immediately." The group moved fast through corridors that trembled faintly with distant impacts, until they reached the waiting transport in the hangar bay. The ship sat ready, engines already cycling, its hull marked by prior battles but fully operational.
That was when the opposition arrived.
A regiment of black-armored stormtroopers and clone units entered from the opposite side of the hangar, weapons already raised and tracking the group. The lead Death Trooper stepped forward, voice amplified through his helm as he issued the command. "Stand down. You are not authorized for departure. This facility is under Imperial control. Lower your weapons or you will be terminated." The formation behind him locked into firing positions, a wall of death waiting for the slightest provocation.
Atheon did not respond. He simply set the crate down.
The sound of it touching the floor echoed louder than it should have, and then he moved.
The first volley of blaster fire erupted instantly, filling the space between them with red streaks of energy, but Atheon was already gone from where he had stood. His guardian spear ignited mid-motion, a flash of lightning cutting through the hangar as he closed the distance in an instant that defied perception.
The first trooper barely had time to adjust before the spear swept through their formation, bisecting two, impaling a third, and throwing a fourth backward into a support strut that cracked under the force. The Imperial line attempted to pivot, to bring coordinated fire to bear, but it came too late.
Atheon was already inside their formation.
He moved through them like a storm, each strike precise, and final. A spear twist disarmed one trooper and redirected their own weapon into another. A sweeping strike shattered a firing line and sent three soldiers collapsing in unison. Attempts to surround him dissolved the moment they formed, as if the concept of containment simply did not apply. Sebastian stepped in immediately after, shield raised to block incoming fire aimed toward Sienn and the children, his bolt pistol answering in bursts that turned troopers into collapsing silhouettes of armor and flame.
Silence returned to the hangar, broken only by the distant roar of the war outside.
Atheon retrieved the crate without ceremony and carried it back toward the transport. "Come," he said simply, as though nothing had occurred at all.
Sebastian followed, ensuring Sienn and the children were secured before stepping back toward the ramp. For a brief moment he stood at the edge of the ship, watching as the Custodian boarded and the engines stabilized for departure. Atheon gave a single nod of acknowledgment, and the ship lifted smoothly into the sky, disappearing toward orbit.
Sebastian remained behind as it left, turning away from the hangar and scanning for another transport when he heard footsteps behind him.
Five hooded figures entered the hangar from the far end. They stopped when they saw the aftermath of Atheon's passage, bodies scattered across the floor like discarded armor.
One of them stepped forward. "Where are the children?"
Sebastian turned fully, his grip tightening instinctively on his shield as he answered without hesitation. "Who are you?"
"Ah, you dont remember me?" The figure said before stepping forward and taking his hood from his head.
Sebastian exhaled slowly as he saw the figure, the Darksaber ignited with a low, furious hum.
"Praise the Emperor," he said quietly, voice hardening as he raised the blade into guard. "It seems my blade has not had its fill of heretical blood."
The response was immediate. The four figures stepped forward together to surround the fifth, hoods falling away in unison as red blades ignited with a violent snap of energy, bathing the hangar in shifting crimson light.
"Come now Sebastian. Do you truly think you can best me? Especially after I've spent millennia inside the crystal labyrinth?" Sheev Palpatine asked, his face breaking into a smile before lighting lanced from his fingers.
===
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