"Commander."
At that moment, the voice of the communications officer came through:
"Transmission received from the Main Universe. Support fleets from the Imperial Fists, Raven Guard, and Blood Angels are currently mobilizing and are expected to arrive in Mar Sara orbit within seventy-two hours."
Hearing this, Gaozan showed no reaction. He simply turned to look out the viewport at the pitch-black void, as if already envisioning the arrival of the three company fleets—golden banners and thunderous engines tearing through the starry veil.
"Let the brothers stationed here prepare to welcome our cousins," he said with a hint of levity in his voice. "We Flame Lizards can't have the whole cake to ourselves. It's time to let the other Legions have a slice."
Standing nearby, Ariel Hanson's expression showed a flicker of confusion.
She had already come to understand the power of the Human Empire back on Agria, but she still knew nothing about the so-called "Primarchs."
What kind of beings could command such reverence—even being called "Father" by these giants?
Before she could ask, the central console of the bridge suddenly emitted a low hum. Countless particles of deep blue hardlight materialized in the air, swiftly interweaving into a towering figure—
A giant over five and a half meters tall.
?!!
Hanson's breath caught in her throat.
The image of Vulcan, Master of the Flame Lizards, now stood in the center of the bridge. He wore a massive suit of master-crafted power armor, each plate etched with ancient Han characters. Upon his pauldrons, a roaring fire dragon insignia shimmered vividly in the hardlight's glow.
"Father."
Gaozan and all personnel on the bridge saluted simultaneously, their voices unified.
Vulcan raised a hand lightly, signaling them to rise.
His gaze was warm and profound, like molten iron resting deep in a furnace.
Hanson stood frozen, her mind blank.
She had never imagined that a human could grow to such a monumental size, much less comprehend why such a being would be called "Father."
Vulcan's eyes swept the bridge and paused slightly when he saw Hanson, then turned back to Gaozan.
"The three brother companies are en route. Remember—" his voice was as deep as a tremor from the earth's core, "do not compete or scramble. Let things unfold naturally. The primary mission is to rescue our fellow humans of this world."
Gaozan nodded solemnly. "Understood."
Vulcan continued, "Also, Imperial strategy has changed. If you encounter the Queen of Blades, prioritize capturing her alive."
He paused, then added, "But if a company encounters her alone, be sure to call for Athena's support. Only the Goddess of War can ensure absolute success."
"Yes, Father," Gaozan answered respectfully.
The two continued to discuss further tactical details. Soon after, Vulcan's image began to dissipate, the hardlight particles scattering like stardust.
Just before his projection vanished completely, the Primarch cast one final glance at the still-stunned Ariel Hanson. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips.
The transmission ended, and the bridge fell into brief silence.
Hanson finally found her voice. "That… was your 'Father'?"
Gaozan turned toward her, the joints of his armor humming softly.
"Yes, Doctor," he said with quiet pride. "Primarch Vulcan is the gene-father of our Flame Lizards."
"Gene-father… Goddess of War…" Hanson repeated softly, suddenly realizing how little she truly understood about this Empire—barely even scratching the surface.
She stood on the bridge of the Unyielding Sacred Flame, unconsciously rubbing the hem of her lab coat.
Gaozan—this towering warrior nearly three meters tall—was already intimidating by mere presence.
And just moments ago, a being even larger than him had appeared before her.
Hanson's thoughts drifted back to the day Agria fell.
Back then, she had believed that Terran Marines were the pinnacle of humanity's military power.
But now, she saw the truth—those soldiers in CMC armor were mere children with toy guns compared to these self-proclaimed "Astartes" super-soldiers.
What shocked her even more was the mention of the "Goddess of War Athena" by Vulcan.
In the Koprulu Sector, Greek mythology existed only as a few fragments in archived data files.
Her only relevant memory was of an old AI assistant in a colony spouting occasional lines about the "Olympian gods" during maintenance.
"So… your Empire really has gods?" Hanson finally blurted, her voice trembling.
"Lady Athena is one of the Olympian Chief Gods under the Emperor's command," Gaozan confirmed. "As for her age—she's at least over thirty thousand years old, likely more."
Hanson's brain went into overload.
Thirty thousand years?
That was far longer than the entire history of human civilization in the Koprulu Sector.
She suddenly realized—if the Primarchs and these so-called gods were this powerful, then the ruler they all swore loyalty to—the one they constantly invoked as "The Emperor"—must be an unfathomable entity.
The thought made her spine tingle, as if she were peering into an endless abyss.
"Why do you call the Primarchs 'Father'?" she asked, opting for a safer question.
Gaozan's armor servos gave a soft mechanical hum.
He gestured, and the bridge's holo-projector instantly generated a three-dimensional anatomical diagram—of a teenage boy in training attire, various colored lights highlighting different organs.
"This is an Aspirant," Gaozan explained. "No older than fourteen, genetically matched to a specific Primarch seed."
The projection began to animate the enhancement process—from gene-seed implantation to skeletal reinforcement, muscle growth, and the insertion of a secondary heart...
!!
Hanson's professional instincts as a biologist were immediately triggered.
She leaned in to examine the augmented organs, forgetting her fear of the giant entirely.
"This gene-editing technique… it's flawless!" she couldn't help but exclaim.
Gaozan, apparently pleased with her response, continued, "Each Legion maintains its own gene-seed vault. For the Flame Lizards, our origin is the Primarch you just saw—Vulcan."
"So this is essentially…" Hanson quickly formed her terminology, "expressing the Primarch's genetic template in a host through bioengineering?"
"Put simply, yes."
The realization made Hanson's heart race.
In the past, she had been ostracized for opposing unethical neural augmentation.
Now, standing before her was a civilization that had taken biotechnology to its pinnacle—yet clearly operated under strict ethical guidelines.
As she looked up to ask more questions, she accidentally met Gaozan's gaze.
Those modified eyes, glowing faintly gold-red in the dim bridge light, flickered like twin flames. Hanson suddenly realized she was craning her neck to look up at him—and her ears flushed as she quickly looked away.
"I-I'd like to request access to your biological research data," she mumbled, eyes on her shoes. "Of course, only if it's not classified as military intelligence…"
"Heh." Gaozan gave a low Astartes chuckle, ignoring her flustered state. "Once your lab in the new city is set up, someone will bring you the basic manuals and relevant datasets."
As he spoke, he noticed the holoscreen showing that all refugees had been relocated to the new city and all transports had returned.
He reminded her, "But Doctor, it's time we prepare to receive the refugees from Meinhoff."
"Yes… you're right, Commander Gaozan." Hanson nodded, but as she turned to leave, she couldn't help but glance back.
The lights on the bridge shimmered across Gaozan's armor. The scars from countless battles told silent tales, and she suddenly found herself wondering—what secrets lay within this steel giant's genes?
And deep within her thoughts, a decision was forming—perhaps joining the Empire was the best future for a scientist in exile like her.
Hours later.
In the depths of space, a blue giant star radiated blinding light. Its intense UV rays were discomforting even from hundreds of millions of kilometers away.
Meinhoff—a planet on the outer edge of its star system's habitable zone—was now bathed in the cold brilliance of its sun.
Suddenly, a swirl of deep blue warp energy bloomed in orbit. More than a dozen Flame Lizard warships, including the Unyielding Sacred Flame, emerged from warp transit.
Their armored hulls gleamed under the blue star's rays, like colossal beasts rising from the depths.
On the bridge, Gaozan and Ariel Hanson stood side by side before the panoramic observation window.
From orbit, Meinhoff's surface appeared deceptively tranquil—blue oceans, brown continents, and a thick atmosphere painted a seemingly hospitable scene.
"Surface scan complete," the observer broke the silence. "On the sunlit side, only sparse human activity detected. However, on the dark side…"
The officer hesitated. "We've detected a large concentration of Zerg signals—at least the scale of ten full hive clusters."
Gaozan's brow furrowed.
He pulled up the Intelligence Division's earlier brief—
Most of Meinhoff's population had likely already been infected or assimilated by the Zerg. The thought made him tap his thigh armor absentmindedly.
Hanson's face turned pale. "The survivors… they might be hiding in underground shelters."
Her voice trembled. "The radiation from the blue star disrupts communications, but if the relay stations are destroyed…"
"Lock onto all human signal sources."
Gaozan cut her off with a decisive order. His voice carried across the entire fleet through comms. "Deploy rescue teams first. Evacuate all survivors."
"Yes, Commander."
The comms officer quickly encoded the command and relayed it to each ship.
Meanwhile, preparations inside the Unyielding Sacred Flame's hangar were already in full swing.
Bright lights illuminated the bay, where tens of thousands of fully armored warriors conducted final inspections.
The dark green Titan-plate Flame Lizards stood in stark contrast to the black-armored Helljumpers.
Among them were over a hundred tall elven warriors—their silver-white armor etched with ancient runes, psionic glows visible behind their visors.
"Check your oxygen reserves!"
An elven commander reminded a group of young auxiliaries in a lilting accent. "The UV index in Meinhoff's atmosphere is dangerously high. Exposure over ten minutes in some zones can cause skin cancer."
A Flame Lizard sergeant nodded respectfully. "Thank you for the warning, Elder. Our seals have been reinforced."
The elven officer returned the gesture gracefully.
This cross-species camaraderie came from the deep bond between Vulcan and Dorn—just as the two Primarchs were like brothers, so too were their "sons."
Thus, the elves—long allied with the Imperial Fists—were naturally welcomed into the Flame Lizard Legion.
Many elven elders, with centuries of life and mastery of psionics, filled the Legion's weakness in psychic combat.
At that moment—
"Board up!"
With the order issued, all warriors swiftly boarded their waiting Thunderhawks, Pelican variants, and various transports.
Engines roared through the enclosed hangar, rattling the deck.
In the lead Thunderhawk, the first platoon's commander checked the tactical display. Holograms showed three initial landing sites near remaining life-signals on the planet's dark side.
"Remember," the officer said over the comms, "our top priority is to rescue civilians. If we encounter the swarm, delay them—don't engage in full confrontation."
As his words ended, the drop bay doors began to seal.
The decompression sequence initiated, and the hangar's main doors slid open. Through the "transparent" plasma valve, crew members caught a glimpse of the infinite void outside.
The first Thunderhawk spat blue flames as it shot out of the hangar, diving toward the death-shadowed planet.
Behind it, transports filled the sky like a flock of migrating birds, plunging fearlessly into Meinhoff's atmosphere.
In orbit, the Unyielding Sacred Flame and the other warships had activated their full weapons arrays, turrets aimed at the planet's dark side—where the Zerg swarm stirred ominously in the shadows.
After breaking through the atmosphere, the massive transport fleet split into three, each heading toward one of the three remaining human signal sources.
The commander's group descended steadily. As their Thunderhawk breached the cloud layer, the scene below made every warrior staring out the portholes hold their breath.
A once-thriving colonial city lay below—but now, its streets were packed with twisted "people."
Countless bodies moved with unnatural motions. Their skin pulsed with squirming tendrils, their spines burst through flesh as sharpened bone spikes. Tattered clothing clung to swollen, alien tissue.
The entire city had become a massive incubation pit, the air thick with visible clouds of violet spores.
"By the Emperor…" whispered one Flame Lizard inside the dropship, gripping his bolter tighter.
The commander's tactical display zoomed in on the ground—magnifying the distorted figures.
Some still bore human faces—but their eyes had lost pupils, replaced by cloudy white orbs.
Worse yet, as the shadows of the descending dropships passed over the streets, those "people" all raised their heads in unison—like sharks scenting blood.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]