Chapter 209: Return to Galaspar
Waves of shimmering blue and violet light rippled outward, the sea of warp surged against the hulls of ships as the Death Guard fleet sailed forth through the heaving tides of the immaterium. The Choir of Astropaths blew their horns, and the Galaspar system obediently shut down the defenses around its Mandeville Point, welcoming the arrival of its new masters.
As the phantasmal glow of the warp reluctantly receded from the viewport, the warm and bright light of the Galaspar star poured into the chamber, illuminating half the room.
Hades felt that faint warmth on his skin and quietly let out a breath of relief.
Every time he plunged into the warp with the fleet, Hades could feel the warp resisting him. It was like a drop of oil trying to sink deep into a river—buoyant currents pushing back, trying to squeeze him out of that hidden stream.
In that space beyond the five senses, faint golden psychic energy surrounded him, anchoring him to the fleet's warp coordinates.
Thanks be to Big Bro Emperor for stamping his psychic visa—or else Hades would've given everyone a very awkward performance of "launched out of the Death Guard fleet mid-warp."
What made him slightly uneasy was that after the battle with the Necrons, that golden barrier felt... thinner. Even though Trazyn might have helped patch it up, Hades still hoped that thing would stay intact—at least until the next time he saw the Emperor. For now, it was his only known aid in surviving warp travel.
Without that layer of golden psychic shielding, Hades couldn't even imagine what it would be like to try entering the warp. Would he just be repelled outright?
He didn't know. Theoretically, it needed testing—but Hades wasn't in any rush to die just yet.
Maybe he'd ask the Emperor about it sometime. Assuming the guy has time.
Warp travel remained absolutely vital. As of now, beyond the immaterium, humanity had no large-scale faster-than-light travel tech (and aside from the Necrons with their brute-force brick-tech, most xenos relied on the warp too).
That meant: all Imperial military deployments, logistics chains, personnel transfers, resource shipping, and communication all relied on the warp.
Imagine a centralized command cut off from its entire territory—yeah, not ideal.
So Hades really didn't want a future where he just couldn't enter the warp anymore. That would trap him in a handful of star systems—permanently.
Hades thought for a moment.
The Four Gods did have solid control over the warp. During the Heresy, there were deliberate warp storms unleashed to block transit… So did this mean he had to plan his location during the Heresy carefully?
At the very least, Hades needed to ensure he was on the right battlefield at the right time during the Heresy.
'Better talk it over with the Emperor when the time comes,' he mused.
One thing Hades was sure of was that during the Council of Nikaea, he would see the Emperor.
He was already planning it—he had to meet the Emperor again before the Heresy began, while his mind was still clear.
What the Emperor—the ultimate Mary Sue of human history—would do when confronted with this anomaly that was Hades, remained to be seen.
A notification from a servitor interrupted his train of thought. Hades sighed and got up, preparing to inspect the reconstruction of Galaspar. Nothing else really mattered right now. The Primarchs hadn't even all been found yet—there was still time to maneuver.
Drune was undergoing its early stages of development, while the Death Guard had returned to their main project: Galaspar. Tasks included recruitment drives, infrastructure construction, and population relocation.
To be honest, from the Imperial perspective, the Galaspar system was practically dripping with wealth.
For starters, its Mandeville Point was surrounded by intact system defenses, and deep within the system stood layer upon layer of fortress installations. Ordinarily, these immense interplanetary defenses would never survive a planetary conquest. But under Mortarion's surprise-attack strategy, most of them were left perfectly intact—even the supply lines remained untouched.
This meant the Death Guard didn't need to heavily invest in building system defenses.
Unlike Barbarus, where Mechanicus crews were still pounding away at the few habitable planets, trying to build fortifications from scratch.
And then there was the fact that Galaspar's internal mining planets had achieved complete self-sufficiency. In fact, the amount of ore they had in reserve could support sustained external trade.
The hive populations on all three major planets were also plentiful—whether for internal production or for dispatch to other star systems, the system was wealthy in both labor and output.
The Order that previously ruled Galaspar had even established a complete and functioning technical personnel training program. Thankfully, these technical staff were trained along a path entirely separate from the administrative one—otherwise Mortarion likely would've strung them up, and that would've meant yet another generational loss of vital tech knowledge.
It had been a long time since Hades fought a war this rich.
He shed a silent tear of gratitude.
Back on Barbarus, they relied entirely on the status of the legion's homeworld to force the Imperium to pour money in—while also cozying up to the Graia Forge World.
To attract Graia's funding, Hades had sacrificed a lot.
As for Drune—it was fine. Death Guard's main construction plans weren't based there anyway. Its remoteness actually offered a kind of security, and the planet's natural wealth attracted investments from nearby Mechanicus enclaves and planetary governors.
There were not many things that needed to be built, and someone else was footing the bill.
Drune was a breeze to manage—just file the tax exemption papers.
The good news is that the Luna Wolves had already taken care of the exemption process. Which meant the Death Guard had basically gotten an entire planet for free.
This might've been the most satisfying thing to happen to Hades recently.
Freeloading is justice.
Now it was time to deal with Galaspar's recruitment matters—and take a proper look at the system.
Hades had never personally visited Galaspar before. He didn't really know much about it. And while the reports showed it was wealthy, the wealth of the ruling elite didn't always reflect the condition of the hive cities and the people in them.
Hades thought for a moment.
Well… might as well start with recruitment. Astartes implantation takes time, so it was better to start early and plan around it.
He also wanted to expand another category of military force in Galaspar: the mortal auxilia.
Even in the Great Crusade—a time when the Space Marines were the unquestioned main force—mortal auxilia had made an indispensable contribution. After all, Astartes were few, the rarest of the rare. Across countless battlefields, it was mortal troops who held the front lines.
At this stage, mortal auxilia were typically assigned regionally. A unit might serve under different legions at different times.
Of course, legions could also choose to establish and train auxilia units unique to their own structure—if they were willing to put in the effort.
The most famous mortal auxilia during the Great Crusade were the Solar Auxilia. With their top-tier equipment and strict discipline, they earned a reputation all their own.
Later on, the mortal auxilia would evolve into what we now know as the Astra Militarum—with iconic forces like the Death Korps of Krieg or the Catachan Jungle Fighters.
Hades is willing for the Death Guard to form their own dedicated mortal auxilia.
They needed troops that could sync with the Death Guard's very specific combat style.
Mortal auxilia were relatively easy to recruit—he could set it aside for now, or even funnel the unqualified Astartes candidates into the auxilia instead.
Hades stared at the dusty yellow sphere that was Galaspar and began planning the first phase of Astartes recruitment.
Galaspar's population density utterly obliterated Barbarus.
It was the kind of number that could make a grown man cry.
Hades had a strong feeling Galaspar would become a major recruitment hub for the Death Guard going forward.
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