"The Jewel of the Imperium, Planetos, the Sacred Planet of Humanity." Lyarra Stark, Future Duchess of House Stark.
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1456 Imperial Year.
Milky Way, Solar System.
On the border of the Solar System, gigantic metal rings with a futuristic appearance covered hundreds of planets around, forming from afar, a true wall capable of encompassing five solar light-years.
At the moment, on the border, gigantic oval blue portals appeared, followed by a small fleet of spaceships. Each ship looked enormous with an oval, ring-like appearance. There was a crest on each spaceship.
A roaring white wolf.
"System Defense Integrity dropped to 94%."
"Weapon System is at 99%."
"Ship Integrity is at 84%."
"All radar detectors are at 99%."
"Warp exit was successful." The commander, wearing a military suit, listened to his ship's crewman with a calm look. He turned and looked at the twenty-year-old girl sitting in the seat in the center of the control center.
"Lady Lyarra, we exited the Warp safely and are approaching Visenya's Wall." The commander said with a respectful tone. In his eyes, Lyarra, as heir to Duke Stark and Future Lady of Planet Invernus, deserved respect, especially being the daughter of a Primarch.
At the same time, as a commander trained at the Imperial Galactic School in the North of Humanity's Galaxy, he maintained due respect for the future Governor in the North.
"Good job, everyone." Lyarra said with an elegant and gentle smile, she had blonde hair and gray eyes. She looked at the gigantic Wall of Planets with a curious gaze. It was her first time coming to the Solar System and she was ready to return to the Sacred Planet, the Origin Planet of All Noble Houses.
"My Lady, the Sardaukar Legion is ordering an immediate stop and has ordered all ships to be inspected." The commander said with a calm tone. He did not ask Lyarra for permission and simply opened the shields protecting the ship and opened the hatches, allowing the entry of the Sardaukar Legion's ships.
In the extremely rigid hierarchy of the Imperium, the Astartes Legions did not need to ask; they ordered, and the orders had to be accepted, regardless of origin. Even the Ducal Houses were obliged to do so.
Lyarra did not comment and accepted everything calmly. She was no longer in the North of the Galaxy, where House Stark had influence. Faced with the Imperium's power, she knew that even House Stark had to bend the knee and accept any demand. Even if she was the daughter of a Primarch, she was not exempt from these rules.
On the contrary, because of this identity, she had to be even more respectful of the Imperium's Legions. Otherwise, the members of the Imperial Senate would be like hyenas trying to gain benefits from her.
Knowing this, how could she act like a spoiled girl? Although she was only two hundred and fifty years old and considered a teenager, she was not stupid enough to embarrass House Stark and her father's Legion.
"Identify yourself, unknown ship. Over." The Astarte's cold voice sounded through the loudspeakers, making the atmosphere inside the Command Bridge cabin tense for a moment.
"This is Noble Class Spaceship - 0114, codenamed Duchess, hosting Lady Lyarra of Ducal House Stark for the Imperial Palace in celebration of Queen Daenerys's birthday. Over." The commander spoke with a calm tone.
"The inspection will begin immediately, Duchess. Any suspicious movement will be met with attacks from the Gloriana-class Battleship, The Sun, under the command of Primarch Sigismund. Over." The Astarte's voice sounded a second later, there was no hesitation in his voice, cold and indifferent to Lyarra's identity.
"Affirmative, The Sun. Over." The commander replied with respect.
Lyarra and the Commander looked out the window, where they saw the largest Battlecruiser they had ever seen. Averaging about twenty-five kilometers wide, it was golden with a dragon's head at the tip, looking like a weapon of destruction used by giants.
This was the Imperium's pinnacle today, a true Battlecruiser that could destroy entire planets.
"I will receive the Sardaukar Lieutenant." Lyarra said with a smile as she rose from the main seat. The commander followed and some officers also followed behind to receive the inspection.
Arriving at the hangar, Lyarra saw dozens of Interceptor-class, light fighters, used for rapid combat, patrol, and interception. Their sizes ranged from 20 to 40 meters.
However, Lyarra's gaze fell upon the tall figure, carrying an extremely thin sword at her waist.
"Great-aunt." Lyarra greeted her great-aunt, her grandfather's sister, the Duke of Winter, Robb Stark.
Arya laughed at her grandniece's elegant and chic presentation. "You look like Sansa with those noble manners, dear niece."
Lyarra showed a helpless expression upon hearing her teasing words. She was an important Lady; she had to maintain decorum or she would embarrass House Stark before the other Ducal Houses.
However, knowing that this Great-aunt simply left in the Age of Space Exploration with a small fleet of ships, without caring about her own status, Lyarra knew that Arya was a free woman and did not care about her title and status.
"Aunt, I'm a little nervous." Lyarra came to Arya's side and spoke with a slightly tense tone. It was the first time she had seen someone from another Legion other than her father's Legion, the Space Wolves.
"If you are not bringing any non-humans, heretics, drugs, or are a traitor, you have nothing to worry about. The Sardaukar protect the Emperor and the Solar System; other than that, they don't care about anything else." Arya said with a smile, enjoying her grandniece's nervousness.
Lyarra naturally knew this, but it was normal to be nervous before authorities even knowing she was innocent.
When Lyarra was about to say something, the hangar door opened and spaceships about a hundred meters long entered the shields that maintained an adequate atmosphere for survival.
Lyarra noticed that these spaceships resembled swords, with three sharp points on each side. The ships' color was golden and they sported a crest of two swords over a skull.
The ships' ramps descended to the ground and heavy footsteps were heard. Men wearing heavy armor and golden helmets descended from the ships. Without even introducing themselves, they quickly began the inspection and no one dared to say anything against it.
Everything was investigated, from the bathrooms to the personal quarters of the commander and the nobility. Not even the drawers were spared from the meticulous revisions of the Sardaukar Astartes.
An hour later, when the entire inspection was over, that's when the Sardaukar lieutenant approached Lyarra, Arya, and the officers.
"I am Marik, Lieutenant of the Sardaukar." He said with a cold and indifferent tone, looking at everyone before him. One could see who was nobility and who was not in a mere instant.
The members of the Great Houses of nobility were about three meters tall while the officers were about two meters, clearly showing the class difference. However, in Marik's eyes, there was only indifference. Before the Emperor, all others were vassals who should obey.
"It is an honor for my personal ship to receive you, Lieutenant Marik." Lyarra said with an elegant smile as she looked at the Astarte with a respectful tone.
Marik looked at Primarch Leman Russ's daughter with a calm gaze. If he were from another legion, perhaps he would believe the future duchess's words, but when it came to his legion, the nobles hated the Sardaukar's methods.
So he didn't believe a word that came out of the future duchess's mouth, but he also didn't care if they were sincere or not. He learned that one should not judge a book by its cover, especially these bold nobles.
Marik lost count of the times he prevented these nobles from entering the Solar System. They carried everything illegal they could have, whether slaves from other races for entertainment or even highly hallucinogenic drugs known as Spices.
Some even wanted to give non-human slaves to the emperor for entertainment; when Marik remembered this, the desire to kill the count again increased. Unfortunately, the count's soul must have already become food for the Iron Throne.
"Nothing wrong was found, but before approaching the Sacred Planet, all ships must anchor in the hangars of Visenya's Wall and undergo a thorough inspection." Marik said with a cold and indifferent tone.
How could a mere one-hour inspection be enough? If finding the emperor were that easy, the Sardaukar wouldn't need to work and could resign.
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Note: The photos of Aenar's sons and daughters are in the new auxiliary chapter
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Read my other books:
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos (500,000 words written).
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.