"How much longer until we reach Cadia?" Alexei asked Brandt, who stood at his side.
"Two weeks remain, sir."
"There should still be time," Alexei thought, his eyes fixed on the pulsing red dot on the star map representing Cadia. "Even if I cannot save Cadia itself, I can still facilitate the evacuation of its people."
Because of Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade, Alexei was deeply concerned for the safety of the Aiur system. Fearing his home base might be targeted in his absence, he had left Zagara and a small detachment of battlecruisers behind to safeguard the sector.
The force he brought with him consisted of the Conqueror-class cruiser Red Romance, fifteen Minotaur-class ships, ten Gorgon-class battlecruisers, and ten Hercules-class transports.
"Barely enough," Alexei calculated silently. He was well aware of the enemy's capabilities: two Blackstone Fortresses—ultimate weapons of the ancient galaxy—and the Planet Killer, a monstrosity capable of shattering worlds with a single discharge. He knew a head-on engagement was suicide. His strategy was to let the Imperial Navy hold the primary line while he provided fire support and conducted guerrilla strikes from the flanks.
Furthermore, since the Khaydarin crystals were not yet fully charged, the Golden Fleet could not be summoned at will. Their only hope of enlisting Protoss aid was to purge enough Daemons on the Cadian surface to tip the scales of necessity.
Judging by the timeline, the Cadian defenders would have already identified Abaddon's true fleet by now. Belisarius Cawl and Trazyn the Infinite would also be converging on the planet shortly.
"A true gathering of heroes..." Alexei whispered calmly.
"We have entered the Eye of Terror," Admiral Venman reported to the Astropaths and officers.
"Our objective is to ascertain the Despoiler's intentions and ensure they no longer pose a threat to Cadia," the Admiral announced to the command deck.
"Sir, we have detected a planet ahead," a sergeant reported.
"Prepare the Kasrkin," Admiral Venman said, looking at the coordinates.
"By your command!"
The Imperial Navy squadron approached the world shrouded in sickly green vapors: the Daemon World of Urshant.
With a series of thunderous booms, five hundred elite soldiers of the Kasrkin 12th Airborne Assault Regiment landed on this world saturated with Warp energy. The Kasrkin were outfitted with advanced carapace armor and high-intensity hellguns.
Under their captain's command, they began exploring the malevolent landscape in ten-man squads. Through their infrared goggles, they saw an endless, shuffling tide of Poxwalkers.
"Sir, ground teams report no sign of the primary fleet," the sergeant reported.
"Then prepare for extraction..." Just as Admiral Venman began to speak, the ship's proximity alarms wailed.
"Sir! Enemy fleet detected on our flank!"
The Admiral didn't need a report to see the threat. "By the Emperor... how many are there?!" He peered through the observation viewport and witnessed the most massive sub-space surge he had ever seen.
Warships. As far as the eye could see, a wall of corrupted steel stretched across the void. But the most terrifying sight was the vessel at the center of the Black Fleet: the Will of Eternity.
"I always believed it was a myth," Admiral Venman muttered, his brow furrowed in horror. "Transmit an encrypted priority message to the Cadian Gate immediately!"
"Red alert... No! Code Black!" Venman's voice grew hoarse, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Upon sighting two more titanic silhouettes behind the Planet Killer, the Admiral swallowed hard. "Planet Killer... Blackstone Fortress! Inform the High Command: a full-scale invasion has been launched!"
As he spoke, the massive energy array on the prow of the Planet Killer, known as the "Armageddon Gun," began to glow. A moment later, a beam of energy powerful enough to fracture a planet's core erupted. It vaporized half of the Imperial fleet instantly; those near the point of impact left not even wreckage behind.
"Withdraw!" Admiral Venman ordered immediately. To stay was to die for nothing.
"Sir, the ground troops on Urshant..." an officer reminded him.
"...We cannot wait. If we are annihilated here, Cadia will have no warning. The reinforcements will be blind..." Venman's expression was twisted in agony. To abandon Cadian soldiers was a stain on his honor. "...This is a necessary sacrifice."
The Black Fleet was already closing the distance, relentlessly harrying the retreating Imperials. After a harrowing battle, only a fraction of the ships escaped the Eye of Terror.
Meanwhile, on Urshant, the Kasrkin continued their fierce resistance. The moment they saw the Black Fleet fill the sky, they knew their fate: they were doomed, and they would die fighting.
Abaddon, however, sought no unnecessary losses. He waited for the Armageddon Gun to cycle. With a second world-shattering strike, the planet of Urshant—along with the Kasrkin upon it—was reduced to stardust.
Aboard the Blackstone Fortress Will of Eternity, Abaddon the Despoiler sat upon a massive throne. Even in his archaic Terminator plate, he seemed small against the sheer scale of the chamber.
"Warmaster," Urkanthos knelt respectfully at the foot of the dais. "I bring you victory; the False Emperor's fleet has been scattered to the void."
"Well done, my Lord Ravager." Abaddon gestured for him to rise. "Do you know why I summoned you?"
Urkanthos looked up, the Butcher's Nails in his skull twitching. "To land! To descend upon the planet that dares obstruct our path!" He knelt again, pleading, "Grant me this supreme honor! The Hounds of Abaddon will tear down every wall for you!"
"Do you believe you are worthy of such a task?" Abaddon asked.
"Worthy? Who else but I could claim it?!" Urkanthos roared, standing abruptly as blood began to seep from the ports of his power armor. "Only I! Warmaster, only I am fit for this glory!"
"I am the master of the Black Fleet! I have broken the False Emperor's line for you!"
"And yet, you allowed survivors to escape," Abaddon interrupted coolly.
"The Warp tides are unstable, Warmaster! My Daemons are even now pursuing them!"
"We do not rely on Daemons, Urkanthos." Abaddon's disgust was sharp. "They are tools, not brothers."
"But we could not catch them; they were prepared to flee..."
"Excuses!" Abaddon leaned forward, pinning the Lord Ravager with his gaze. "I have no use for excuses. You failed to finalize the mission."
"No! Your mission was impossible!" Urkanthos roared, the Butcher's Nails stinging his brain. "Impossible!" He began to stomp up the steps of the throne, fueled by incandescent rage.
"Enough. Restrain yourself, brother." Abaddon's voice carried a weight of authority that made the very deck of the fortress groan. Urkanthos froze, and for the first time in centuries, the thing he hated most took root in his heart: fear.
"...Forgive me... forgive my insolence... Warmaster." Urkanthos lowered his helmed head.
"No, you have done well. It was indeed a difficult task. But if I do not demand the impossible, you will never achieve greatness," Abaddon said, relaxing his posture.
"Furthermore, we do not intend to land yet. We shall use the Will of Eternity to break Cadia from orbit." Abaddon smiled cruelly. "We have deceived the servants of the Corpse-God. They believe they have won a victory, so they have lowered their planetary shields to hunt our decoys. They have exposed their throats to us."
"Cadia's strength lies in its fortress worlds. We shall dismantle them one by one with the Blackstone Fortress. Then, we shall scour their exposed armies with orbital fire. Only then, once they are broken, shall we land to destroy those cursed pylons," Abaddon explained, laying out his grand design.
"And if we fail...?"
"No, my Lord Ravager. We shall not fail. We shall end the reign of the False Emperor and drag his rotting carcass from the Throne."