Ferrus listened to this grand speech without a single muscle moving on his craggy face.
Yet deep within his gut, a gnawing sense of wrongness was growing stronger by the second.
A perfect war. A perfect victory. A perfect blade.
In the past, while Fulgrim had always pursued perfection, he had never thrown the word around with such obsessive frequency.
His former perfection had been restrained, an ideal embodied through his actions rather than something he constantly felt the need to vocalize.
But now...
Ferrus stared at the man sitting before him—his closest, most beloved brother.
He stared at the faint, almost imperceptible purplish-pink light flickering in the depths of Fulgrim's eyes.
He listened to the barely concealed fanaticism dripping from every word.
What in the warp has happened to him?
What had he experienced?
Ferrus suppressed the doubts gnawing at his mind and chose not to press the issue.
He knew this wasn't the time to obsess over it.
War was imminent, and Fulgrim had come to his aid.
Everything else could wait until the battle was won.
Once this war was over, once those xenos were thoroughly burned to ash, he would have a long talk with Fulgrim...
He would find out exactly who had done this to his brother while he was away.
Who had taken his beautiful Phoenix and...
He spoke slowly, his voice steady. "I appreciate your good intentions, Fulgrim."
Ferrus stood up and strode over to the holographic projector in the center of the banquet hall. "Since our two fleets have finally joined forces, it is time we discuss the specific operational plans."
Fulgrim sheathed the bizarre sword, that flawless smile returning to his face as he walked back to the seat of honor and sat down, raising his right hand in a sweeping gesture. "Of course. You have the floor, Ferrus."
The atmosphere in the grand hall shifted instantly from a celebratory banquet to a formal council of war.
The Lord Commanders and Captains of the Emperor's Children simultaneously straightened their backs, their eyes locking onto the silver-grey figure.
A meadendrite link extended from Ferrus's arm, interfacing directly with the Pride of the Emperor's cogitators. A three-dimensional star map instantly flickered to life before the assembly.
At the center of the projection burned a searing star...
The Carollis Star.
Swarming around the sun was a dense cluster of red blips.
These blips marked the exact coordinates of the enemy vessels detected by the 52nd Expeditionary Fleet.
"Based on my reconnaissance," Ferrus's voice echoed through the hall, carrying that cold, iron-hard resonance unique to the Iron Hands, "the enemy we face this time is a diaspora coalition known as the Diasporex. They are a nomadic, interstellar democratic coalition that has existed since the Age of Strife. The bulk of their population consists of humans and a quadrupedal, eyeless xeno species heavily reliant on cybernetic and biological augmentation. They call a massive fleet of ancient starships their home, living as nomads in the Lesser Twin Folds Star Cluster on the eastern fringe of the galaxy."
On the holographic projection, a bizarrely designed starship slowly rotated.
Its hull boasted sleek, flowing curves, completely plated in cyan crystalline armor.
Under the simulated starlight, the armor shimmered with an eerie luster, almost as if it were alive.
"They possess ancient starship technology dating back to the Dark Age of Technology, making them vastly experienced in void warfare," Ferrus continued, his tone turning grim. "They have even mastered a form of electronic warfare capable of slicing into Imperial ship networks, forcing our vessels to turn their guns on friendly targets."
A low murmur rippled through the banquet hall.
The expressions on the faces of the Emperor's Children Lord Commanders and Captains darkened considerably.
Slicing into Imperial networks?
Turning their own macro-cannons against allies?
They had never encountered tech-heresy of this magnitude.
"The enemy has repeatedly evaded all attempts by the main force of my 52nd Expeditionary Fleet to force a decisive engagement," Ferrus continued, his voice dropping low with barely suppressed fury. "Instead, they utilized a calculated ambush to severely cripple the strike cruiser Ferrum within our vanguard, alongside several transport vessels. Over tens of thousands of fleet personnel perished in that single ambush. The captain of the Ferrum was a veteran I personally promoted. He fought by my side for over half a century. His head is currently mounted on the prow of their flagship as a xenos war trophy."
A heavy silence fell over the hall.
Fulgrim rose from his seat of honor and walked to Ferrus's side. He clapped a hand on Ferrus's shoulder, his tone resolute. "Rest assured, brother. I will help you avenge this slight. Not a single one of those xenos will escape alive."
Ferrus turned to look at him and offered a curt nod. He pointed back at the holo-map, a hint of genuine confusion creeping into his voice. "However, there is one strange anomaly. Despite facing total encirclement by our forces, this Diasporex fleet has made zero attempts to flee the Carollis Star system. I have no idea why."
On the projection, the crimson blips simply orbited the star continuously, showing no signs of initiating a warp jump.
They were like a school of sharks scenting blood in the water—fully aware of the danger, yet refusing to leave.
"What are they waiting for?" Julius Kaesoron, First Captain of the Emperor's Children, asked with a deep frown. "Or rather, what are they preparing for?"
Ferrus shook his head. "Unknown. But no matter what they are preparing, we will crush them utterly before they get the chance to finish it. For this joint operation, my proposed battle plan is as follows..."
The two Primarchs began discussing the finer tactical details over the star map.
The Lord Commanders and Captains of the Emperor's Children gathered around closely.
In the span of a few minutes, the lavish banquet hall had been entirely converted into a makeshift command center.
--
Meanwhile, in a darkened corner of the hall, several soldiers clad in Imperial Auxilia uniforms stood quietly in the shadows.
Their eyes were glued to the red blips on the holographic projection.
Above their heads, black player IDs flickered faintly in the candlelight.
[Region Channel (Wings of Freedom)]
[All According to Plan]: "I'm guessing this joint operation is going to trigger a quest. I just don't know what the exact objectives will be yet."
[I Just Love Sleeping In]: "Our quest will probably target the Iron Hands Legion, right? Plus, it feels like there won't be another faction vs. faction quest this time around. I mean, all the Loyalist players in the Emperor's Children already hauled ass. Who's left to fight us?"
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Don't be so sure! The 28th Expeditionary Fleet might be cleared out, but that doesn't mean there aren't any Loyalist players hiding in the 52nd. It's just a shame we haven't managed to make contact with any Chaos players in the 52nd Fleet yet. I wonder if they won or lost their faction war against the Loyalists over there. Speaking of which, whatever happened to that guy, [The Emperor is Just a Corpse Anyway]? Where'd he run off to after we caught him and killed him three times?"
[Slaanesh I'm Gonna Gank You Hard]: "God knows. He used his quest rewards to get some crazy cybernetic augments, ambushed us a few times, and looted our gear. Ever since we finally ganked him, he completely dropped off the radar."
[All According to Plan]: "Just wait. Once Fulgrim and Ferrus finish their tactical meeting, the system should push the quest to us. This specific storyline was only briefly glossed over in the official lore novels, but it heavily foreshadows the complete shattering of Fulgrim and Ferrus's brotherhood, as well as Fulgrim's growing resentment toward Solomon Demeter, the Captain of the Second Company. It's the catalyst that pushes him even deeper into corruption."
The channel went quiet for a few seconds.
[Let the Galaxy Burn] sent a melancholic message: "Looks like Headless Ferrus-chan's fate is sealed. We really can't change it."
[I Just Love Sleeping In]: "Tsk, tsk. That's the great Phoenician for you. When his perfectionism acts up, he'll even screw over his own people."
--
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