The first explosion shook the Merciless Death from prow to stern.
It was not the controlled detonation of a boarding torpedo or the violent concussion of macro-cannon fire.
This blast came from deep within the ship itself, reverberating through every deck like the heartbeat of a dying giant.
Red warning lumens bathed the hidden chamber.
The calm white light vanished, replaced by the harsh crimson glow of battle stations.
The ancient machine spirit spoke again, its voice echoing through every corridor.
“Warning.” “Unauthorized teleportation detected.” “Hangar Deck Primus.” “Internal security compromised.” Captain Alaric looked toward the cathedral entrance.
“They’ve found another way aboard.” Brother Cassian gritted his teeth as he fought against the oppressive silence that smothered his psychic senses.
“I still cannot reach the Warp.” Captain Vorn stepped back from the floating feather.
“They’re here for it.” Alaric’s helmet turned toward him.
“Who?” “The ones who have hunted it since before your Imperium was born.” Hangar Deck Primus The last Thunderhawk burned.
Its port engine erupted in blue plasma as another missile struck home, scattering molten ceramite across the vast landing bay.
Sergeant Gideon rolled behind the wreckage of a cargo hauler as heavy bolter rounds hammered the deck where he had been standing only moments before.
“Return fire!” The Sternguard answered instantly.
Special-issue Kraken bolts screamed down the length of the hangar.
One enemy warrior staggered as a shell punched clean through his breastplate.
Another lost an arm to disciplined bolter fire.
Neither fell.
Instead, both continued advancing with relentless determination.
Yet these warriors were not the empty suits of armor encountered aboard the Talons of Terra.
These enemies bled.
Dark crimson blood splashed across the polished deck.
Their armor was ancient Mark IV Maximus pattern, blackened by age and battle.
Upon their left shoulders, worn almost beyond recognition, remained a faded silver Hydra.
Brother Leon’s voice came over the vox.
“Alpha Legion.” Gideon narrowed his eyes.
“So it was you.” The leading warrior lowered his bolter.
His voice carried easily across the hangar.
“We have no quarrel with the Hidden Talons.” Brother Remus barked a harsh laugh.
“You’ve killed six of our serfs.” “They stood in the way.” Gideon stepped forward, thunder hammer crackling with caged energy.
“Then today…” “…you stand in ours.” The Alpha Legionnaire inclined his head.
“A pity.” “I had hoped the sons of Corax still possessed wisdom.” Without another word, both sides opened fire.
Across the landing bay, centuries-old Imperial machinery exploded beneath a hail of mass-reactive rounds.
Storm bolters roared.
Heavy bolters answered.
Missiles streaked overhead.
One Thunderhawk’s fuel reserves ignited, bathing the chamber in brilliant orange fire.
Brother Remus charged through the flames.
His storm shield absorbed a burst of enemy fire before his thunder hammer descended with crushing force.
The Alpha Legionnaire attempted to dodge.
Too slow.
The hammer struck squarely against his chest.
The discharge field detonated.
Ancient ceramite shattered.
Bone broke.
The warrior was hurled fifteen meters through the air before crashing into a grounded Arvus Lighter.
He did not rise.
Unlike the empty warriors before…
This enemy could die.
The Hidden Chamber Captain Alaric keyed his command vox.
“Sergeant Gideon.” Static answered.
Then…
“…multiple hostiles…” “…Alpha Legion confirmed…” “…holding…” The transmission dissolved beneath bursts of interference.
Captain Alaric looked toward Captain Vorn.
“The Alpha Legion has been following this relic.” “For ten thousand years,” Vorn replied quietly.
Brother Cassian looked sharply toward him.
“How do you know that?” “I’ve had fifty-one years to listen.” Captain Vorn looked toward the floating black feather.
“It speaks.” “It remembers.” “It mistakes me for someone else.” Brother Leon’s gauntlet tightened around his bolt pistol.
“You listened to it?” “I never answered.” Alaric turned to the ancient Raven Guard Legionary kneeling before the pedestal.
His gaze lingered upon the weathered combat knife still embedded in the black stone.
DO NOT LISTEN.
Those words suddenly carried far greater weight.
Bridge of the Talons of Terra Master Decimus frowned at the tactical display.
“The unidentified fleet has entered the Warp.” Captain Lucien Voss folded his arms.
“They’re simply leaving?” Corven watched the shrinking sensor contacts.
“No.” “They’ve completed their mission.” Master Hadrian suddenly interrupted.
“My Chapter Master.” He projected a magnified image of the Merciless Death.
A violent distortion shimmered across its dorsal hull.
Like heat haze.
Then reality itself tore open.
A wound formed in space.
Purple lightning crackled across its edges.
Something emerged.
Not a ship.
A teleport flare.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Master Decimus stared.
“They’re boarding…” Corven’s expression darkened.
“No.” “They’re reinforcing.” Without another word, Corven turned.
“Prepare the Second Company.” Captain Voss already understood.
“We’re boarding.” Corven nodded.
“The First Company is no longer investigating.” “They’re fighting for survival.” The Chamber Beyond Brother Cassian suddenly cried out.
He dropped to one knee.
The feather had moved.
Not physically.
Spiritually.
Though he could no longer feel the Warp, something deeper stirred within his gene-seed.
A memory.
Not his own.
The voice that followed was little more than a whisper.
“Deliver this…” Brother Cassian’s eyes widened.
Captain Alaric stepped toward him.
“What did you hear?” Cassian looked at the floating feather in disbelief.
“It spoke.” Captain Vorn closed his eyes.
“It always begins that way.” A deep metallic groan echoed through the chamber.
One of the enormous black rings surrounding the pedestal rotated ninety degrees.
Hidden mechanisms locked into place.
A second ring followed.
Then a third.
The entire chamber awakened.
Brother Leon checked his auspex.
“Energy levels are rising.” “They’re coming from the relic.” Captain Alaric looked toward the entrance.
“We’re leaving.” No one argued.
They had seen enough.
Whatever this chamber truly was…
It had survived ten thousand years hidden beneath an Imperial warship.
It could survive a little longer.
The Hidden Talons could not.
As the First Company withdrew into the cathedral, Captain Vorn remained behind.
Alaric stopped.
“Aren’t you coming?” The old naval captain smiled sadly.
“My watch ended long ago.” He looked once more at the feather.
“I was only keeping it company.” Before Alaric could answer, Captain Vorn slowly raised his hand in a formal Imperial Navy salute.
It was the salute of an officer reporting the completion of his final duty.
“Protect it.” Then, before the eyes of the First Company, Captain Elias Vorn dissolved into countless tiny motes of golden light.
The particles drifted upward like dust caught in sunlight.
Within moments…
He was gone.
Only his immaculate captain’s cap remained upon the marble floor.
Brother Leon quietly retrieved it.
“No body.” Brother Cassian bowed his head.
“I think…” “…he finally died.” Captain Alaric looked toward the cathedral doors.
“Move.” The First Company advanced at a run.
Behind them, unnoticed by every warrior…
The ancient Raven Guard skeleton slowly rose to its feet.
It pulled the combat knife from the pedestal.
Turned toward the chamber entrance.
And took its first step in ten thousand years.