The eleventh planet from the sun in the Gardinaal system. Flamini, having returned from the Honor Guard to the Sixth Chapter as a Lieutenant, disembarked.
The low-gravity environment of the eleventh planet made Flamini's first step in his power boots feel somewhat unsteady.
The second, the third step. His body and the Mark III Power Armor quickly adapted.
Having recently operated on space stations in similar environments, Flamini quickly acclimated.
Recently elevated to "Robot," his eyes gleamed. His gaze pierced through the ancient battlefield ruins, tracing back through the flow of time.
Compared to before, when the wheel turned, he saw more, more complete information.
Flamini's gaze penetrated to two thousand five hundred years ago. Combining it with data provided by his father, he traced the genesis of the eleventh planet's rift.
It was left by Ork invaders from beyond the system's edge, who briefly occupied Gardinaal's outer worlds.
A slight smile touched Flamini's lips. He felt the weight of history and the Legion's might.
That was the only invasion Gardinaal's pocket empire faced after its establishment, and it halted at the eleventh planet.
Centuries later, bio-engineered warriors were born. Since then, Gardinaal's surfaces had never been invaded again.
The Shadow of Order was an opponent of a completely different scale. At that very moment, twenty-five thousand two hundred Shadow of Order from the Sixth Chapter were attacking four planets simultaneously.
This wasn't even the Chapter's full strength; three thousand six hundred remained patrolling the Kolonide New Zone.
Flamini shifted his attention from the past to the present. His mind nudged the turning wheel. His consciousness transcended the unfolding assault operation. Fragments of the future appeared before his eyes.
Compared to the chaotic mind he had as a "Monster" not long ago, after becoming a "Robot," his mind was much clearer.
"Advance!"
Chaotically arranged housing blocks and coil-transformer spires were covered in black stains from industrial residue.
A group clad in grey padded ballistic armor and vision-helmets, wielding assault weapons, charged out from behind countless heavy shields.
More poured out from cracked walls, broken arches, and partially collapsed staircases.
These stairs led to habitation levels, dozens of layers wide and hundreds of layers deep.
Orbital bombardment had been limited to specific areas, avoiding destructive strikes on the Legion's future assets.
Flamini surveyed his surroundings. Each warrior-caste individual transformed into data, streaming through the "Robot's" mind.
The firepower of each squad member was also incorporated into the "Robot's" calculations. He issued orders over the comm-channel.
"Tanith Squad, Sector Five."
"Manachea Squad, Sector Six."
The Sixth Chapter garrisoned the Coronid New Zone; many squads were named after various worlds.
The three squads complied with the Lieutenant's orders, deploying their lines.
Keen perception of the near future granted the "Robot" an overarching strategic view. He could even sense the enemy's numbness.
The Lieutenant, as the brain, directed his three squads to intercept the warrior-caste.
"Set traps!"
Two "Hunters" removed fragmentation grenades from their waists, planting bombs near promethium fuel barrels.
Within the Shadow of Order Chapters, each squad now had Court members granted different powers by their Gene-Father.
Among Flamini's three squads, two had "Hunters."
Flamini oversaw the situation. At the optimal distance from his precognition, as the enemy line surged to four hundred meters, he shouted: "Open fire!"
They raised their bedrock-pattern boltguns, firing a dense curtain at the warrior-caste. Diamond-hard bolts penetrated ballistic shields. Instantly, over a thousand were shredded.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The first warrior-caste stepped into the trap. Fragmentation grenades detonated. Flames enveloped flying shrapnel, tearing into the crowd.
Promethium ignited fiercely among the warrior-caste. They dared not disobey the Military Sub-Consul's orders, not even pausing their advance.
Three "Warriors" swung their greatswords, cleaving through the warrior-caste.
Amidst the continuous explosions, pale, gaunt faces appeared from within the levels. Expressions only a two-hundred-generation evolved caste could produce.
They were hairless, pale-skinned. This was the appearance of most genetically modified lower castes on Gardinaal.
They wore mass-produced green jackets and trousers, expressionless, eyes vacant.
The light of a human soul barely penetrated their skin, showing any external manifestation on their bodies, as if they came from the same assembly line that produced their clothing.
Alleles for individualism or empathy, secretly passed down through generations, were completely suppressed by conditioning and psycho-drugs.
The lower castes held weapons like iron pincers or items like dismantled steel pipes.
They wielded crude weapons, joining the fight.
Lower castes, numbering tens of times the warrior-caste, flooded in, further complicating the battle.
Flamini's command extended to every Shadow of Order.
Data from friend and foe streamed through his mind. The thirty runes of his divination box adjusted constantly under his direction.
The warrior-caste, evolved over a hundred generations, seized the opportunity created by the lower castes.
Dozens of warrior-caste formed assault units, launching attacks.
The "Robot" calculated rapidly, striving to shore up the line's defensive weaknesses.
The heightened intuition of three "Monsters" compensated for calculation gaps and unexpected developments.
They identified dangers, reacting promptly.
Gardinaal castes, ten thousand times the number of the three squads, launched wave after wave of attacks, crashing against the black-armored warriors' line.
Flamini's maneuvers concealed the three squads' vulnerable rear armor. Before ammunition was exhausted, he timely called for Stormbird airdrops for resupply.
Just as Flamini repelled enemy waves, after the Shadow of Order secured air superiority over Gardinaal Prime, swarms of Stormbirds launched assaults on the surface.
A phalanx formation of Gardinaal heavy fighters attacked the formations of Shadow of Order Stormbirds.
They directly pierced through fighter defenses, stabbing into the gunship and transport arrays.
The suicidal assault immediately drew laser cannon fire.
Stormbird gunships roared fire at the Gardinaal heavy fighters. Firepower shattered one heavily armored fighter after another, but their formation remained unchanged, showing no intent to evade.
Amidst continuous exchange, Stormbirds disgorged their cargo. Shadow of Order landed, immediately attacking the orbital elevator installations.
At the same time, hundreds of Shadow-pattern Stormbirds mingled among countless Stormbirds, flying towards their respective targets.
Arsena Dunn, Marlena Slara, Maria Kurnikova, Tierney, and other beyonders each led their teams, disembarking, beginning their missions.