Jupiter, the commercial headquarters of the Hessen Cartel.
The Cartel Master sat upon a jewel-encrusted throne, carved from gold-threaded nanmu wood, set with one hundred and ninety gemstones of varying colors from a dozen worlds: Blood-red rubies, regal purple amethysts.
He turned his golden scepter, looking at the black-armored Shadow of Order below, and smiled. "Keon, welcome."
"What does Lord Nareth require?"
"Cartel Master." Keon, shrouded in black armor, emanated an icy chill.
"I need you to arrange for me and my Shadow Guard to infiltrate the Thule shipyard."
Seeing the Cartel Master's silence, he discreetly activated his Spirit Vision.
The Cartel Master's mind was a blue field of thought, clouded with grey doubt.
"You will receive the Thule shipyard facilities. With them, the Hessen Cartel can build more powerful void-ships, far surpassing any other commercial dynasty."
"A tempting apple, but one filled with poison," the Cartel Master said slowly.
"It is Kelbor-Hal's asset. The consequences of angering the Fabricator General are something even Lord Nareth should consider carefully."
"The Warmaster has betrayed the Emperor. Kelbor-Hal has sided with him." Keon produced a datapad gifted by the Black Emperor.
He walked to a cogitator, connected it, and projected a hologram.
"I am Arkhan Land. The Fabricator General has betrayed the Imperium. He has unleashed scrapcode, attacking the information networks."
"He has sent his fallen disciples and blasphemous constructs to attack Tycho Brahe's munitions depots and other regions."
"We need the Hessen Cartel's help."
After watching the hologram, the Cartel Master's eyes gleamed.
"Kelbor-Hal has betrayed the Imperium. I will follow Lord Nareth in striking the traitors."
"We need the Jovian Grenadiers." Keon said.
"I have just received a message from Lord Dorn. I will send five thousand warriors at the Praetorian of Terra's disposal. Fifty-two thousand will answer Lord Nareth's call."
The Cartel Master made his stance clear to the Shadow of Order. Horus's rebellion would shift Terra's political landscape.
To secure more power in the future Imperium, he had to earn Nareth's trust and support.
'Thank goodness I read The {Shadow Sovereign} and realized Lord Nareth was not a bloodthirsty tyrant. I decided to side with him at the Council of Nikaea.'
As Keon and his Shadow Guard, using the batch numbers and access codes provided by the Hessen Cartel, infiltrated the Thule shipyard, Lucius's Stormbird descended on Mondus Occulam, hundreds of kilometers northeast of Mount Alceaus.
Zagreus Kane's forge, nestled between the semi-circular mountain ranges of the Shironex and Tharsis volcanoes, was a jewel among the forges north of Olympus Mons.
Mondus Occulam was Mars's most valuable and highest-output weapons factory, even larger than the assembly plants at Olympus Fossae.
Only Lukas Chrom's Mondus Gamma could rival Kane's forge in scale, but even his forge could not match Mondus Occulam's output.
The entire industrial complex was dedicated to a specific warrior: the Astartes.
Power armor was painstakingly forged on the anvils of master smiths, calibrated to the highest standards.
Boltguns, missile launchers, and laser cannons took shape in the brightly lit halls of the forge.
Sicaran battle tanks and other armored vehicles rolled off the assembly lines.
Mondus Occulam was also where Astartes with technical talent studied the workings of machines under the guidance of Magi.
Kane had personally trained Gebren of the Iron Hands, Kel of the Salamanders, and Polonius of the Ultramarines.
The Stormbird, guided by the communication beacon, descended slowly. Lucius stepped down the ramp.
"Welcome, loyal son of the Emperor's Children." Kane was not as bulky as most Martian Magi. He wore a simple red robe, embroidered with the Mechanicum's gear emblem in gold thread.
His face was largely human, with short hair, delicate cheekbones, and a hawkish nose reminiscent of the Emperor's Children's Europa-born nobles.
"You have proven your loyalty to the Imperium. The assets of Magi Vinacius, Ahotep, Matthias Kevlar, and others were saved thanks to you."
"You destroyed the Legio Magna traitor God-machines."
Lucius ascended to the First Level of the Thelema mindstate, suppressing the urge to draw his blade and rush to the front lines.
The Black Emperor's divine command must be fulfilled.
"Honored Fabricator Locum, we have won some victories, but the situation remains dire."
"Astartes are dying every hour."
As they spoke, they walked side-by-side.
Though the gap in rank between him and the Fabricator Locum was immense, Lucius was the commander of the Astartes reinforcements and was treated with courtesy by Kane.
"I will provide you with all the support I can. All of Mondus Occulam's resources are at your disposal." Kane promised.
He led Lucius to the forge temple's observation deck, looking down at the roaring forges below.
"There are twelve thousand Mark IV power armor suits in the forge temple, and enough weapons to arm twice that many Astartes."
"There is also a new pattern of power armor, still unnamed, with superior agility compared to older patterns. I believe the Emperor's Children will appreciate it."
He knew the Emperor's Children, while not as extreme in their pursuit of speed as the White Scars, nor as reliant on infiltration as the Raven Guard, valued flexibility and efficiency, aiming to maximize mobility and seize the initiative before the enemy could react.
"It uses a dual-technology circuit, allowing rare or complex components to be easily replaced with more common or basic equivalents without sacrificing protection or performance."
"Its cables are concealed beneath the ceramic armor plates, including new, heavier leg greaves."
"So far, three thousand nine hundred and forty-six suits of the new power armor have been completed and tested in my forge temple."
Lucius nodded. "We will need this armor to fight the Fabricator General's armies."
He recalled the Black Emperor's divine command. "As I said, we cannot hold out forever."
"So, you must transfer your more valuable assets."
"You mean the STC and data for the new power armor." Kane said.
"Not only that, but also the prototype suit in your forge temple."
"How do you know this?"
"This is a secret known only to the Fabricator General, the Warmaster, and the Regent."
"Lord Nareth gave me this revelation."
'Nareth how does he know?' Kane remembered that many Martian Magi considered Nareth the Beloved of the Omnissiah. Guided by the Omnissiah's holy light, he had found many sacred STCs.
'Could Nareth truly be the Beloved of the Omnissiah?'
He thought of the Legio Mortis's attack on Maximal's primary reactor. Clearly, Mars's greatest military force had turned against them.
"I agree."
Lucius had completed four of the Black Emperor's divine tasks: securing the prototype armor, the STC and data for the new power armor, and the Mark IV suits.
Following the Black Emperor's command, he made a final suggestion to Kane: "You should leave with us."
"With Kelbor-Hal's betrayal, you are the new Fabricator General of the Mechanicum."
"You should lead the loyalists, continuing to serve the Imperium."
"No!" Kane said, his voice resolute. "I will never abandon my forge."
"I will not flee Mars. I will live and die with this world."
Lucius's eyes shot out twin blades of light at Kane.
A thought crossed his mind: to take Kane by force.
"My bio-scanner shows your adrenaline is spiking. I advise you not to resort to violence against me."
Lucius, hearing Kane's words, bowed gracefully.
"Of course, Honored Fabricator Locum."
He decided to pray to the Black Emperor first, to avoid any blasphemous act born of his own rashness.
....
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