Chapter 19 – First Clash
The Warp fell away.
One moment, the Oath of Rectitude was drifting through storms of color and shadow, where voices whispered and shapes clawed at the Gellar Field. The next, the storm broke, and realspace returned.
Stars glittered across a dark sky. The void stretched endless and calm, sharp and cold compared to the Warp's madness.
Gaius stood tall on the command deck, his blue and gold armor reflecting the soft light of the viewing screens. The Navigator bowed low, his third eye sealed.
"My lord, we have reached the Helisar System."
Gaius gave a short nod. "Well done."
He opened his vox, his deep voice carrying across the ship.
"Brothers. Gather. Arm and prepare. The enemy awaits."
The sound of his words spread through every deck, bouncing against steel walls and echoing down long halls. The Oath of Rectitude was awake now. Its crew hurried in silence, each movement precise and drilled into them by endless years of duty.
The chamber filled with the sound of giants.
Twelve Astartes warriors gathered, their steps heavy against the deck. 9 were battle-brothers and a Techmarine, clad in blue armor that bore scars of countless fights and One red Armor. Two were young Primaris, taller and broader, their armor newer, less marked.
They checked their weapons with steady hands. Bolters clicked as magazines slid home. Chainswords roared to life, then fell silent again. Combat knives, simple but sharp, were sheathed at their belts. Each movement was calm, practiced, without waste.
Only Gaius stood apart. His bolter was mag-locked to his chest, but at his side hung something more. A blade, sheathed in black and bound with gold, a power sword, humming faintly with restrained energy. It marked him as their commander, as the hand of the Emperor among them, and with the highest achievement.
The Multiversal Chat hummed to life again. Their voices echoed in Gaius's mind, but only he could hear them as he walked among his brothers.
Naruto shouted first.
Naruto: "They're all huge! But wait, Gaius is even bigger than the rest!"
Gaius ignored the words, but the truth was plain. Even among the Primaris, Gaius's frame carried more weight, more presence. His armor seemed to hum with age and purpose, where the younger Primaris were still fresh, new to the burdens of war.
Saeko: "So this is how a Ultramarine looked like…" Her tone was calm, almost reverent, as she ever only saw Gaius, and the corpses of others Ultramarine, through the first live feed.
Tony Stark: "Twelve guys like this could probably control a country on Earth. Fury would lose his mind if he saw this feed."
Mindy: She was silent at first, only watching. Her eyes tracked the way the Marines moved, how their steps were the same, how none of them fumbled. They were machines, but also men. She felt small, but not in a bad way. It was the kind of small that made her want to keep watching.
The strategium chamber was lit with holo-screens showing maps of the Helisar system. Gaius stood at the head, his warriors gathered in silence.
He spoke clearly, each word heavy.
"Our mission is threefold.
First, eliminate the leaders of the enemy. Warlords, dark champions, daemons. All must fall.
Second, break their command structure. Destroy their strongholds, cripple their coordination, leave them blind.
Third, prepare the field for the crusade fleet. We strike first. The fleet will follow. Together, we will cleanse these worlds."
The Marines gave no reply. They did not need to. Their silence was agreement.
The doors hissed open. A chapter serf entered quickly, bowing low. His voice was urgent but steady.
"My lord! Enemy ship sighted. Helisar-IV, orbiting above the Forge World!"
Gaius walked past him, his steps slow and sure. The others followed like a wall of steel.
On the viewing deck, the augur display lit up. A massive shape floated near the red surface of Helisar-IV. It was no ordinary ship. It looked like a fortress given engines, thick armor plating, gun batteries jutting like teeth, its surface scarred but still defiant.
Gaius knew it at once. His voice was calm, but there was weight in it.
"The traitors. The Iron Warriors."
The serf's hands shook slightly as he spoke. "Only one ship, my lord. No others detected nearby."
Gaius narrowed his eyes. One ship. That meant a warband, not a full force. But with Iron Warriors, even a few were deadly. They were masters of siege and fortification.
Behind him, his Marines stood silent, waiting for his words.
Gaius turned to them.
"They control the Forge World. With it, they arm themselves. They are few, hundreds, perhaps, but they are Iron Warriors. They will be ready. They will be dug deep. The ship above us is already aware of us, as we are of them. Brothers, steel yourselves."
He pointed toward the Techmarine, his voice steady.
"You. Break their void shield."
The Techmarine bowed without a word. His hands moved across runes and controls, activating torpedo bays.
The Oath of Rectitude roared as torpedoes launched. Trails of fire streaked across the void toward the Iron Warrior ship.
But the traitors were ready. Batteries lit up, shells exploding in bursts of light, tearing many torpedoes apart before they could land. Still, some struck home, slamming against the ship's shimmering void shields. The shields held, but their glow dimmed.
The enemy returned fire. Great blasts of energy shot across space. The Oath of Rectitude shuddered, void shields sparking as they absorbed the blows. Alarms rang, but the crew held steady.
The two ships circled each other in the dark, fortress against fortress.
Tony Stark: "That's not a ship, that's a whole skyscraper turned into a gun."
Naruto: "This is awesome! It's like a giant ninja battle, but with ships!"
Saeko: "So this is war in Space… every move is life or death." It's beautiful it's what saeko thought had in mind.
Mindy whispered without meaning to. "It's beautiful… and terrible."
Hit after hit struck the Iron Warriors' void field. Bit by bit, the light around their ship flickered weaker and weaker. Finally, it failed. The glow vanished. The ship was bare.
Gaius's voice cut through the noise.
"Techmarine, remain. Command the Oath. Keep us covered."
The Techmarine bowed again and turned back to the control decks.
Gaius looked at his brothers. "The rest of you, come with me."
The Marines split into two squads. Great boarding torpedoes hissed open, their chambers lined with thick walls and harnesses. The warriors entered without a word, locking themselves into place.
Gaius stepped into one, towering above the others. His bolter was secured to his chest, and his hand rested on the hilt of his sheathed power sword.
Before the doors closed, he spoke through the vox, his voice calm but carrying like a drumbeat.
"Brothers. We descend into the heart of traitors. They will be many. They will be fortified. But they are not chosen of the Emperor. We are. We'll bring the Emperor Wrath to this traitor legion, and lay waste to them."
The torpedoes locked into firing tubes.
The chamber shook. Then, thunder.
Two great bolts of steel shot out from the Oath of Rectitude, streaking across the stars toward the fortress-ship of the Iron Warriors. Their trails burned bright against the void.
Inside, the Astartes sat in silence, braced for impact, their hearts steady.
In the Multiversal Chat, not one voice spoke. Naruto, Tony, Saeko, and Mindy all held their breath, watching.
The torpedoes raced closer. The fortress loomed larger and larger.
End of Chapter 19
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