"For the Emperor!"
The assembly concluded with a unified oath, and each Company, according to their assigned tasks, proceeded to the lower deck to prepare for boarding the drop pods.
They would detach from the storm the moment it breached the enemy's Void Shield, flying towards the terrifying xenos fortress, and facing a battle with ten deaths and no life.
"We're going to kick their asses, right?"
In the comm channel, Aksai's voice was as loud as ever, though the pre-battle tension made it tremble slightly.
"That's right, we're going to take them down."
Soshiyan soothed his squad members with a calm tone. He was now the squad leader, needing to lead nine members into battle.
Perhaps this was too difficult and too glorious for a New Recruits, but no one in the Astral Knights Chapter had ever objected, because he was the most outstanding among this entire batch of New Recruitss, and even the most excellent New Recruits in the entire Chapter for hundreds of years.
Calm, tenacious, charismatic, and also large in stature.
The former were personal traits he displayed in multiple operations, while the latter was a bit more peculiar, as Space Marine were not filthy Orks who became leaders simply by being large.
But Soshiyan's physique was indeed unusual; he was a head taller than an ordinary Space Marine, so much so that his power armor had to be slightly modified for him to wear it.
Some people called him "Big Guy," while a few others preferred a more teasing moniker—
[Little Primarch]
But this was an unacceptable title, strictly forbidden by the Chapter Master.
In fact, Soshiyan also detested being called that, because it was a word simultaneously blessed and cursed.
The eighteen gene-Primarchs created by the Emperor gave rise to eighteen great Legions, and also forged the glorious Human Imperium of Man.
But it was also the gene-Primarchs who led their respective Legions in an unprecedented Great Rebellion, almost destroying the entire Imperium of Man, with half of them being rebellious Primarchs.
Even today, the poison of that rebellion still spread within the Imperium's veins, even though ten thousand years had passed... Alarms and sirens blared throughout the landing zone, chaotic and piercing from overuse. Crew members sprinted through corridors bathed in emergency lighting, their worn boots and feet wrapped in rags splashing through blood flowing from ceilings, walls, or unknown sources. Their time as Servitors under the Space Marine had worn away their fear, and they pushed past each other, rushing to their battle stations.
Gaunt Servitors with their frontal lobes removed dragged their bodies into the engine rooms and drop pods, while Chapter Servitors stomped heavily towards weapon emplacements, their powder-dusted, reinforced arms ready to drag giant, heavy shells.
The storm's engine assembly had been pushed beyond its limits, causing the surrounding bulkheads to vibrate as the ship's hull turned towards the approaching xenos fortress.
"Prepare to board."
Seeing a squad of Space Marine approach, the Mortal crew members hastily made way for the giants in power armor, who gripped Bolters or Chainswords tightly in their hands, a look of grim determination emanating from the deep black visors of their helmets. The activated armor hummed, stirring ripples in the blood accumulated on the deck.
The enemy's bombardment had already caused casualties, but there was no time to attend to the wounded; everyone was busy at their respective posts.
Soshiyan's Company would launch from this landing zone. They were to concentrate their attack on the world engine's core area; in principle, they should converge at the start of the tactical operation.
But that was a completely unfamiliar battlefield, and the landing process was full of countless unknowns. No one could be sure where they would land, so everyone set a top priority objective—to eliminate all xenos they encountered.
"Soshiyan, your squad will use drop pod number one. Wait for my command to launch."
The Company Commander's voice suddenly cut into the comm channel. Before Soshiyan could inquire, the other party cut off communications, and then the various combat squads began to enter their assigned drop pods.
He found it strange, because drop pod number one was no ordinary drop pod. It was a very ancient Anvilus-pattern drop pod that had joined the Chapter along with the storm.
This type of drop pod was frequently used during the Great Crusade Era, capable of air-dropping ten warriors or a single dreadnought at once. It possessed very sturdy armor and could automatically ascend and be recovered after landing. It was extremely rare now, and in the Chapter, usually only elite veteran Companies would use it.
But Soshian quickly hid this doubt in his heart. Now was not the time to consider such things.
From the outside, the massive storm glided through the colorful void. Not far away, the twisted fragments of a frigate scattered like raindrops, causing her Void Shield to flicker erratically.
The ancient battle barge maneuvered skillfully, rolling to evade a distant volley of Gauss fire. Light Lances the size of Hive City buildings whistled past, harmless.
The form of the world engine was difficult to describe in human language. Rather than a spaceship, it was more like a mobile necropolis. Its main body consisted of numerous towering obelisks, adorned with many geometric palaces and their reviled xenos idols, as massive as a small asteroid.
The high-speed storm plunged towards the underside of the world engine, Light Lances and kinetic weapon fire filling the vacuum between them.
As the distance closed, the battle barge's Void Shield began to endure the enemy's firepower. A kaleidoscope of light illuminated the twisted space around, layer upon layer of energy fields overloaded, and the wreckage of damaged weapons and armor orbited the hull. Hundreds of crew members streamed into the void from breaches in the deck, instantly becoming stiff corpses.
The storm continued its advance, relying on its agile engines, successfully sliding to the lower right side of the world engine. She executed a perfect roll, unleashing clusters of shining Light Lances at the world engine's drive array.
But as before, nothing could penetrate that thick field. The world engine continued to advance, a faint pale green trail constantly leaking from its power section.
And the storm was still rolling.
The moment it swept past the underside of the world engine by inertia, its engines suddenly accelerated, ramming into the xenos fortress's undefended underbelly and locking its hull in place.
Giant light flares shone like exploding mini-novae in all directions the instant the Void Shield and the field violently collided. The immense kinetic energy unleashed even brought the world engine's advance to a grinding halt, making it sway like a small boat in a storm, yet it remained impregnable.
The storm then began to disintegrate. Its front section, bearing numerous scars, pierced through the previously almost invincible shield, and then sprayed countless silver-grey fragments, like seeds sown in a field.
"Combustion chambers engaging."
The drop pod's machine spirit confirmed the command and responded. Soshiyan waited until the very last to receive the Company Commander's order; his was almost among the final batch of drop pods launched from the storm.
After the unsettling tremors subsided, the teardrop-shaped drop pod began to glide silently through the void. The roar of the rocket engines passed through the reinforced upper structure of the drop pod, through the personnel compartment, through the hatch, through the descent struts, and finally reached Soshiyan's ears.
He was uncertain of the storm's fate. This most glorious battle barge, which carried all of their Chapter's history, had been their most precious possession.
"Open rear camera."
His voice was incredibly calm. He could hear the steady echo of his own breathing within his helmet, just like his nine power-armored companions.
Again, the machine spirit responded to him, the runic screen installed at the front of the control strut hissed, then slowly opened.
Soshiyan scrutinized everything within. His optical display constantly reflected confirmed data or uncertain estimates of speed and distance.
The external cameras also activated one by one, allowing him a full view of the twilight-like space and the enemy situation. As far as the eye could see, more than half of the void was occupied by the world engine's blinding trail.
In the distance, the storm was quietly disintegrating, armor fragments naturally peeling away from her, exposing her internal structure to the cold void. Enemy fire continuously carved one large hole after another into her.
They probably would never have the chance to recover this ship again, and the valuable equipment and personnel onboard would also be completely lost.
"Front camera."
Soshiyan issued a new command. Directly in front of the drop pod was the world engine—it was so massive, desolate, flat, and its color resembled some kind of mineral.
Bang!
Suddenly, a loud bang came from outside the pod, followed by intense shaking. It was clear they had been hit by something.
The image on the screen began to blur. Soshiyan could vaguely see many explosions on the barren surface of the world engine; clearly, his comrades who had arrived before him had already begun their assault. Of course, various green beams of light still flew through the air as usual, and if they were unlucky enough to be hit, they wouldn't even make it to the ground.
"Prepare for high-speed entry and impact."
Soshiyan issued instructions to the others through his helmet. He could hear the fixed frame and seatbelts creaking as they tightened. He also felt the vibration and shaking as the drop pod's exterior came into contact with ship debris.
By adjusting the camera, he could see the umbrella-like framework outside the drop pod unfolding, but the struts were not operating smoothly. The previous intense impact had damaged some systems, which meant their landing would not be so gentle.
"Prepare for impact!"