The Sadako videotape in Datch's hand was a green-quality item.
When he chose to use it, the mini-map highlighted all usable devices on the planet.
From civilian entertainment screens to fortress surveillance terminals—everything was fair game.
"Tsk, green quality can cover a whole planet?
If it were gold, could it cover the whole galaxy? This thing's a true conceptual artifact—instant teleportation!"
Muttering, he confirmed the playback location: the strategic command room at Hera Fortress.
His body instantly vanished from the tavern, right in front of the stunned crowd.
The people blinked in disbelief—a grown man, gone in a flash!
When the Night Watch arrived, they suspected the witnesses were lying.
Their psykers found no trace of psychic residue.
The Mechanicus tech-priests detected no xenos tech either.
No Warp power, no Xenos tech—just vanished, in front of everyone. It strained all logic.
…
Inside the command room, the recapture plan for Ultramar was under heated discussion.
Guilliman stood before the massive star chart, explaining his strategy.
Archmagos Cawl's many mechanical limbs flew over data-slates, servo motors humming as he processed data.
Saint Celestine listened quietly, wings folded, her face serene and solemn.
Inquisitor Greyfax watched the star chart closely, missing nothing.
Grand Master Voldus of the Grey Knights offered advice, his expertise in fighting Chaos invaluable.
Even Yvraine of the Ynnari and her partner, The Visarch, were present, pledging aid to the Imperium.
Suddenly, the room's central holoprojector blared a harsh, distorted static.
Bzzzt—crackle—
The star map flickered, then vanished.
In its place appeared a chilling, black-and-white scene: an ancient, mossy well in a ruined Japanese-style courtyard.
A massive hand in a ceramite gauntlet gripped the well's rim.
As everyone stared in shock—
A figure in Terminator armor began climbing out of the well, with a weird, rubbery, and unnaturally stiff motion that did not fit the armor's weight.
What should have been the symbol of the Imperium's might looked, in this flickering black-and-white, deeply uncanny.
The room froze. Time seemed to slow.
The Astartes' face was obscured by snowy static.
Step by step, the figure lurched toward the camera.
Closer and closer, until its face filled the screen.
The next second, to everyone's disbelief:
The Terminator broke through the screen itself, squeezing from two to three dimensions.
"Enemy attack!"
Guilliman's honor guard and Voldus's Grey Knights reacted instantly, raising bolters and firing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Explosions blossomed on the Terminator armor. They couldn't penetrate, but the impacts slowed the figure.
"Cease fire! It's me!!"
Datch shouted, dazed by the firepower—his health bar dropping fast.
"Hold your fire!" Guilliman recognized the voice and stopped the attack.
With the Primarch's order, the shooting ceased.
The room was dead silent, the only sound the static from the projector and a faint, unsettling background whisper.
Datch scrambled out of the screen, his figure solidifying as he landed.
Guilliman's brow furrowed, his gaze flicking between Datch and the restored holoprojector.
Even with his genius mind, he was bewildered.
How did this guy crawl out of a screen?
There was no psychic signature, no sign of the Warp.
It was neither scientific nor Chaotic—just plain impossible!
Saint Celestine's holy blade dipped, her perfect face full of confusion.
The Emperor never taught her this trick!
Inquisitor Greyfax's hand snapped to her holster, eyes full of suspicion.
This entrance was more heretical than any Chaos ritual she'd seen!
Cawl's robotic body issued a stream of beeps and whirring fans, his optical lenses focusing and refocusing—his logic core racing to find an explanation.
Cannot analyze! Cannot comprehend!
Nothing in his knowledge base explained this!
Grand Master Voldus, the seasoned daemon-hunter, was the most stunned of all.
He looked at Datch, then at the projector, his worldview shattered.
No psychic energy, yet such supernatural effects—how?
"…This is absurd…"
Yvraine and The Visarch exchanged glances, shock written on their faces.
Without divine intervention, an Astartes just crawled out of a screen?
It was more disturbing than seeing a Bloodthirster dance ballet!
Datch, delighted to have arrived right on target, cheered and bounced around, his heavy armor thudding on the floor.
With this videotape, boarding actions would never be a problem again.
He could pop right out of enemy ship screens and scare the hell out of them.
…
Bonus chapter at 300 PS