Warhammer, Emperor's Chosen

Clang!

In the silent void of space, a dazzling purple rift quietly opened in the fabric of reality.

Through the scar-like, eerie crack, a fleet emerged, jumping from the warp.

"Nono, shut down all engines."

Noah, seated on his command throne, issued commands calmly: "Everyone, analyze the current situation. What star system are we in?"

"Calculating."

White swiftly gathered the intelligence provided by the officers:

"Sensor confirms we've re-entered the material universe, analyzing star maps..."

"We're at the edge of the Badab System, in the Maelstrom Zone!"

"Lord Captain, the Astropaths have received psychic signals from the system, indicating there is a homeworld planet, currently serving as a recruitment world for the Astral Claws Chapter. Their starport can provide us with supplies and repairs. According to their Astropaths, the current time is 5870744.M41."

The officers aboard the ship burst into exclamations, as just a few days ago they had been on the fringes of the Halo Stars, but now, after emerging from the warp, they had arrived tens of thousands of light-years away at the Badab System.

What does this mean?

Only seven days had passed aboard the ship, and in real-space, only 123 thousandths of a millennia had passed. If measured in Terran days, only 44 days had passed. Such a short period and yet such a vast distance—this warp route was nothing short of a miracle!

Noah tapped his fingers on the armrest of his command throne and calmly ordered: "Nono, take us there!"

"Of course, your will is my command!"

As the Stellar cruised through the quiet void of space, it gradually approached the core of the star system. The planet where they had received the signal came into view.

"We've entered the maximum strike range of the planet's orbital weapons."

Nono's voice echoed in their ears, and simultaneously, the voice of the Master of the Voice, an officer of the fleet, came through: "The auspex shows multiple warships heading towards us, and the Imperial codes have been verified."

"Lord Captain, we have received a communication request from the defensive fleet!"

"Connect the communication."

A spherical hologram appeared on the screen ahead, showing several warships approaching. Smaller tactical labels identified them, with the largest ship marked as:

Dominion-class Battlecruiser: Furious Fist.

Soon, the hologram glowed and coalesced into a ghostly figure of an Astartes fleet officer.

"This is the Astral Claws Chapter. Report your identity and origins," the Astartes officer's tone was cold and authoritative.

Noah stared at the officer's holographic projection, his expression unchanged as he replied: "I am Noah Von Valancius, a rogue trader from the Halo Stars' Kronus Expanse. I have urgent matters to discuss with your Chapter Master."

"The Halo Stars?"

The Astartes officer's helmet concealed his expression, but the distortion in his voice still betrayed his surprise. Anyone with even a basic knowledge of the Imperium's maps would know that the Halo Stars were tens of thousands of light-years away from their location.

Moreover, the Halo Stars were far beyond the range of the Astronomican, and even short-distance warp travel was dangerous there, let alone attempting such an incredible feat of crossing half the galaxy. As such, the Astartes instinctively treated the claim with skepticism.

"I will inform the Chapter Master of your request, but for now, we will escort you to the starport."

Noah didn't mind.

Setting aside the typical Astartes superiority complex toward mortals, it was normal for the local defensive fleet to be cautious of a fleet that had just entered the Badab System without any prior notice.

A battlecruiser and four escorts seemed like a small force, but most star systems' patrol fleets were of a similar size.

Every Imperial warship carried a unique identification code used to distinguish fleets from one another. Although their codes belonged to the Imperium, they were completely unfamiliar to the fleet in the Badab System.

Without prior notice, this could even be mistaken for an invasion. The fact that the fleet hadn't opened fire and instead sent a communication request could be seen as an indication of goodwill.

Thus, under the escort of a Dominion-class Battlecruiser, two strike cruisers, and two squadrons of escort vessels, the Stellar slowly approached the starport and docked.

At the same time, Noah received another message from the Astral Claws:

"Lord Von Valancius, the Chapter Master has agreed to meet with you. My squad will escort you to the surface."

The Astartes officer's tone remained firm, leaving no room for argument. But his attitude was noticeably less harsh, at least now he was using formal address.

Noah did not hide his wariness and responded without hesitation: "That's fine, but I'll need to bring my retinue."

"Suit yourself."

The Astartes officer abruptly ended the communication. He didn't care whether Noah brought his retinue; he didn't believe the mortal guard would be of any concern. After all, they were just a handful of mercenaries in armor, and in the face of Astartes' superhuman abilities, they were practically naked.

That thought lingered until he stepped onto the bridge and saw Noah, along with his female tech-priest and female navigator, as well as the twelve battle sisters and five Castellan battle-servitors making up his guard.

"..." The Astartes officer was momentarily speechless.

The presence of battle sisters indicated that Noah had ties to the Imperial Cult, possibly even a significant faction within it. The Castellan servitors meant that his tech-priestess was at least a respected sage. Noah's background appeared far more formidable than initially assumed.

"How should I address you?" Noah cheerfully inquired.

"Andar Scarion."

The Astartes officer's response was succinct, but his tone had softened compared to before. "Lord Von Valancius, please follow me."

Before meeting Noah, Andar had suspected that the rogue trader might be a corrupted agent of Chaos. But upon seeing the battle sisters at his side, Andar's doubts were completely dispelled.

Although battle sisters weren't as physically powerful as Astartes, their loyalty to the Emperor was beyond question.

With such a guard, it seemed unlikely that Noah had fallen to Chaos.

Thus, Andar's attitude toward Noah began to change, and while he still appeared aloof, he at least responded politely when Noah engaged in conversation, explaining the local customs of Badab—a world that, truthfully, had little in the way of local customs.

Imperial homeworlds were all rather similar: towering hive cities, polluted air, and a vast population of billions, with a significant presence of heretics and petty criminals hiding in the lower levels.

.......

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