Chapter 122: The Warmaster's Command

After two days of fighting alongside the Mortal Auxilia, the Nurgle-corrupted corpses and Plague Marines on the world of Gobe were finally eradicated. The remaining cleanup tasks were handed over to the specially established Plague Purification Units.

One hour after the hostilities on Gobe concluded, the Mandeville Point in the Punec system tore open. A small fleet consisting of four diverse vessels emerged from the Warp, slowly advancing toward Gobe.

On the other side of the Mandeville Point, a Conquest-class star galleon—an ancient relic of a bygone era—also surged out of the Warp, heading toward Gobe in search of promethium fuel supplies.

"Lord Captain, we have cleared the Mandeville Point and returned to realspace. We are proceeding to the nearest Imperial world, with an estimated arrival in one Terran day. The Navigator and the Tech-Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus are working to pinpoint our exact location."

On the bridge of the Conquest-class star galleon *Warmaster’s Ambition*, a middle-aged man in captain’s attire addressed the Rogue Trader seated in the command throne.

"Understood."

The Rogue Trader stood up, grabbing an ornate coat draped over the chair. As he slipped it on, he walked toward Captain Sipond.

"Captain Sipond, this cargo was commissioned by the Warmaster himself for delivery to Terra; there must be no errors. Despite the Warp storms we encountered, we must fulfill the Warmaster’s command to the letter."

He reached the captain, patted him on the shoulder, and spoke with solemn gravity.

"Yes, My Lord. We shall never forget the great trust placed in us by the Warmaster."

Captain Sipond looked at his master and answered with equal solemnity.

"Good."

The Rogue Trader smiled, patted him once more, and walked out of the bridge.

The scene shifts to Wang Ming's office.

"Six front lines. One thousand five hundred and thirteen Mortal Auxilia dead. No injuries—all were killed in action."

Wang Ming sighed heavily as he reviewed the combat report. Even though the transmigrators had taken great care to protect the mortal troops, the casualties remained high.

"Captain Wang Ming, I have an urgent situation to report."

Just as Wang Ming was lamenting the losses, Captain Jiang Tao’s voice crackled through his personal data-slate.

"My radar has detected vessels emerging from the Mandeville Point. They are attempting to establish contact with Captain Leandro Ferreira."

Wang Ming listened to the report, his mind racing. "It’s happening again. What has this Warp storm brought us this time? Are they enemies, or..." He recalled the incident with Mels, where two ships of unknown origin had arrived in similar fashion.

"Captain Wang Ming, they have just initiated contact. Executive Captain Leandro Ferreira has communicated with them and confirmed their identities: a 'Pilgrim' fleet led by a Battle Sister, and a Conquest-class star galleon led by a Rogue Trader. They are requesting to dock at Gobe to resupply with promethium."

Captain Jiang Tao was silent for about five minutes before relaying the details.

"A Conquest-class? That thing is 'a bit' long in the tooth."

Wang Ming ignored the mention of the Battle Sister's pilgrim fleet—the loyalty of the Sisters of Battle was usually reliable. The Conquest-class, however, was a different matter. These were among the first ships commissioned by the Emperor himself for Rogue Traders. It was now M42, and there were precious few of those vessels still operational.

"Can you patch the communication through to me?"

Wang Ming looked at the video feed on his slate, which displayed the surveillance output from the *Imperial Truth*. On the main screen of the bridge, Captain Leandro Ferreira was conversing with a man and a woman.

"Certainly, Captain Wang Ming. Please hold."

After Jiang Tao complied, the feed switched to Wang Ming’s slate.

"I am a Primarch of the Imperium. Identify yourselves. Sister, please provide your navigation logs. Rogue Trader, present your Warrant of Trade for inspection."

Wang Ming looked at the pair on the screen and, after declaring his identity as a Primarch, demanded their credentials.

"By the Emperor, I can hardly believe it. It is an immense honor to meet you, divine scion of the Emperor. This is truly a blessing from the God-Emperor."

On the screen, a white-haired woman with faint, blade-inflicted scars on her face bowed with fervent, trembling piety. She was a quintessential subject of the Ecclesiarchy.

"Greetings, great Primarch. Although I have not seen you before—perhaps we have been adrift in the Warp for too long—I am the Rogue Trader Alexandru Kaida, holder of a Warrant of Trade personally issued by the Warmaster. It is an honor. We are currently executing a mission personally ordained by the Warmaster."

The Rogue Trader bowed with a respectful Aquila sign.

Silence—an inexpressible, heavy silence fell between the three. Wang Ming stared blankly at the Rogue Trader. The Battle Sister had heard the name too, and she looked shocked, as if about to speak.

"Her—"

Just as the Battle Sister began to utter the word "heresy," Wang Ming swiftly cut the connection to her side. He had no desire to alert them prematurely.

"Ahem. Which Warmaster?"

Though Wang Ming already understood the situation, he feigned ignorance as he questioned Alexandru Kaida.

"Er... My Lord Primarch, is there a second Warmaster in the Imperium? Have I been in the Warp so long that there are now two?" the Rogue Trader asked, looking puzzled.

"Which Warmaster gave you these orders?" Wang Ming pressed.

"Why, the great Warmaster of the Imperium, Primarch of the XVI Legion, your brother, Lord Horus, of course."

Despite his confusion at the Primarch's questioning, Alexandru Kaida answered honestly. After all, he was speaking to a Primarch.

"Very well. Proceed to Gobe for resupply," Wang Ming said calmly, his tone as flat as it had been when dealing with Captain Darcy Oak of the *Starry Sky*.

"Understood. Thank you, great Primarch," Alexandru Kaida replied respectfully before Wang Ming terminated the feed.

"Captain Leandro Ferreira, prepare the boarding torpedoes. A Conquest-class star galleon will be docking for fuel. Stand ready for my orders. Have the Mortal Auxilia ready to board and secure the ship as quickly as possible. Try to avoid casualties."

Wang Ming instructed Captain Jiang Tao to make preparations. The ship was clearly a relic of the Great Crusade, swept into the Punec system by Warp storms.

"Waiting on the Warmaster's orders... Horus has been dead for ten thousand years." Wang Ming couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity. Carrying out orders from a Warmaster who had been gone for a millennium, in a time they didn't even recognize—it was like using a sword from the Ming Dynasty to execute a Qing Dynasty official.

After dealing with the Rogue Trader, Wang Ming conducted a separate call with the Battle Sister. Once he confirmed her loyalty and established his own identity, they arranged for her to undergo a loyalty screening on Gobe before joining his forces to serve the Imperium among the stars.

"Captain Jiang Tao, analyze the expressions of those two. Evaluate the veracity of their statements."

Once the call concluded, Wang Ming turned to his officer. He had no prior knowledge of these characters who had never appeared in any records, and he had to be cautious.

"Captain Wang Ming, based on an analysis of their tone and Gothic grammar, both were speaking truthfully. They merely exaggerated their tone in certain areas for effect."

Jiang Tao presented the results.

"Fine. At least it proves they aren't hostile. But keep a close watch on that Rogue Trader. He’s a relic of the Great Crusade, and he bears a commission signed by Horus himself."

Wang Ming stared at the screen, speaking to Jiang Tao.

"If he is proven to be a heretic, use bolters and lasers to send him to meet the Emperor personally."

Captain Jiang Tao nodded.

"Also, have the weapon batteries of the *Imperial Truth* ready. If a threat arises, destroy them immediately."

Wang Ming added the final instruction. It was clear from the conversation that the man was simply an old-era merchant. Furthermore, based on his reference to Horus as the "Imperial Warmaster," it was highly probable that from his perspective, Horus was still the loyal servant of the Emperor, not yet the arch-traitor.

"Sigh... one thing after another."

Wang Ming shook his head, grabbed his data-slate, and headed out. He was going to the Gobe starport to return to the *Imperial Truth*; he needed to be present for the upcoming encounter.

The Gobe starport was known to the locals as the "Stairway to Heaven." This name had been given by a bored Rogue Trader during the Great Crusade and had been passed down through the generations. In reality, it was called the Babel Starport—a massive space elevator system where gargantuan transport platforms descended from the orbital station to the surface.

The locals had no concept of the technology behind it. Under the Imperium's strict control, their technological level had stagnated at a basic firearm era for ten millennia. They had progressed slightly—from muskets ten thousand years ago to crude automatic rifles and primitive machine guns today.

Wang Ming, accompanied by Jose and a fifty-man honor guard, walked toward the elevator. The honor guard finally performed the role Wang Ming had intended: ceremonial duty for a Primarch’s public appearance.

"A strange feeling, indeed."

Wang Ming watched the soldiers guarding the platform. They were dressed like medieval knights in plate armor with longswords at their hips, but slung across their backs were crude, bolt-action rifles. It was a bizarre sight.

"My Lord, the elevator is ready for your departure to the station," a knight said, addressing him in fluent High Gothic.

"Very well. Let’s move."

Wang Ming raised an eyebrow at the fluent language; the knight was clearly a noble from the planetary governor's family. The commoners of Gobe would have no knowledge of the wider Imperium.

They boarded the elevator, and the sealed doors hissed shut. The mechanism, having run for ten thousand years, groaned with a series of mechanical clicks as it began its ascent toward the orbital station.

"Ten thousand years of operation and still functional. The Machine God’s quality control is truly something else."

Wang Ming watched other transport platforms drifting away from the surface through the window, marvelling at the durability of the ancient tech.

The ascent was slow. Bored, Wang Ming checked the data-slate again, focusing on the intelligence regarding the two fleets. The Rogue Trader had only one ship, but the Battle Sister led a small fleet consisting of two transport vessels, a Cobra-class destroyer, and an Astartes strike cruiser.

"An Astartes fleet vessel as well... this just got complicated."

The inclusion of an Astartes ship meant this was either a complete coincidence or a sign of a larger, system-wide conflict.

"I wonder which Chapter it is."

Wang Ming set the slate aside, closed his eyes, and prepared to rest as the elevator continued its long climb.