Chapter: 2 The Expedition Begin

-Senatorum Imperialis, Imperial Palace. M29. 671-

All thirteen High Lords were assembled in the golden room. They are representatives of various vital organizations in the Imperium. Some also came from a different sub-citizen in the entire Imperium of Man, like the Men of Iron and Men of Stone leading image.

They sat around a mass hall where the Emperor stood in the center of the room.

"I think all of you know why I called this emergency meeting." The Emperor stated.

"We are aware, my Lord," UR-000 replied in his gigantic black automata body. It was the first among the Men of Iron, also the first Men of Iron that transformed into Ferrous Mind.

"The sudden appearance of the Gate piqued many questions. What do you think about this, Supreme Marshall Adam?" Malcador, who stands alongside the High Lords, asked his peers.

The man named Adam is a Supreme Marshall of Psycant Astra. He was a towering Alpha plus psyker with a body that did not resemble Homo sapiens. It was a body made from pure psychic power molded into a material body by science and arcane technomancy, creating a vessel that could barely fit in reality as it existed in both material and immaterial.

"We have concluded our research on that structure. Indeed, it was psychically active. Furthermore, it was created entirely from psychic power." Adam said via telepathy.

"So it was Warp structure. Did the Aeldari involved?" This one is representative of the Men of Stone asked, Xana-102, serving as Lex Chancellor.

"They are arrogant beyond words. But those knife ears were no fools, Chancellor. Since the third galactic war, they have become a dying race. We destroyed them until the Aeldari Dominion could not recover. Moreover, we either confiscated or destroyed all of their technologies." The reply came from automata that even it was smaller than the Men of Iron. It was constructed by the bleeding edge of Imperium's technologies.

This was one of Lord Commander Gallius Atel's transhuman-controlled bodies. His main body is located deep beneath Terra's core, acting as a military hub for military Noosphere. Thus, he naturally eclipsed the majority of Men of Iron's prowess.

"I agree with Lord Commander on this, Lex Chancellor. We also have a clear history of all remaining Craftworld in our space. Yet, all of our agents reported they were still silent on their scattered planet in the galaxy wild." Malcador added using a neutral tone.

"Then, who is the culprit in this attack?" The only Man of Stone asked, glancing at other High Lords.

"From further research. There is exist a possibility it was created by an Empyrean entity." Adam told the Chancellor.

"My subordinate also had done their own research on the structure. It did not come from Primordial Annihilator nor any Xenos infestation. That Gate appeared seemingly on a scheduled time frame." This time a man with a red robe retorted. Balphulos Phor, the leader of Mars. Holding the title of Prime Professor.

"So, someone has the intention to open this Gate on us. Yet, the purpose is still unknown. If we did not take any precautionary approach. I fear something worse would happen." Gallius stated, drawing nods from the people around him.

"With that, I want to send an expeditionary force to explore the world beyond that Gate. Supreme Marshal, you must also notice the nature beyond that Gate." This one is the Emperor who spoke, rendering the entire room silent.

"Yes, I am, my Lord. The world is a junction that could lead into another reality." The Alpha plus psyker said, feeling conflicted by his own words.

"Don't be hesitant, Supreme Marshall. It would only lead you in disarray." The Emperor pointed, making the man in question mentally relaxed.

"My apologies, my Emperor." Adam himself did not know how to describe it. As a psyker, he could sense and see the Emperor better than anyone else. The way his liege speak is inhuman. Even his transhuman power staggered whenever the Emperor spoke with him.

"The world beyond that Gate held something valuable to us. I'm not speaking about the resource. But another Gate manifested in that world is our top priority." This made the entire High Lords stiffen. Indeed they could learn to reverse engineer the Gate, but the second Gate is something beyond predictions.

"What kind of value to put your interest in such a high degree, my Lord?" UR-000 asked.

"A long-lost history. The forgotten past of our civilization." The Emperor of Mankind proudly stated, smiling with a shining promise.

Even without further implication, they managed to catch what their liege meant. A pregnant silence came to them as they began thinking about any possibilities ahead.

Smiling, the Emperor spoke once again. "All in favor?"

The voice snapped them from their train of thought. Acknowledging his words, all of them began to raise their hands.

"With this, I fully authorized the military to send their expedition forces to secure our foothold on that planet. Long live the Imperium!" The founder of the Imperium shouted with pride in his voice.

"Long live the Imperium! Ave Imperator!" They answered with a salute.

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-Ghoul Star. M29. 671-

Ollanius Persson, one of the members of Golden Order. He worked directly under the Emperor of Mankind's order as one of his executioners. Even though he hated this position, he had no choice when the third galactic war raged across the star.

Neoth, the man who leads their people, has stepped out from the shadow. Currently, he is the head of human civilization.

Gilgamesh, Ollanius would call him back when he first met the said man. He fought him in a life-and-death fight, utterly defeated and forcing Ollanius to follow him. Ages came to pass. He became an ally and sometimes an enemy with that man.

Gilgamesh is a cunning person, a monster of manipulation, and so on. Ollanius was aware that humanity's salvation ironically is on that person's vision. And then, the prior great war has proven that point even further.

Currently, he was in the barren world among the sinister nature of the Ghoul Stars. But he was here for one reason: destroying and plundering any Necron Tomb Worlds. The progress went slow initially, but as the resource poured into his endeavor, Ollanius could accelerate his duty.

After significant effort, they could destroy almost every Necron's world in this place, thus salvaging many priceless technologies. Now, only leave him with one last duty.

To be honest, when Gilgamesh revealed this truth to him, Ollanius was only more determined to follow the Lord of Perpetuals.

As he walked deep into the planet's crust, Ollanius descended. As he reached the deepest part of the planet, Ollanius saw a former Necron's construct his men have reformed to serve one purpose.

"The chamber is ready, milord." The man with bulky nano-auramite armor said, standing over four meters in height. He had a symbol of a castle with chains enveloping it. This man is one of the members of Seven Legions. An Adeptus Logos hailed from the Eternal Warden.

"We need to move quickly." Accompanied by him, Ollanius stepped inside. Inside the room were dozens of Eternal Warden's Logos stands with their gigantic appearance and weapons at hand.

At the center, a static sphere was modified by Necron's technology.

"I hope it will be enough to prevent the calamity," Ollanius said, drawing a fist-sized cube. This cube had jailed one of the most dangerous threats the Imperium would face, especially related to Men of Iron.

As he put the cube inside the sphere. Then, a monstrous roar was heard across the room. It is a mighty roar that belongs to the ancient being.

"Destroy the entrance and activate the power-draining protocol," Ollanius ordered.

"Yes, milord." The Logos replied.

Nodded, Ollanius used his beacon to teleport him back into the Eternal Warden's flagship, a continent-sized Annihilator-class Arkship.

Upon exiting the Teleportarium, Ollanius was greeted by the voice of the ship's Ferrous Mind. "Lord Ollanius, the Emperor is calling for your presence in your room."

Sighed, the first perpetual answered. "Tell his Highness I will be there soon."

"Understood."

Ollanius immediately made his way to his personal chamber. There, he activates a hologram to speak to his leader.

"Long time no see, Enkidu. I assume you have finished my order" The man before the venerable perpetual called Ollanius by his ancient name, smiling like a long-lost old friend.

"Gilgamesh. It has been a grueling duty you gave me." Ollanius replied neutrally; somehow, there was a taint of sarcasm.

"Please. It needs to be done," The Emperor said slowly. "I need you to come back to Terra, Ollanius."

This causes Ollanius' brow to raise. "And what would that mean?"

"There was an Empyrean structure suddenly manifested on the Imperial Palace." That was the bombshell, choking Ollanius with the shock.

"I-Impossible," Ollanius said in disbelief. "Did this the work of Primordial Annihilators?"

"Fortunately, it was not them. To be honest with you, Ollanius. It was indeed sent by some Empyrean entity.

"Then, what you gonna do with that?" The ancient man asked.

"As it was a Gate. It opens a path to another world and leads us to another reality in a long-lost past." The Emperor answered, smiling with a sign of joy.

"Long-lost past, you say? I hope it was a genuine one, my Emperor." Ollanius retorted, specifically after seeing many horrors in the universe, the perpetual seemingly lost interest in any exotic matter.

The Emperor did not answer back. He only stared at Ollanius with a smirk. Sighing in asperation, Ollanius nodded.

"As you wish, my Emperor. I will return to Terra." The man said to his liege.

"I hope no less from you, old friend. The expedition to reach beyond the Gate is on its dawn. I hope you managed to arrive on time. Long live the Imperium." With that, the golden man ended his call.

"Long live the Imperium. Ave Imperator." Still, it has a sour taste in Ollanius' mouth whenever he tries to salute. Yet, he chuckled to amuse himself.

Tapping into his glass desk, Ollanius activates a vox channel.

"Commander. We need to return to Terra. Emperor's calling us."

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-Terra, Imperial Palace. M29.671-

The location around the Gate has been fortified by walls and various siege weapons. Consisting of layered circles of defense, created from Omniphages, a nano swarm capable of breaking down any material at the molecular level and building any structure instantly with incalculable complexity.

Dozens of Imperial Knights from medium to heavy class stayed vigilant on the outer circle. All of them were the latest design. Powered by dark energy, they bear some of the Imperium's deadliest medium-sized ground armaments. As it was Volkite weaponry, Grav weapons, Conversion, and Photon armaments. Yet, the most bizarre weapon mounted on a certain Heavy-class Knight named Mark XVI Atranus-class Imperial Knight. It was a weapon of unspeakable destruction, the Singularity Cannon. It was positioned there to be prepared for the worst.

Many Solar Guardians are stationed to provide additional firepower to existing battle automata and Ferrous Mind.

Raias is one such Solar Guardian. He scanned the data he had received from the command with his army.

The 1st expedition army, the army he would be a part of. Their mission is eliminating any threat that awaits behind the Gate, creating a safe location for base building and supply.

From his report, Raias calculates the entire scenario using his augmented brain and various devices within his suit. From the initial attack, the Solar Guardian Captain could conclude they facing a pre-medieval civilization.

As he scrolled the data from the 2D viewing from within his helmet, Raias could see the cultural report based on their apparel and weapons analysis. They resemble the old Romans from the Old Earth. Furthermore, when he read the description of dragons and abhumans, he felts something lurking in his stomach. The abhumans possess many similarities with animals, but it didn't surprise Raias because he had already seen the abhuman due to his participation in that skirmish. Yet, it still disturbs him.

The attack itself is reckless and pretty much underprepared. The attackers solely focused their charges on mere civilians. But that was their biggest blunder. When Imperial Citizen reaches the age of forty, they will receive augmentation that will elevate them into transhuman society. Thus, attacking them would be fatal for a civilization like them.

The flaws of their operation clouded Raias' mind, yet he must carry out his duty.

"Being three hundred years serving the Imperium. I've never seen such a blunt and reckless strategy." He muttered under his breath.

He walked to the main army, consisting of various armored battalions and thousands of Solar Guardians. From a distance, he could see half a dozen Grav-Alastrius scout tanks being deployed to accompany them.

Thirteen meters long vehicles with Twin-linked Adrathic Destructor as its primary weapon. The secondary exists, but stay hidden in Omniphages nano metal form beneath the thick Adamantium plate and Auramite frame.

Again, he wonders why they need to put considerable resources into invading probably a primitive civilization.

"Men! Rally your weapons. Prepare your plasma rifles. We will begin our operation in ten minutes!" The Colonel shouted from his vox.

Tightening his grip on his plasma rifle, Raias took a deep breath to collect his concentration.

With a little time to wait, The Gate opened, revealing the light beyond.

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"People of the Imperium of Man. I, your Emperor, have proclaimed that Terra, the cradle of our species, has been attacked.

Fortunately, no one of our people were killed. But that was when the tragic truth revealed itself. We were being attacked by our own species, hiding a sinister purpose. They seek to destroy us, rendering us to serve as their slaves.

Enslavement of humanity is the vilest crime in our society. And these men proudly proclaimed their intention.

We built this paradise, and they claimed us as barbarians.

They have violated our law, breaching our homes and trying to plunder our people.

It cannot stand. Thus the expedition to this Gate has been sent to punish those who dare to attack our homeworld."

-A declaration of war by the Emperor of Mankind a few hours after the attack on the Imperial Palace.