Warhammer: In the Name of the Emperor - #676 - Chapter 658 Doomsday Storm: A Necessary Evil

The majestic starship was slowly gliding out of the star port dock. On its huge hull, huge cannons were passing straight through the dock’s suspended space, projecting a whole row of cut starlight onto the dock’s deck. Captain Cole was standing on the bridge, with his hands behind his back, watching the star port space station passing outside the bridge. Their tall structures were arranged together like a strange three-dimensional cube, with more ships docked in them, and the complicated and complex weapon arrays were flashing in the distance under the light of the stars. Cole walked to the handrail and looked down, “Report the situation, I need to know the situation of this battleship.” “The fuel supply is also full, and the ignition element has been loaded into the cabin.” The crew sitting below responded loudly to their captain. Cole raised his head and looked at the space outside the bridge window in front of him. “Protection situation? Report.” “The void shield has been recharged and can currently meet 60% of the consumption needs, but the outer armor is still seriously damaged. The mechanical priest recommends returning to Macragge and conducting formal repairs and prayers there.” This agricultural world may be able to provide fuel, food supplies, and a safe haven for the Mars-class battlecruiser, but it cannot really serve it. Only by returning to the capital of the star zone can the Emperor’s giant ship truly recover. But the current situation is still satisfactory to the captain. After all, in the previous space battle, he almost thought they could not get out. Cole closed his eyes and the situation at that time appeared in front of him. He still remembers that giant ship, the Final Annihilation with its wriggling flesh and blood. It was like a started chain saw, piercing into the fleet of the Imperial Navy, turning the place into steel flying. The Chaos giant ship penetrated the Imperial front. The Imperial Navy fought bravely but was overwhelmed by the larger Nurgle fleet. Although those brainless idiots had poor tactical literacy, they had an advantage that could make up for these shortcomings, that is, huge numbers.

No tactics were needed. They only needed to gather the fleet and then rush forward to defeat most of the Imperial defenses. This was the advantage of Chaos. They had long been integrated with the warp. Even if they were destroyed in the physical universe, they could quickly return. As long as Chaos was not stupid enough to split up its forces, it would be difficult for the Empire to confront them head-on.

But fortunately, even the Nurgle demons still had the same problem of poor discipline, which allowed Cole and his men to escape.

“Check the purification of the bow area again. I want it to be spotless. All potential contamination caused by the previous collision tactics must not be brought back to Macragge.” Cole ordered loudly. The birdmaster below him turned around. His lower body was already installed on a disc, rotating rapidly between the terminal instruments around him. He quickly switched to that area on one screen. The Avian looked at it and tapped the screen a few times. “The area has been basically purified, but the biological readings show that there are still signal responses between some decks, but it is not certain whether it is the remnant of Nurgle spores or the remaining passengers from other voyages.”

“Whatever it is, whether it is Nurgle’s stuff or other stowaways who sneaked into the lower deck, send a team of soldiers, bring the Mechanicus, and use flamethrowers to clean them up.”

“I’ll go, Captain, don’t we need the power of faith more now?” A voice came from behind Cole. The captain turned his head and looked at the monk who was walking over. He was wearing a simple and even shabby robe of the State Church, and a yellowed priest chain was hanging in front of his neck.

“Father Mathieu.” “Hello, Captain, may the Emperor continue to bless you, the entire battleship and all the people of the Empire.” “I believe he will favor you for your grand ideas and kindness, Father.” “Then I will be particularly honored, praise my Lord.” Mathieu made the Sky Eagle gesture on his chest, and Cole responded with the same gesture. The two bowed to each other, and then the priest formally walked in front of Cole. “Thank you for your contribution, Father. Without your prayers and blessings, this ship would have been swallowed by spores.” Cole nodded to the priest. Some sailors even called him a living saint, but he smiled and shook his head, humbly making a prayer gesture on his forehead, “This is the power of the Emperor. I am just a carrier of his great thoughts and power, and a messenger of his truth. Everything is as the Emperor wishes.”

“As the Emperor wishes.” Cole nodded in response, and the priest smiled at him, then said in Gothic and gently tapped Cole’s shoulder, “May his light guide you forever, Captain’s brother.”

Cole’s Gothic is not bad, but he still didn’t understand what this meant. It was probably some religious term, but it didn’t matter. The captain turned around and looked under the bridge, “Prepare to leave the port, jump countdown.”

“Captain, how are those confused lambs?” The priest asked, holding his hands in front of him, standing beside Cole. The captain glanced at him, and then activated the communication terminal in front of him, “Starport dispatcher, have the refugees been resettled?”

“Yes, Captain, we have arranged for them to go to the ground in batches, where the local government has prepared water, food, and temporary shelters. They will be fine.” A dispatching voice came from the communication terminal, and there was a sound in the background. There was a rowdy crowd, and it looked like they were really good.

“May the Emperor bless you, kind sir.”, “May he bless you too, Father… Wait, it seems.”, “What?” Cole asked, and the dispatcher’s voice whimpered in surprise, and then There was an echo of the reception signal in the system, “It seems that other ships are jumping.”

“Chaos?” Cole asked alertly, and the dispatch officer’s negative voice came, “No, it’s a signal from the empire, but they are so fast.”

quick? Cole thought in surprise. He raised his head and soon saw those portals leaping across the universe. They suddenly appeared, as if they were roughly cut open with a utility knife on a beautiful painting, with flickering lights in them. Just a moment after the light appeared, battleships jumped out one after another.

Cole watched the leading battleship stand up in surprise. He frowned and looked at its black and red bow, “Inquisition?”, “What? Judgment…”

Before the dispatcher finished asking, the words suddenly stopped. Cole and the priest glanced at the communication audio that went out instantly. Then the communication interface quickly appeared again, but this time, there was a person in the empire suspended there. Represents the symbol of fear, the letter i.

“Infinite Frontier, this is the Tribunal Fleet. Answer immediately.” A voice sounded in the communication channel. Cole stepped forward, pressed the receive button and spoke, “This is Infinite Frontier. I am Cole. Captain, what are you doing here? This is not a war zone.”

“This has nothing to do with you. Stop the ship immediately and undergo inspection. If you continue to move forward…” Before the voice finished speaking, fire flashed out of the window next to it, and a silent explosion in the vacuum tore apart a civilian ship that had sailed off the track. , it may have been sent to directly contact the liaison ship of the Inquisition fleet due to signal interruption.

Cole looked at the explosion, and then suddenly turned his head to look at the Inquisition fleet in the distance, “This is Captain Cole! Ceasefire, repeat, ceasefire! This is just a communication failure!”

“Cole, for the sake of both you and me being old Marines and employees of the Tribunal, get out of here immediately.” The previous voice was replaced by another voice. He said hoarsely, with a distortion in his voice. arc echo, but after Cole listened for a moment, he suddenly found the part of this sound among many chaotic memories.

“Yularen? Are you still alive? Damn it, what are you doing?” Cole asked in surprise, and the other party immediately responded, making the sound waves on the communication channel jump violently, “This has nothing to do with you, the ship Commander, take your ship out of low-Earth orbit immediately to avoid accidental damage.”

“accidental injury?” The priest frowned, and Cole also frowned. After a moment of silence, he understood. He pressed the dialogue button, “Who gave the order? A certain inquisitor, or…”, ” You and my co-boss.”

Cole fell silent. After a moment, he nodded and stood up. He looked at the helmsman without thinking, “Leave the port immediately and go to the open space.”

The helmsman turned the rudder, and the Infinite Frontier quickly began to turn and sail out of the port. The Tribunal fleet outside the port behind him was gradually approaching, but the entire dock was dead silent. There was no counterattack or resistance, nothing. No, just like a deer shot by a hunter lying on the ground, waiting for death.

“Captain Cole, they are here.”, “There are people infected with the Nurgle plague on this planet.”, “How do you know?” the priest asked, and Cole switched to the announcement channel without looking. Short, yet emotionally intense communications came in.

“This is Mank No. 1. We have found Nurgle believers among the refugees. They seem to be spreading the plague… We have sent personnel to ask for support, call, and ask for support…”

The last words were replaced by the rustle of interfering electronic music, and the entire channel became dead silent. Cole turned and walked towards the exit of the bridge. The priest behind him looked at the planet and made sad movements in his chest. Out of the Aquila Rite, “May the Emperor save your souls.”

He believed it, good, of course he would believe it, but Cole knew that although he didn’t know what happened, he knew who gave the order.

“Activate Geller’s position, set a course to Macragge, and prepare the entire ship to jump.” Cole said with his hands behind his back, while the priest on the side made a prayer gesture devoutly, “There is no need to be full of regrets, Captain, just like the Emperor The emperor said that this is a necessary evil leading to the kingdom of truth.”

“As you say, Father.”

Cole also wanted to ask, could the Emperor’s Paradise really hold so many souls? People always say may your soul return to the throne, maybe the angels Astartes will.

But what about ordinary people? There are so many souls, so many souls in need of guidance. The Empire always says that the Emperor will value his currency, but these people, are they worthy of the Emperor’s attention? If not, where do they belong?

Cole thought of a possibility, but he did not dare to say it. That terrible possibility, if it was true, then the establishment of the state religion, and even the entire empire, were just lies.

Cole, the captain of the Infinite Frontier looked at the tens of billions of souls and thought alone, is he going to become a heretic? It seemed that he and Vito had been together for long enough.