For five days, the logistics drones had worked tirelessly, mass-producing dinsional transmission safeguard units under Qin Mo’s direct oversight.
To ensure maximum efficiency and portability, he miniaturized the devices, integrating them into the power packs of standard Praetorian power armor.
Naturally, the Thunderborn-pattern power armor—reserved for his elite warriors—received an enhanced, built-in variant.
Qin Mo temporarily halted further research for long-range dinsional transmission.
Interstellar travel could wait.
For now, the imdiate objective was far simpler—
Turning Yoan into a warrior.
....
Beyond the fortress walls, three armored figures clashed beneath a sky choked with ash and industrial waste.
Grey. Grot. Yoan.
All clad in Thunderborn-pattern power armor.
Qin Mo watched in silence, arms crossed, recording Yoan’s combat data from a nearby cogitator array.
"Too cowardly!"
Grey’s snarl echoed as he fired his wrist-mounted scatter-laser, rapid bursts of searing light hamring into Yoan’s chestplate.
"Just like when you froze in the tunnel! The only difference is—" Grey fired again, the rounds forcing Yoan back step by step.
"You’re not pissing yourself this ti!"
Yoan stumbled, trying to dodge—but Grey’s aim never missed.
His armor’s shielding flared, absorbing the repeated impacts.
"Hit number 1,420."
Qin Mo noted it absently, his patience thinning.
Yoan had the instincts of an Underhive survivor.
But he lacked conviction.
Instead of fighting back, he kept dodging—a wasteful, losing strategy.
He had only just donned power armor—there was no way he could outmaneuver Grey.
"STOP RUNNING, YOU COWARD!"
A thunderous impact.
Grot had charged.
His massive gauntlet slamd into Yoan’s chest, sending him hurtling backward.
Before Yoan could recover, Grot was on him—pinning him, pumling his helt into the ground.
Each strike rattled his skull.
His vision blurred. His thoughts splintered.
"Enough."
Qin Mo raised his hand.
Grot imdiately obeyed, stepping back, his glare filled with frustration.
Yoan lay there, his breath ragged, his pride shattered.
Slowly, he pushed himself up and removed his helt.
His face was drenched in sweat and humiliation.
"I… I’m sorry to disappoint you."
Qin Mo shook his head.
"Growth takes ti. Learning takes ti. You simply require more… guidance."
His gaze shifted to Grot.
He didn’t need to say anything.
Grot understood imdiately.
He grabbed Yoan by the throat, hauling him to his feet.
"From now on, I’m going to beat the cowardice out of you.
You disgrace that power armor."
Grot dragged him away.
As they vanished, Grey let out a deep exhale, as if relieved of so great burden.
Then, he turned to Qin Mo.
"With all due respect… he’s not fit to be a soldier."
"Not yet," Qin Mo replied.
"But he will be. Grot will make sure of it."
Grey frowned.
Qin Mo never did anything without reason.
But this?
This felt like a waste of ti.
Grey couldn’t understand why Qin Mo was so invested in Yoan.
....
"And what do you think about the Devotees?"
Grey stiffened.
Yesterday, he had personally monitored the cult-like movent, as per Qin Mo’s orders.
His response was imdiate.
"They have turned their backs on the Emperor."
Qin Mo nodded.
Then—Grey hesitated.
"However… I understand why they worship you."
His voice was quiet, cautious.
"You led us out of certain death. The things you’ve done… The miracles you’ve perford…"
Qin Mo smirked.
"I think I’m a god too."
Grey tensed, uncertain if he was joking.
But Qin Mo’s grin widened.
"I don’t need their worship.
And their faith makes them vulnerable to... manipulation."
His voice dropped to a low murmur.
"Imagine what happens if they’re… corrupted.
If sothing twists their beliefs. If they suddenly turn into heretics."
Grey frowned.
"Corrupted by what?"
Like most Imperial soldiers, Grey had never heard of the Ruinous Powers.
To the common soldier, the Warp was simply a ans of interstellar travel, spoken of in the sa hushed reverence as the God-Emperor’s divine will. What lay beyond its turbulent veil was not for them to know.
And that was a rcy.
The truth was that knowledge of the Immaterium was a cancerous thing.
The mind of an ordinary human was not built to withstand such knowledge. Even the re act of understanding the true nature of the Warp was corrosive, like gazing into a void that stared back.
To know too much was to invite damnation.
The Ecclesiarchy ensured that the re ntion of its horrors would be t with purging fire, while the Inquisition ruthlessly eliminated those who delved too deep.
Imperial soldiers were taught only the most basic doctrine: fear the Warp, trust the Emperor, and obey without question.
For Grey, the concept of corruption was abstract. He understood treason, cowardice, the weakness of the flesh.
But the idea that a thought, a whisper, a stray doubt could be a weapon more insidious than any xenos blade? That was a horror he had never been allowed to comprehend.
"Forget it," Qin Mo sighed.
"Just tell them they are forbidden from spreading their faith."
He smirked.
"Tell them I am the Emperor’s Angel."
Grey nodded, turned, and walked away.
As Qin Mo watched him leave, he rolled the phrase around in his head.
Emperor’s Angel.
He nearly laughed.
If it weren’t for the risk of Chaos corruption—or the Adeptus Ministorum (Ecclesiarchy) hunting them down—he would have gladly accepted their worship.
....
With the entire ground force mobilized, soldiers gathered to receive their safeguard units.
Among them, Duncan stepped forward.
He lifted his new power pack, replacing the standard model on his armor.
Then, he received his orders.
He would be the first.
The test subject.
His mission? To transmit outside the Underhive and deploy a beacon.
Once the beacon was active, the entire army could follow.
....
With the transmission device fully charged, Duncan stood motionless.
As the process began, his safeguard unit activated, deploying a protective barrier.
Unlike the first test subject, Duncan felt no pain.
The Master Control AI perford rapid calculations.
Then—
He stepped into the void.
....
It was… strange.
Duncan could see his body—
But everything around him blurred.
Yet at the sa ti—
He felt everything.
Then—
Sothing pulled him back.
....
The world solidified.
His senses snapped back.
Duncan was no longer underground.
Behind him—
A vast, empty wasteland.
Futher ahead—
A colossal, fortified checkpoint.
The sealed entrance to the Underhive.
And in front of him—
A Planetary Defense encampnt.
The Planetary Defense Force and the Adeptus Arbites had established a heavily fortified periter.
The mont he appeared, the defensive line reacted instantly.
Heavy bolters swiveled toward him.
Hundreds of lasrifles locked onto his position.
A general, flanked by Adeptus Arbites, stepped forward.
His jaw nearly hit the ground.
Monts earlier, all they had seen was a flickering energy rift—
Now, a fully armored warrior stood before them.
The general’s voice bood.
"Are you human or xenos?!"
Duncan slowly removed his helt, revealing his face.
"I am Colonel Duncan of the 87th Infantry Regint, First Legion."
The general’s expression darkened.
"87th Regint? That’s impossible."
His gaze flicked toward the sealed Underhive entrance.
"You should all be dead."
Duncan ignored him.
He raised his arm—
And hurled the transmission beacon behind him.
The device struck the ground, its outer casing unfolding, revealing a signal emitter.
The device activated, sending a powerful signal surging through the air.
The soldiers on the defensive line looked at each other, bewildered.
What was he doing?
Duncan’s gaze hardened.
"We’re alive.
"All of us."
Then—
The sky tore open.
Across the open field, rifts flared into existence.
Gravity-shielded drones erged first.
Then—Grey, clad in Thunderborn armor.
Then—the rest of the army.
Infantry. Tanks. Heavy artillery. Logistics drones.
All battle-ready.
....
The general’s lips trembled.
His breath shuddered.
Finally, he whispered—
"By the Emperor…"
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