Axis began. "It's something similar to the Astronomican on Holy Terra. It can guide the Imperium's ships through the warp. You know as well as I do how fiercely the warp storms are raging right now."
He paused, gathering his thoughts to explain the Pharos system's importance to Jaghatai Khan.
"Navigating the warp has become exceedingly difficult, often forcing ships to resort to blind jumps. But if we could bring the Pharos back to Holy Terra… it could largely solve this problem."
Axis had discussed this very issue with the Emperor before.
Rather than simply waiting for the warp storms to cease, they needed to find a way for the Imperium to traverse the immaterium permanently, even amidst the tempest.
The Pharos was one of the options they had considered. It could amplify the Astronomican's light, guiding the fleets of the Imperium through the treacherous tides of the warp.
The other plan had been proposed by Malcador the Sigillite, and it was a far more brutal solution. It involved linking the Golden Throne, the Emperor Himself, and the Astronomican into a single, unified system to vastly increase the Beacon's power.
The plan was to overload the Astronomican on Terra by using ten thousand psykers a day. The immense psychic power of the Emperor, combined with the potent souls of the psykers, would fuel the Astronomican into a blazing inferno.
This, channeled through the Golden Throne, would shine a light that could pierce the warp and even grant a measure of protection to traveling fleets.
The Emperor had shown interest in both proposals. The first plan, to find and utilize the Pharos, would enhance the Astronomican with powerful xenos technology.
However, humanity had no understanding of its inner workings, which meant that future maintenance or repairs would be impossible.
The device was something only Axis had mentioned, and while the Emperor had seen it in his foresight, he was not fully convinced in being able to find it in time. Although he had let Axis pursue the lead.
The second method required the daily sacrifice of a thousand psykers. Furthermore, if anything went wrong with the Emperor, the Golden Throne, or the Astronomican, the entire system would fail catastrophically.
The Emperor could perhaps be temporarily replaced by Magnus, but the other two components were irreplaceable. Neither the Golden Throne nor the Astronomican could be replicated by the Imperium's current level of technology.
They could perform some maintenance on the Astronomican, but the Golden Throne was entirely beyond their comprehension.
Both plans had their merits and drawbacks.
"Axis, I understand the gist of it," Jaghatai Khan said, his expression grim. "I will depart for the 500 Worlds of Ultramar immediately and seek out Guilliman.
"However, there is something I must tell you. It seems warp travel has been stabilizing recently. My Navigators report that they can once again perceive the light of Holy Terra."
The Khan knew that if the Astronomican had not regained some of its strength, he would never have been able to receive any messages, let alone travel to this unfamiliar star system.
Axis was stunned, "But the warp storms show no sign of weakening. Logically, the Astronomican should not have recovered."
"The storms have not lessened, it's true," the Khan confirmed, "But the Beacon itself burns brighter than ever before. It is a roaring bonfire in the warp, and it even emits a golden radiance that protects Imperial ships on their journeys."
The moment he heard this, Axis knew. If the warp storms were still raging but navigation had become possible because the Astronomican was burning more fiercely, it could only mean one thing. The Emperor must have approved Malcador's plan. The pyres were already lit.
"Jaghatai," Axis said, his voice strained, "If that is the case, then the second possibility I spoke of has likely already been implemented. Every day, at least one thousand psykers are being sacrificed to the Emperor to fuel the Astronomican. You must find the Pharos system as quickly as possible. Perhaps you can still mitigate some of these losses."
"I understand, Axis. I will leave at once. We shall part ways here." Jaghatai Khan grasped the urgency of the situation. The Imperium could not afford to waste another moment.
Kasha, who had been standing nearby, opened her mouth to speak, but Axis gently raised a hand to stop her.
This was a matter for the White Scars to handle themselves. What mattered was that Jaghatai Khan was loyal to the Emperor, of this there was no doubt.
Though the Khan was dissatisfied with the Emperor, even viewing him as a tyrant, his character was such that once he chose a side, he would fight for it to the death.
His loyalty to the Imperium was unquestionable. As for the members of his own Legion, the ones who had been determined to follow Horus had already been purged by the Khan himself.
Among those who remained, some might still resent the Emperor, but they were loyal to the Imperium of Man and to their primarch. That was enough.
After a few more words were exchanged, Axis and Kasha returned to their frigate. The moment they were aboard, Cassandra approached and gave Axis a respectful bow.
"There is no need for formalities," Axis said, "What's the status? When can we re-enter the Webway?"
"Lord Axis, my apologies," a storyteller from the Harlequin Troupe spoke up, "This star system has no entrance to the Webway. Its star is a mere red dwarf, and there are no habitable planets. Therefore, no gates were ever built here. To reach the nearest entrance, we will have to travel a distance of at least thirty light-years."
Their intricate calculations had confirmed it.
To make the journey via a blind warp jump would take several days, whereas conventional faster-than-light travel might take months.
"I see," Axis nodded. "Input the coordinates for the nearest target system into the ship's cogitators. We will travel through the warp."
"Lord Axis," the frigate's captain said with a troubled look, "we are not equipped with a Navigator. We can only perform a blind jump. We will have no idea where we will end up."
The vessel had been constructed in secret by the Imperium, and its crew had been hastily assigned. A sanctioned Navigator had not been part of its complement.
"I am the best navigator you could ask for," Kasha said with a faint smile. Who could be better suited for the role? Could the scions of the great Navigator Houses truly match her psychic might? The very reason this frigate had no navigator was because of her presence. As a daughter of the Emperor, there was nowhere in the galaxy she could not guide them.
"Kasha will navigate the warp," Axis commanded, "You need only input the target markers."
The bridge crew exchanged glances, then nodded in assent. The Harlequins transmitted the coordinates of the target system to the ship's auspex array.
"Princess Kasha, I will escort you to the navigator's sanctum," an officer offered.
"That won't be necessary. I can navigate from right here." A common navigator needed to connect to the Astronomican, relying on an array of arcane devices and their third eye to see.
She needed no such crutches. A psyker of her power could afford to be willful. She knew she could perform the task better than any other.
The frigate's warp engines ignited once more, and the ship plunged into the raging sea of the immaterium.
This time, Kasha could clearly see the Astronomican shining from Holy Terra. Following its guidance, she began to steer the vessel toward their destination.
"It will take us three days to reach the nearest Webway entrance," Kasha reported, "After that, we will need another two days of travel within the Webway to reach Isstvan V."
"Excellent," Axis replied. "Full speed ahead. We cannot afford any more delays."
…
Watching Axis's frigate disappear into the void, Jaghatai Khan gave the order for his own fleet to prepare for departure.
"Great Khan," one of his company Khans asked, "what is your judgment on our brothers who turned traitor?"
The White Scars Legion numbered over one hundred thousand Space Marines. Of those, more than thirty thousand had taken part in the rebellion.
A few thousand, the most ardent traitors, had already been executed. But over twenty-six thousand remained who had wished to follow Horus.
The Khan sighed. "Although my father, the Emperor, is a tyrant, we remain loyal to the Imperium of Man. Their actions were nothing short of betrayal.
"However, their treason was influenced, in part, by me. For that, I will give them one chance. When we next face the traitors in battle, they will be the vanguard. If there is a suicide mission, a rearguard action, or a forlorn hope, they will atone for their sins with their lives."
He knew these sons of his had been swayed by his own sentiments. In truth, he deeply disliked the Emperor.
Had Horus not fallen to Chaos and launched his rebellion, the Khan might very well have joined him. But Chaos was a far greater evil. No matter the cost, humanity could not be allowed to fall into its grasp.
The White Scars fleet assembled. Under the command of Jaghatai Khan, they plunged into the warp, bound for their new destination.
…
Meanwhile, on Holy Terra, the Emperor sighed in relief from his seat upon the Golden Throne.
The reason Axis's ship had been violently expelled from the Webway was not because of the Chaos Gods. The culprit was him. Or rather, another aspect of Himself: the Dark King.
The Dark King's intention had been to cast Axis and his companions out of the galaxy entirely, to send them to an unknown star system from which they could never return, even through the warp.
Fortunately, the Emperor had discovered the plot in time and intervened, guiding Axis's ship to its meeting with Jaghatai Khan's fleet. This way, Axis was able to deliver his crucial message to the Khan.
Using the psyckers was only a temporary measure, just enough to suppress his darker aspect while he maintained the Astronomican and the integrity of the human Webway project.
"Father," Magnus asked from his side, "when Jaghatai returns with the Pharos, can we not stop this… this cruelty? These psykers are innocent."
The practice of burning souls to fuel the throne was more than he could bear.
At first, some of the psykers had volunteered, but those who came now were all blindfolded, completely unaware that they were being led to their own sacrifice.
The Imperium's persecution of psykers far exceeded what he had imagined. They were treated as nothing more than expendable fuel.
"Magnus, I too hope the Pharos can strengthen the Astronomican as Axis claims," the Emperor said, his voice a low rumble, "But sacrifice is unavoidable. Our task now is to stabilize the Beacon, secure the Webway, and protect Holy Terra."
Sacrifice was the very foundation of the Imperium. Even he was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.
"I understand, Father," Magnus said with a heavy sigh.
The Emperor fell silent.
The sacrifices to come would likely be far more terrible than this. For the next ten thousand years, they may have to continue this practice.
And the number would only grow. Psykers would pay the price for all of humanity. It was necessary. The Imperium needed them. He needed them.
…
Four days passed in the blink of an eye. After three days of perilous warp travel, Axis and his companions successfully re-entered the Webway.
They were now less than a day's journey from the planet Isstvan V. They had already lost too much time.
In the Isstvan system, the fleets had already arrived.
The Iron Hands, led by Ferrus Manus; the Salamanders, led by Vulkan; and the Raven Guard, led by Corvus Corax, were assembled in orbit. The three primarchs convened immediately upon the flagship of Ferrus Manus.
"Strange," Vulkan remarked, studying the command screen, "Why have the traitors not deployed any orbital defenses? There isn't even a single fleet in position."
The display showed Isstvan V's orbit as silent and empty.
The fierce space battle they had anticipated had not materialized. There were no defenses of any kind, not even a token warship. Where was the traitor fleet?
Ferrus Manus boomed, "scan the planet's surface. I need firsthand intelligence."
An operator at a nearby console nodded and activated the flagship's deep-range auspex scanners, beginning a sweep of the world below.
"Ferrus, something feels wrong," Corax warned, "We must not be careless. It would be best to wait for the other five Legions to arrive."
"Perhaps they did not anticipate our swift arrival," Manus countered, his voice sharp with impatience, "Their fleet could be elsewhere. This is a golden opportunity." His mind was fixated on one thing: taking the head of Fulgrim.
"My Lord Primarch," the operator's voice cut through the tension. "We have detected extensive fortifications on the planet's surface. And… and a large number of xenos."
...
...
Bonus chapter!