The Tyrone System.
On the bridge of the *Master of Tyrone*, senior commanders of the Tyrone star sector's armed forces were gathered. Some had arrived in person, while others attended via holographic projections from distant worlds.
Once Qin Mo's image appeared on the bridge, the meeting commenced. Far across the Agrippina sector, Gray and Yao En began detailing the sector's defenses. Next, the Tyrone fleet captains from the Veiled Nebula presented their reports, each update consolidating in Qin Mo's mind to form a cohesive image of the overall situation.
Some of the Tyrone Navy's fleets were spread throughout the Veiled Nebula, either engaged in skirmishes with raiders or coordinating with Imperial Navy forces to strike against the Plague Fleets. As reports came in, countless battles were unfolding across the nebula, both large and small, each contributing to the cacophony of the war.
Under Gray's command, one hundred regiments continued to guard the Agrippina sector with unwavering vigilance. Though they hadn't encountered recent conflicts, they remained steadfast, defending the forges. Every day, the Astropaths on Agrippina received hundreds of desperate calls for aid—some mere whispered pleas, others vicious condemnations demanding why the Celestial Engine lingered in Agrippina.
"Do not respond to those distress calls," Qin Mo instructed Gray. "Your task is to remain in Agrippina. The forge world is more valuable than any other. If it falls, how will the Sectorum Militarum wage this war?"
"Yes, my lord," Gray answered, bowing respectfully, his sentiments mirroring Qin Mo's.
Unlike ordinary warships, the Celestial Engine was too colossal to jump through the warp with agility. To protect the forge world, it had to remain immovable, ensuring that no invader could breach the sector's defenses.
"How fares the fleet? Have we suffered significant losses?" Qin Mo turned to his naval commander.
"Minimal losses," Adam replied steadily. "The greatest difficulty isn't the enemy's strength but rather the vastness of the Veiled Nebula. Attacks erupt across the sector, stretching our forces thin."
Qin Mo nodded, aware of their strained resources. The Tyrone Navy was doing all it could.
Having addressed the crucial matters, Qin Mo searched the gathered faces, looking for Kleen's holographic form but found it absent. "Where is Kleen? Is today not our scheduled briefing?"
No one could answer, as none present were in Cadia.
Just as Qin Mo prepared to have the subdimensional communication stations reach Kleen, Kleen's image flickered onto the bridge, distorted from the immense distance but clear enough to hear.
"The battle on Teryok Plain has not concluded, but victory for the Cadians is inevitable," Kleen reported.
At every briefing, Kleen would provide an update on Cadia's status, his accounts aligning with Qin Mo's predictions.
The Voskani Iron Riders would soon face annihilation. Creed would likely rise as Lord of Cadia.
Although Cadia fared better than most worlds in the Veiled Nebula, Qin Mo understood its significance as the primary battleground. The war in Cadia was his deepest concern.
"Has Creed assumed lordship?" Qin Mo inquired.
"Not yet," Kleen answered, then relayed Creed's message. "He asked me to find out why the Voskani Iron Riders betrayed."
Qin Mo's brow creased in surprise. "How could someone from Tyrone know the reason for Voskani's betrayal?" he mused, wondering at Creed's sudden curiosity, a stark contrast to his former urgency.
Qin Mo didn't truly know why the Voskani Iron Riders had rebelled but could only speculate.
The Voskani were famed defenders of the Cadian Gate, seasoned in battles against Chaos.
Chaos corruption permeates every crevice. While the most iron-willed may withstand its touch, Chaos whispers incessantly, sowing doubt and temptation through ceaseless mental suggestions. Eventually, even the strongest may falter.
Some Astartes had succumbed in precisely this way.
Mortal troops are, after all, mortal, and the Grey Knights' merciless execution of any who'd glimpsed a daemon was not without justification.
Finally, Qin Mo shared his conjecture with Kleen and added, "Convey my exact words to Creed."
"Yes, my lord," Kleen bowed respectfully, his form dissipating from the bridge.
After his departure, Adam ventured, "Forgive me, my lord, but you place great importance on this man, Creed. We could dispatch a fleet to Cadia, leveraging our alliance with the Imperial Navy."
Qin Mo shook his head, declining to answer.
While Tyrone remained nominally under the Imperium, neither the Imperium nor Tyrone's higher echelons fully recognized that hierarchy. A direct fleet deployment to Cadia under the pretense of 'support' was, thus, untenable.
These times called for more than just war; they required the careful balancing of numerous subtleties.
Unless, of course, Creed attained lordship and invoked the authority of Cadia's Supreme Lord.
Knowing his suggestion was likely inappropriate, Adam refrained from pressing further.
"What's the situation surrounding the Tyrone sector?" Qin Mo asked.
"There've been several attacks recently, but they were easily thwarted," Adam replied. With a wave of his hand, he displayed a combat recording within the bridge.
The footage depicted a minor void skirmish.
Two Tyrone cruisers faced three lunar-class cruisers, ultimately destroying them. However, one escape pod managed to flee towards an agri-world within the system.
The three lunar cruisers bore a telling emblem on their hulls—a red backdrop with a black hand.
It was the mark of the Crimson Raiders.
"A battle in the Ewen system, located in the eastern reaches of the Tyrone sector, fifteen hundred light-years from the sector border," Adam explained.
Most of the Tyrone fleet had been deployed to the Veiled Nebula, but the primary fleet, centered around *Master of Tyrone*, remained within the sector.
If nearby Imperial worlds came under assault, the Tyrone Navy would render assistance.
"I want one enemy taken alive from that escape pod. Kill the rest, but capture at least one," Qin Mo ordered, his eyes fixed on the flickering escape pod headed for the agri-world. "Assign Chapter Master Forros of the Weepers to handle this."
Chapter Master Forros of the Weepers hadn't joined the meeting, given his chapter's nominal independence from the Tyrone forces.
Enrada, one of the honor guard, stepped forward. "I'll contact Chapter Master Forros at once."
Qin Mo nodded, signaling the others to be dismissed.