It was strange to witness people clapping at the conclusion of a war plan's presentation, it had an eerie resemblance to the chilling scenes about a certain Operation Dark Storm from that depressing anime from many years ago.
I was just hoping the actual execution of it would not be mirroring that disastrous result but there was a key difference here, we were aiming for mass salvation, not destruction.
You could say the push for my war plan was largely successful and had gotten everyone on board. Kryptorer showed proof of our capabilities by disclosing the details on the strikes we made on the outposts earlier but kept my true ability under wraps to the Nusquamese for the moment.
The Nusquamese themselves were kinda stunned by the ambitious scale of our plan and even did a standing ovation at the end of it. Well, given their prospects just went from the low chance of getting through this unscathed to potentially being big winners it was an easy sell.
Besides, it would be the Adeptus Mechanicus and Adepta Sororitas that would be carrying out the key operations for the plan so the Nusquamese just had to do the "easier part" of holding up their battle line to fully benefit.
Khatalina was beaming at the end of it and I could see she was smiling from the bottom of her heart. My guess was she had been keeping up a facade of a strong leader for a while now and things were finally looking up.
Thaberus also helped to push the acceptance of the plan by giving warnings on further potential threats and the prospect of little to no reinforcements on the way.
Something did happen during the event as I noticed Amael and Rantor slipping out of the command bunker, it seemed like they were on a mission and some inquisitorial business was happening in the background. I did not have the full details but hoped Thaberus' underlings were as competent as they looked.
Naturally, the Nusquamese tried to swarm me for more details after the presentation but the Sororitas wall proved effective. I did have a brief moment with Governor Khatalina to thank her for the support of the plan and took the chance to pass her the summary for incoming starship traffic from Arradus.
'Khatalina, I have some reports here that were meant for you.' I then turned to signal Welminah who was a few steps behind me, the scholar hurried forward and respectfully passed a parchment scroll to the governor.
The governor received the parchment, opened it up hesitantly and her eyes widened. 'This… what is with this amount of incoming starship traffic?!' The scroll was the summary list compiled from the astropathic messages Arradus had received recently, according to him it dwarfed the combined traffic for the last combined 50 years, seeing her flinching at the report was kind of hilarious and the desperate respite I needed.
Before the Nusquamese top brass left for battle, Thaberus dropped a gag order on them all, forbidding anyone to disclose my identity to people outside this meeting on pain of death and worse in our bid to exercise information control. The assembly was then dismissed as the time for the grand battle approached.
I was later introduced to the other leading figures of the Sororitas. Of note were the other three palatines, Sister Selisa Galan, Sister Helenta Catea and Sister Dominae Zeal. All were seniors to Alicya and looking the part of a capable field leader for the chamber militant Order.
As the palatines were present at the final war meeting and thus witnessed my halo manifestation, they reverently received me. It prompted me to realise how convenient all these setups were for Syrine, someone had been pulling the strings for at least a thousand years to make all this happen.
I then followed the sisters to an assembly for the final inspection on key elements of the operation with Tech-priest Dataliad, Skitarii Alpha Kira and a skull probe from Kryptorer following silently.
Canoness Diadinah was looking particularly delighted like she could not wait to show me the result of her overnight labour. As I stepped out to another clearing, what awaited me left me speechless.
On the field under a cloudy purple sky was a massed assembly of the elite units of Sororitas Seraphims in their familiar power armour with angelic-styled jump packs, their dull silver power armour glittering under the rays of the late morning sun that managed to sneak through the clouds periodically. The seraphims were standing completely still, in stark contrast with the tail ends of purity seals on their armour that were waving gloriously in the wind.
There was a low humming sound resonating in the air as the collective thrumming of active power armour sang in unison, anticipating the coming battle. My superhuman mind quickly counted their numbers and found there were three hundred of them lining up in a military parade, the Order of the Shining Beacon had mobilised all their seraphims for this critical operation.
In the cloudy sky above, unfamiliar looking flyers were doing low passes in tight formations. I soon recognised these as the Nuntius Hailer and Imagifier flyers, freshly awakened from storage by my request to join this fight. Giant holographic projections of the Order's symbol could be seen underneath some of them.
This is… gloriously magnificent!
'Magnificent work, sisters.' I praised the canoness and palatines wholeheartedly, trying my best to play the part of being a "leader" who did none of the actual work but took notice of good efforts.
The glorious sight of it almost brought tears to my eyes as my gamer self greedily soaked in the spectacle before me. In front of the three hundred elite sisters stood a single seraphim more decorated looking than the rest, she was standing in attention with her helmet tucked underneath her right hand.
This person's name had come up time and again during tactical planning sessions with Diadinah and Markeylla back at the fortress so I knew who she was: Seraphim Excelsior Zharphia Abaiyo, the highest-ranking seraphim superior of the whole Order.
I almost lost myself completely to the visual spectacle before remembering my purpose here. I quickly summoned the skull probe over and connected myself to the network while walking towards Zharphia.
Zharphia was dark-skinned, short-haired and had thick lips. Maybe a descendant of African lineage? She had the complete look of a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails lady you would expect to see as a squad sergeant in a classic sci-fi movie.
'Sister Zharphia,' I called out to her and formed my Aquila sign, 'we just met, but already a great burden was placed on you by me. On that note, I beg for your pardon.'
Zharphia will be playing a key role in leading the seraphims for the first phase of our operation. If successful, we could potentially silence all the big guns in the rebel's rear formation with minimum casualties, so a lot was hanging on her capabilities.
'Holy Daughter,' she mag-locked her helmet, returned the Aquila sign and replied, 'I was briefed on the operation and God-Emperor willing, will not fail the mission.'
Zharphia paused for a short while before asking, 'May I have your permission to ask some questions regarding this operation?' I nodded for her to go ahead. 'The issue of the air transports has yet to be resolved, and how are we supposed to penetrate the rebels' air fighters defence net with so few fighters on our side?'
As with standard practice on military matters, certain details were being withheld to prevent information leaks and this lady was not afraid to ask key questions. I am liking her guts already.
Complex imperial politics had shaped certain aspects of this civil war, a point not mentioned earlier was that since almost all imperial aircraft were under the direct jurisdiction of the Aeronautica Imperialis branch of the Imperial Navy, the Master Chief Petty Navy Officer on the planet had greatly disapproved on the prospect of losing precious aircraft over the "silly" civil dispute. Said navy officer had since put his feet down, forbidding both sides from utilising any aircraft under his jurisdiction for the duration of this war.
As a result, only a limited number of aircraft that was wholly owned by the Nusquamese locally had joined the fight and heavy bombers were not involved in the battle. These unique circumstances had allowed both sides to mass tank columns without getting worried about being bombarded to kingdom come from the air.
Still, the rebels currently controlled more aircraft than the loyalists on paper. From Zharphia's point of view, this would be a great cause for concern for she will be leading all of her Order's precious seraphims for a deep strike mission without much air cover.
'Your transports are here,' I said just in time as a fleet of Mechanicus air transporters appeared in the sky. I had been tracking them since they entered the radar net. Kryptorer had kept them hidden, deploying these from his starship to stay away from any possible prying eyes until the last possible moment, only ordering them in when it was time to move out.
'As for the enemy fighters, have no worries, for we have methods to deal with them. I need to beg for your pardon again as no further details will be given, all I can do is to ask you to have a little faith in our planning for that.'
'If that is what is asked of us, very well.' Zharphia bowed.
She then asked another question, this time hesitantly, 'Holy Daughter, we heard from the canoness … that you could manifest His light. Please, can we witness it for ourselves?'
His light? Did she mean my halo? I had been spamming my halo recently to get over tight corners and grew a bit weary about it. Frankly, it felt manipulative to the point that I was starting to feel uncomfortable about its usage on the people around me.
Hold on, she said "we"...
'By "we" do you mean everyone here?' I asked.
Zharphia nodded. Inwardly I cringed hard at the request.
The Adepta Sororitas could rightly be considered as one of the biggest state-sanctioned dedicated "fan clubs" for the God-Emperor of Mankind, where membership is for life and the membership fee is eternal service to the church.
It would be natural for them to seek out any tangible proof of His divinity whenever possible. Diadinah would not skip such a golden opportunity to boost the morale of her Order as they had taken a few horrible setbacks lately.
I took a closer look at Zharphia and realised she could not have been older than thirty years old, which prompted me to look at the rows and rows of seraphims behind her. Some had the visor of their helmet lifted so I could see a part of their faces… by the gods most of them looked so young.
Girls about half my mental age were geared up and prepared to go to war zones for their beliefs. Surely I could put aside my own feelings for a while and give them a light show?
Feeling obligated, I nodded to Zharphia. 'I understand. Sister Markeylla, the relic sword please.' Celestine Superior Markeylla had been hanging around carrying the sheathed nameless sword beside Diadinah in what might be a vain attempt of enticing me to claim active leadership of the Order.
Sorry but that is not going to happen anytime soon, I will consider that only after the war is over.
For now, I just need the sword for the complete light show package and take this opportunity to live test the Nuntius flyers' systems. Markeylla quickly walked over and presented me with the hilt of the nameless sword reverently, mimicking a scene I had witnessed before in that meeting room back in the fortress.
Recalling how Diadinah did it, I mirrored her stance, silently prayed to not screw this up and successfully pulled the sword out in one go. The nameless sword exited its sheath with a blinding light and became the focal point on the field. I ordered the skull probe over and mentally triggered the advanced selfie pict-feed function while accessing the wireless network with my authority to project the image and sound feed onto all the Nuntius flyers.
Immediately all the holographic projections on the flyers switched to gigantic portraits of myself via the direct live feed from the probe. This was starting to feel like a concert now.
'Hello,' I said to the skull probe and through its microphone my voice echoed throughout the whole field via the laud hailers on the flyers. Well, this is… the next level of cringe. It was so embarrassingly awkward my skin started to crawl, but there was no going back now.
It was at this time at the back of my mind, where some cold calculations were always running, I realised the air transports will land in about a minute. It was kind of a social emergency so I activated my thought acceleration to get some breathing space.
I had no time and urgently needed a short pre-battle speech that is badass enough for this universe. Quickly I scanned my mind for all lore and contents regarding this matter and only one result surfaced. Relieved, I gave a silent thank you to my old self for binging Youtube contents before changing the original text for my usage.
They had all been briefed so I will just go straight to the point. Looking at the silent crowd, I took a deep breath, raised my sword and activated my halo. The moment the assembled sisters saw it, their expressions softened and their eyes lightened up.
Encouraged by their unspoken support, despite feeling ridiculous in front of so many people, I said the prepared words out loud, it was broadcasted clearly over by the laud hailers.
'Seraphims! Sisters!
Absolution is at hand!
We are facing our sacred duty!
Let justice be your song!
Let righteousness guide your weapons!
We are the Daughters of the Emperor!
We are the bearers of HIS will and our mission shall be done!
For our undying Lord and Saviour!
FOR THE EMPEROR!!'
I finished the really short speech by firing up my halo up to the highest level while activating the psychic flames on the nameless sword. A huge plume, much larger and brighter than the one before burst forth from the blade and the seraphims who were previously silent broke out in thunderous applause.
With my gigantic holograms in the air, a religious resonance of sorts happened and the piousness was palpable in the air. The seraphims beamed, echoes of their joyous cries hit me like solid waves as they witnessed with their own eyes the proof of their God's divinity through my actions.
'For the Emperor! EMPEROR! EMPEROR!'
The sisters' chants shook the field. Then the weirdest things happened: As if the heavens were answering, a strong ray of sun broke through the clouds to shine directly onto the field, illuminating the ecstatic sisters.
'He answered!' someone cried out, which only pushed their heightened zeal further. One could almost taste their emotion.
I was totally stunned witnessing this ridiculous scene. What are the odds of the sun ray breaking through the clouds at this exact moment? As if answering my question another thought immediately surfaced: Who are you yourself? Look around, aren't your very existence proof of HIS divinity? I looked back and found the canoness and palatines all kneeling behind me, some of them were weeping openly.
The sisters continued their chants until the Mechanicus air transports arrived shortly, they landed in perfect synchronicity for the seraphims to board.
Somewhat in a daze myself, I bid farewell to the sisters as they got on their way to war and took the extra care in giving directives to their canoness while returning the nameless sword to her.
'Diadinah, please take care of your sisters and yourself. I look forward to your triumphant return.' I said, indirectly prohibiting the idea of them resorting to martyrdom to achieve their mission.
Unlike me, she will be heading to the field while I would be doing my part in the backline. Giving her the sword to keep was also meant to encourage her to come back in one piece, lest the priceless relic is lost in the chaos of battle.
I have my selfish reason for wanting to minimise the potential casualties of the sisters: If a lot of the senior members of the Sororitas got themselves killed in this battle it might cripple the little minoris Order, should that happen the surviving sisters will inevitably look to me for future directions and that would be a world of hurt which I want to avoid.
Soon all the battle sisters had left for the battle, leaving behind the non-militant members and the Dominus' liaison. Kira approached me with a bow, 'My Lady, Dominus Cykell is waiting.'
* * *
Kryptorer and I met up to go through with the final details of our plan. We were walking towards a huge setup the Mechanicus had prepared for this battle. My best description of it would be a "podium of wires", a monstrous-looking contraption that was finished for the operation and placed in a discreet location behind layers of protection that seemed to be able to withstand even the ungodly firepower from a titan.
Welminah, Veritta and Kira were behind us, silently following. As we walked towards the monstrosity, my feeling of unease grew, for a fleeting moment I was not sure why I was there in the first place and tittered on the edge of having a panic attack.
It was then the arch dominus spoke. canted Kryptorer.
Is he trying to comfort me?
Looking at the towering post-human, an idea suddenly came to my mind. 'Want me to teach you a trick?' I asked.
'If you need everyone to listen to you in a hurry, do this. First, you slap your hands together loudly, then say this…'
Slapping my hands together producing a loud clap, I then proceeded to rub them together in a classic scheming pose mimicking a certain famous mad scientist from another far future before saying it out loud, 'Good news, everyone!'
Following my example, Kryptorer slapped his primary hands together but the sound that came out was a low metallic clink instead of a loud hand clap. He paused for a split second before concluding,
'Improvised, synthesis sound vibration for phase one.' I offered.
Watching the whole thing happen, I was thankful for all the [Regalis] Action override- messages that kept popping into my view. I was beginning to really appreciate it.
'Well done.' I gave him a thumbs up.
Kryptorer replied as we reached the gigantic podium.
'My little tricks are nothing compared to your real groundwork,' I praised him wholeheartedly and asked, 'how did you manage to get the timing of their grand assault so well?'
What are you? Some space godfather?? I took another look at him, imagining the dominus canting to himself about "giving offers the followers of his cult can't refuse" like a true techno mob boss.
'I am so glad we have you on our side.' I remarked truthfully, having Dominus Kryptorer as your enemy on the other side of the battlefield was no laughing matter.
Somehow he was sounding like a nagging old dad again, but I was grateful. Who knew the person who was showing me the most care after coming to this world was from the Mechanicus, even if it was for his own ulterior motives.
It was then I noticed the complicated expressions on both the sisters who were following us. Kryptorer only spoke vocally when it was a necessity, so from their point of view, the arch dominus was simply dropping incomprehensible binary the whole time while I talked.
It was such a classic sci-fi trope on the protagonist talking to a beeping robot sidekick, the whole scene must have been looking very confusing for the sisters so I smiled apologetically to them.
'Thank you, Krypto. Let us pray that...' I looked up at the cloudy purple sky, thinking about all the people who were about to die today and said the only thing that came to my mind.
'...the Emperor protects.'