103: Chapter 103 The Empire Reassesses the Zerg Swarm

In the first hour after the Coalition was officially dissolved, the bridge of the Emperors Hammer switched back from a ceremonial hall to a wartime command center faster than any drill.

The imperial navy highest medal of valor on Heinrich von Strauheim's chest had not yet warmed, but his mechanical prosthetic eye had already locked onto all the defense platforms on the periphery of the Griffin IV Anchorage that were recalibrating.

The Universal Void Shield Coordinator's local mode firmware was rolled back to the version prior to the Star of Judgment campaign, all Universal Armor Plates from the Coalition were stripped away, and the creep pipeline data exchange interfaces of the United Industrial Complex were physically severed by the engineers of the Third Assault Fleet.

The read-only port of the Psionic Void Network exited the shared Coalition database in the final second. Before exiting, the last message left by The Swarm was just a single line of cold green text, written at the very edge of the main screen on every bridge: "War Council observer privileges have been revoked. The Coalition database will retain a read-only backup of historical battle reports, solely for human reflection."

Marcus Aurelian stood before the command console, transmitting the full text of the official Coalition War Council dissolution statement to Terra.

His voice was hoarse yet steady, dictating every word according to the standard phrasing of official Inquisition dispatches: "The Coalition War Council has fulfilled its historical function now that all Ancient heritage has been received. The Swarm has automatically revoked its status as a signatory party in accordance with the Coalition Charter. All agreements, charters, and legal definitions under the Coalition framework are suspended effective immediately."

The Imperial Fleet has fully restored its independent chain of command, and Marshal Heinrich is appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Navy's Ultima Segmentum war zone.

A note was appended to the end of the statement: "The Coalition emblem remains hanging on the bow of the Emperors Hammer, not as a mark of agreement, but as a historical record."

Terra's reply arrived minutes later via an encrypted psionic communication link.

Hasseldorf stood in the archives of the Imperial Palace, the ever-burning icon of the Emperor behind him casting light and shadow across his face.

His robe sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing two scrawny forearms marked with countless tiny scratches from the edges of parchment. In his hand, he held not a staff, but a quill dipped in deep red revision ink.

The imperial codex amendment lay open on the stone table before him. The preface to the Coalition Charter chapter had been crossed out with a deep red slash, and next to it, written in extremely neat High Gothic, were two lines of annotation: "This chapter was signed based on the Coalition agreement and is now suspended due to the unilateral revocation of privileges by the signatory party, the Zerg Swarm. The terms are not abolished, merely frozen. Review will automatically resume when The Swarm returns to negotiations."

He looked up and told Marcus in the holographic projection that he had not deleted a single word from the chapter on Coalition legal definitions—The Swarm's legal status had been officially recognized by the imperial codex, and even if the Coalition dissolved, this piece of history could not be erased from the code.

If The Swarm returned in the future, the legal definitions would still be there, and negotiations would not have to start from scratch.

Bern placed the Holy Hammer on the briefing room table, the silver light of the Psychic Talisman having completely stabilized.

He remarked that Terra's response speed this time was faster than ever before—it had taken only a few dozen minutes from the issuance of the Coalition dissolution statement to the completion of the imperial codex amendment annotation.

This showed that the Council of High Lords was not arguing, not passing the buck, and not questioning whether Marcus had committed the crime of allying with xenos again.

The Empire had learned how to coexist with The Swarm: do not rely, do not fantasize, do not concede, but also do not burn bridges.

Sebastian sent a communication from the Griffin IV hangar; the Terminator Assault Platoon had fully completed the replacement of their breastplates, and the Universal Armor Plate samples had been sealed and stored.

He added that the local mode firmware of the Coalition Universal Void Shield Coordinator still retained some advanced fire-control coordination data after the rollback. This data was officially authorized content from The Swarm during the period the agreement was valid, and according to legal definitions, it did not become invalid upon the suspension of the agreement.

The Imperial Navy could utilize this data to optimize independent fire-control algorithms, and the engineers of the Third Assault Fleet had already begun reverse compiling it.

Heinrich re-enlisted the Shield of the Emperor into the Imperial Navy's order of battle.

He spoke over the fleet channel, saying that the medal hanging on his chest was granted by the Coalition, and since it bore the Coalition emblem, he would not remove it.

However, the Void Shield charging frequency of the Shield of the Emperor had been switched to the Empire's own independent mode—after the termination of the Coalition agreement, this ship would no longer accept any external fire-control coordination; it would defend the Ultima Segmentum with its own strength.

Marcus compiled all the reports and sent the first official military intelligence briefing to Terra following the dissolution of the Coalition.

The briefing concluded: "The Swarm is no longer an ally, but it is not currently a direct enemy."

The collaborative combat data and independent fire-control capabilities accumulated by the Imperial Fleet during the Coalition period have all been retained.

It is recommended that the Council of High Lords shift the focus of the Ultima Segmentum defense from the periphery of the Blackstone Defense Line back to the Imperial home anchorage, constructing a new defensive zone centered on Griffin IV that is independent of the Coalition legacy.

Hasseldorf annotated it with two words using his quill: "Approved." He then set the pen down next to the imperial codex and retrieved a document from under the stone table—an Imperial Navy full combat mobilization order jointly signed by the Adeptus Arbites, the Inquisition, and the Ecclesiarch.

After reading the mobilization order, Marcus turned off the holographic projection and sat in a chair in the corner of the bridge, silent for a while.

He placed the Coalition dissolution statement and the mobilization order side-by-side on the table, then pressed the fleet channel and ordered the entire fleet: "Contract the defensive lines, hold the anchorage."

The Coalition is gone, but the Empire remains.

Heinrich sent a confirmation signal from the Shield of the Emperor; the Coalition emblem on the bow of the Emperors Hammer remained in place.