75: Chapter 75 Some within the courtroom disagree with the Allied forces.

Less than half a standard hour after the final quality inspection of the first batch of universal armor plates from the United Military Industrial Complex, the early warning layer of the Psionic Void Network captured a group of Imperial ship signals outside the Metallis System that were not registered in the United Fleet's identification database. Following the Battle of the Star of Judgment, the early warning layer of the Psionic Void Network had deeply bound all United Fleet identification codes with the Old Ones' Cohesive Psionics filters; any unregistered ship entering the defense line would be instantly flagged. The identification codes for this group of ships belonged to a fleet directly under the Inquisition, consisting of three fast Strike Cruisers. Their course was set directly for the low orbit of the United Industrial Complex, with their Void Shields already charged to attack thresholds.

On the bridge of the Wrath of the Emperor, Marcus Aurelian had just removed his combat gear after returning from the United Military Industrial Complex. Before his right hand had even moved away from the tactical projection, the Tech-Officer projected the alarm onto the main screen. The captains of these ships had not responded to any communication calls upon entering the United Fleet's identification zone, and the United Fleet standard identification requests sent by the encrypted transponders were directly rejected by the other party using the Inquisition's highest-level security protocols. He looked up, staring at the three Inquisition cruisers cutting into Metallis's low orbit at high speed on the screen, and pressed the fleet channel with his left hand: "Oldenburg, activate the United Fleet defense protocols. Charge the Void Shields of all United Fleet ships to defensive thresholds, but do not fire first. Get me the Commander of that fleet."

Oldenburg switched directly from the Griffin IV command center to the Joint Fleet Command's encrypted channel, his voice as cold and hard as a billet of adamantine steel fresh from a cryo-vault: "Call attempted. The other party refuses to answer and is broadcasting an announcement to the surface of Metallis using Inquisition encryption protocols." He paused, forwarding the original text of the announcement to all channels of the War Council. The sender of the announcement was the "Hammer of Purification," a Radical Faction of the Ordo Xenos, signed by Inquisitor Severus. The content was extremely brief— "The following units are in violation of the imperial codex for the Crime of Allying with Xenos: all human members of the former Swarm War Council. The following facilities are to be purged due to xenos technological contamination: the Metallis United Industrial Complex. Attack countdown: Immediate."

Bern's voice cut into the War Council channel immediately after from the Void Gate position, his tone even colder than Oldenburg's: "Severus was a contemporary of mine before the fall of Cadia, and is a core member of the Ordo Xenos's Radical Faction. He has been gathering intelligence on the Battle of the Star of Judgment, but he submitted no operational requests to the High Lords of Terra—this attack is a rogue action. He isn't using the United Fleet standard encryption protocol on the public channel, but the Inquisition's legacy universal key for xenos purging—he's doing this intentionally."

The Brood Queen's quantum-state translator lit up on one side of the main screen, the words brief and sharp: "Estimated contact time for the Inquisition fleet is extremely short. The Titan-Eater has launched, and the leviathan mothership's railguns are switching to United Fleet universal Void Shield coordinator mode. As a reminder—Iyanden's wraith cruisers are also in Metallis orbit, and the Wraith Shield generators of the Aeldari ghost strike teams are already warming up." Marcus pressed the War Council's all-channel button, his voice raspy but with every word landing like a rivet driven into steel: "Oldenburg, deploy the United Fleet defensive formation directly in front of the Industrial Complex's low orbit. Void Shields to full power, but no one is to fire first. Canoptek-7, synchronize the Blackstone Defense Line's quantum-state IFF protocols to every United Fleet ship on the front line to ensure those three Inquisition cruisers are marked as 'External Hostiles' by the Psionic Void Network the moment they open fire. Bern, use Holy Power to send a clear-code psionic transmission to the High Lords of Terra, attaching the United Fleet's defensive posture map and the original text of Severus's public broadcast. Demand that Terra immediately issue an order in the name of Imperial High Command to halt this unauthorized attack, and ask the Iyanden Farseer to synchronize Severus's attack warning and the United Fleet's defense plan with the Web of Prophecy."

The Iyanden Farseer's spirit-bone staff traced a ghostly blue arc in the air as the Craftworld's Web of Prophecy unfurled in the United Fleet's holographic projection. Severus's fleet trajectory was precisely marked by a thin golden thread of prophecy. When the end of the trajectory coincided with the landmark coordinates of the United Industrial Complex, everyone saw a symbol labeled in ancient Aeldari by the Web of Prophecy—'Hammer of Purification.' The Farseer's voice was steady and deep, stating that Severus had not turned traitor; he truly believed the United Fleet was heretical, and the Inquisition never lacked for such men.

The Inquisition cruisers entered the Blackstone Defense Line's identification zone shortly after the United Fleet's defensive formation was deployed. The three ships lined up, their prow Lance Weapon arrays fully charged and Void Shields maintained at attack thresholds. Severus broadcasted a final ultimatum to the surface of Metallis again via Inquisition encryption, reiterating the judicial basis for the Crime of Allying with Xenos, ordering the United Fleet to immediately surrender all xenos technology and disband the War Council, or else the United Industrial Complex would be erased from orbit in the Emperor's name.

The Brood Queen synchronized his roaring text from the Inquisition channel to all United Fleet channels via the quantum-state translator. After listening to the final ultimatum, Marcus did not use the fleet-wide channel. Instead, he used a legacy Inquisition universal key to connect privately to Severus's bridge. He pressed his unbandaged right hand onto the communication key and said to him: "Severus, I am Marcus Aurelian. You accuse me of the Crime of Allying with Xenos, you accuse the United Fleet of illegal possession of xenos technology, and you claim the United Industrial Complex requires orbital purification—fine. But before you press the firing key for your Lance Weapons, there are a few pieces of information I need you to personally confirm. The Blackstone Defense Line's quantum-state identification protocol currently screening you was co-calibrated by The Swarm and Necron living metal, with a technological prototype from a Necron Dynasty. The Wraith Shield generators protecting the low orbit of the United Industrial Complex were just delivered to the United Fleet by the Iyanden Craftworld. The Titan-Eater locking onto your Void Shield charging gaps from behind your stern is a direct extension of the Old Ones' Void Throat sealing device. If you order fire now, the United Fleet will execute a proportional countermeasure in extremely short order—but that order will be recorded as rebellion, not judgment."

Severus's reply was a brief snippet of high gothic—"The Emperor has no need for xenos allies. Humanity has no need for a bug's production line." Then, the charging peaks of the prow Lance Weapon arrays broke through the attack threshold. The three Inquisition cruisers simultaneously fired orange-red lance beams at the Industrial Complex's low orbit, which the United Fleet's Void Shield coordinators, synchronized by the Psionic Void Network, formed into a continuous defensive wall to completely deflect the attack. At the same instant, the Titan-Eater precisely cut in behind Severus's flagship from a flanking Gravity Reefs. Its Void-class Blackstone core actively suppressed the cruiser's Void Shield charging bus in a non-damaging mode. Crouched in the Void Throat defense headquarters, the Brood Queen packaged the records of Severus's attack along with his public broadcasts into a complete chain of evidence for acts of war, transmitting it directly to the High Lords of Terra via the United Fleet's encrypted channel. The Iyanden Farseer simultaneously backed up the evidence chain to the Web of Prophecy. Bern used his Holy Hammer to strike the final layer of the Psychic Talisman's seal, and the galaxy's oldest brand of Holy Power defined Severus's attack on United Fleet assets as an act of apostasy violating the Emperor's will. The entire judgment was synchronized to all United Fleet members via the Psionic Void Network.

Marcus stood tall on the bridge, his right fingers pressing back onto the edge of the command console. He issued several orders in succession: the three Inquisition cruisers had lost their Void Shield power and were under the complete fire coverage of the Titan-Eater; the United Fleet would not pursue or execute them, but would allow the crew to take escape pods to the Griffin IV prisoner-of-war camp to await trial. He sent the complete record of the judgment to the High Lords of Terra, along with a formal diplomatic note, requesting in the conclusion that Terra ensure all Imperial Commanders wishing to fire on the United Fleet clearly see the chain of evidence before making a decision. He closed the data slate and calmly said to the communications officer, "Signal Terra—Content: Inquisitor Severus's act of war against the United Fleet's United Industrial Complex has been legally halted by the United Fleet; trial records attached. Subject: The United Fleet will not fire first, nor will it allow itself to be stabbed in the back without retaliating. The Emperor witnesses. The United Fleet witnesses. Send it."