119: Throat of the Void

“The embers of ‘herbicide’ have not yet cooled, and a new shadow is already looming.” providence's voice echoed through the Strategic Dome, devoid of emotion, yet making the air feel as if it had frozen. “The Third Vanguard Fleet of the Imperial ‘Indomitable Crusade,’ codenamed ‘Iron Sanctus,’ has been confirmed to have breached our preset fuzzy warning zone. Their course is set directly for ‘Keystone-9’—the outpost we use for monitoring and partially mining the nebula resources left behind by ‘bone crusher’.”

On the holographic star map, the deep blue arrow representing the ‘Iron Sanctus’ was like a quenched javelin, piercing through the grey, desolate regions that originally belonged to the chaotic Orks' territories, pointing steadily toward a ‘keystone’ emitting a faint dark-gold Glimmer. This fleet was not large, but its structure was lean and elite, with several vanguard ‘Indomitable-class’ cruisers at its core, supported by a large number of fast frigates and reconnaissance vessels. Their actions were efficient and silent, starkly different from the fanatical or shattered state of the Imperial Remnants encountered previously.

“They discovered the battlefield remains of ‘herbicide,’ and... they seem to have developed a keen interest in our methods of dealing with the Orks and the technical traces we left behind,” the Intelligence Officer added, pulling up passive monitoring data. “Their scout ships have conducted multiple high-precision scans at the edge of the Dead Nebula, even attempting to recover larger fragments of the Gravity Well Generators. Our camouflage and jamming measures delayed their progress, but failed to stop them completely.”

“Guilliman's eyes and ears.” Alpha-01 stood beside Han Zhe, his gaze as sharp as a Blade. “This ‘Iron Sanctus’ is clearly an exploration and assessment fleet that has undergone specialized training. They are in no hurry to engage in battle; instead, they are observing, analyzing, and assessing our threat level and technological path. Once they complete their assessment and report back to Macragge...”

“Then, the next to arrive might be an Exterminatus Order fleet led by the Primarch himself,” Han Zhe finished, his tone calm, but a storm was gathering in his eyes. “We cannot allow them to complete their assessment, and we certainly cannot let them take back any substantial intelligence regarding the ‘abyss of order,’ the ‘custodian,’ or ‘vanguard’ weaponry.”

“The defensive forces of ‘Keystone-9’ are insufficient to withstand a full-scale assault from ‘Iron Sanctus,’ especially since the opponent may possess new weapons and tactics unknown to us,” the Chief Technologist analyzed. “Recalling the main ‘Blade’ forces for defense would take time and would easily expose more of our military deployments.”

“Therefore, we cannot let them reach ‘Keystone-9’.” Han Zhe’s finger tapped heavily on the ‘Iron Sanctus’ flight path on the star map. “Intercept and annihilate them before they enter the effective reconnaissance range of ‘Keystone-9,’ ensuring no information is leaked.”

“Ambush their vanguard fleet right next to the Imperial Crusade's main shipping lane?” Alpha-01’s brow quirked slightly. “This would directly announce our existence and hostility to Guilliman, potentially prompting the ‘Indomitable Crusade’ to prioritize us for elimination ahead of schedule.”

“They have already seen the fate of the Orks; the seeds of suspicion have been sown.” Han Zhe shook his head. “Hiding is no longer meaningful. What we must do is use a clean, shocking battle of annihilation to strike off their most sensitive ‘tentacles’ before they can fully confirm our status and mobilize sufficient force. We must send a clear message: this sector is now under the jurisdiction of the ‘Human Federation.’ Any unauthorized intruder, regardless of the banner they fly, will be treated as an invader and met with a devastating strike. This might force Guilliman, while busy dealing with the main Chaos and Tyranid forces, to carefully reconsider the feasibility of opening a new front with unknown costs.”

“High-risk deterrence.” Alpha-01 understood the strategic intent. “The location?”

Han Zhe’s gaze fell on an area ahead of the ‘Iron Sanctus’ flight path—the ‘Throat of the Void’ nebula. It was a vast nebula filled with high concentrations of ionized gas and magnetic storms. Conventional sensors were extremely ineffective there, and Warp navigation was exceptionally dangerous. However, the Human Federation's ‘Di Ting’ network and the environmental models provided by the ‘custodian’ would allow them to gain an asymmetric information advantage within it.

“‘Throat of the Void.’ We will use the nebula environment to conduct a ‘Fog Hunt’ on our terms,” Han Zhe decided on the battlefield. “Alpha, you will personally command ‘the arbiter’ and lead the ‘Blade’ First Task Force (including ‘the purifier,’ two ‘arbiter-class’ ships, four ‘shadow-iv’ vessels, and supporting craft) to execute this mission. The ‘Infiltrator-class’ and the new ‘fortress-class’ mobile platforms will also be deployed for combat testing. Remember, the tactical core: information suppression, environmental utilization, and rapid annihilation. Leave no survivors, leave no wreckage—completely ‘evaporate’ them.”

“Understood.” A cold battle intent ignited in Alpha-01’s eyes. “Hunting the ‘Iron Sanctus’.”

‘Throat of the Void,’ the hunting grounds.

“The ‘Iron Sanctus’ fleet has entered the outer reaches of the nebula. Their speed has decreased by 30%, and they are in a standard alert formation. The flagship is the ‘Indomitable-class’ cruiser ‘loyal will’.” Real-time information came from the reconnaissance nodes; under the nebula's interference, the signal was intermittent but critical.

“Maintain distance, activate ‘Cognitive Fog’ at maximum power, and blend into the background radiation.” Alpha-01 stood on the bridge of ‘the arbiter,’ his orders issued clearly. The massive fleet, like a shadow, quietly slipped into the depths of the nebula’s churning purple and blue vortices. The optical camouflage and energy-absorption coatings on the hulls made them almost one with the violent electromagnetic environment.

“‘fortress-class’ mobile platforms, advance to the preset nodes, deploy local ‘Adaptive Order Domains,’ stabilize the surrounding environment, and establish information relays and fire support points.” Three ‘fortress-class’ platforms, shaped like polyhedral metallic mountains, detached from the fleet and moved silently to several key magnetic storm nodes. Dark-gold force fields slowly expanded, forcibly propping open several relatively ‘calm’ spherical spaces within the chaotic nebula. Internal sensors and weapon arrays were quietly activated.

“Infiltrator-I Task Force, disperse. Infiltrate the enemy fleet's sensory blind spots and deploy ‘Information Disruption Nodes’ and ‘Spatial Distortion Mines’.” Three ‘Infiltrator-class’ ships, like ghost sharks in the deep sea, used the cover of the nebula's turbulence to quietly penetrate the flanks and rear of the Imperial fleet with extremely low speeds and energy signatures.

“‘custodian,’ provide decryption of the enemy fleet's internal communications and a deduction of the Commander's thought patterns.” Alpha-01 made his final communication. A cold and efficient stream of information flowed into the tactical network. This was a deep analysis by ‘custodian-alpha’ based on Imperial ideology, military regulations, and scattered fragments of ‘Iron Sanctus’ communications it had captured. It began to simulate the possible decision-making paths and fleet reaction patterns of the opposing Commander—an Imperial Navy Admiral named Marcus Waldo.