Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 1065, page 9 of 1064: 'A New Turn of Events'

"saint."

As Horatio stepped into the spacious study in his Władysław palace, which he used as a temporary office, Court Lady Diana and Sister Arabella quickly came to greet him. Their expressions were unusually serious, and their silver power armor gleamed with a cold, hard light in the sunlight streaming in from the windows.

“Greetings, sisters of the court, sisters Arabella.” Horatio stopped. “Judging from your expressions, is there some emergency?”

"Something's happened at Abyss Harbor," Diana, the court official, said bluntly.

"What exactly happened?"

"The plague that had been simmering in the Lower Nest for so long was now spreading rapidly toward the Middle and Upper Nests like a floodgate had been opened. Large numbers of Lower Nest residents were infected, and the panicked survivors were rushing toward the Middle and Upper Nests in a frenzy, which further exacerbated the devastating spread of the epidemic."

She paused, her voice growing even colder: "Meanwhile, the Sector Fleet has detected multiple unidentified plague ships leaping out of warp space, relentlessly harassing the Abyss Harbor's shipping lanes. The entire Gothic garrison has been deployed and is intercepting these vile enemies in orbit."

The High Priestess has issued an urgent call, demanding that all sisters with experience in combating the epidemic return immediately to suppress the outbreak on the ground at all costs.

"I will lead a group of sisters back on a pilgrimage ship that is about to depart."

Court Lady Diana announced her decision: "Sister Arabella will remain here to continue the mission of serving the saints in my place."

“Have a safe journey.” Horatio’s face darkened. “Rear Admiral Peru did mention to me earlier that a Plague Fleet had escaped from the Eye of Fear. But I didn’t expect them to act so quickly and target Abyss Harbor directly… This must be a premeditated coordinated attack.”

"Whether it was premeditated or not, we will steadfastly fulfill our duties, Saints." Diana's voice was firm and powerful, like steel clashing. "We will build a defensive line at Abyss Harbor and prevent the situation from escalating to an irreversible point."

After she finished speaking, she turned to Arabella beside her, and a rare hint of gentleness flashed in her eyes, which were always as cold as winter. She reached out and patted Arabella's shoulder armor heavily.

“Sister Arabella, I have watched you grow up since you were a child. Now, your faith has been tested, and it is time for you to stand on your own and truly serve humanity and the Emperor.”

“I…I am ready! Sister Courtiers!” Sister Arabella immediately straightened her back, her clear voice carrying a hint of tension, but more so an undeniable determination. She then turned to Horatio and gave a standard Eagle Salute: “Captain, Sister Arabella will fight to the last moment to protect you.”

"We will all do our duty," Horatio nodded in encouragement.
-
Horatio personally escorted Diana and her entourage onto the Skyhawk gunship piloted by Anya Farshade.

The aircraft took off vertically, its engines roaring loudly, soaring into the sky and flying toward a giant pilgrimage ship that was quietly moored in the orbital dock.

That ship was the very vessel that the pilgrimage group, which had been requested by St. Drusus Monsignor Hironimus Dororoso from the Cardinal Archbishop of the sector, was traveling on.

With an almost fanatical ideal and a sacred goal, they wanted to make all the clergy on this planet who were wavering in their stance swear allegiance to all the citizens of the empire and the state religion once again.

After the pilgrimage ship disembarks the state mission in Polyberia, it will continue its long voyage like a "bus" for the imperial believers, crossing the eastern part of the Misty Starfield until it reaches the perilous city of Abyss Harbor, which is shrouded in the shadow of plague, and bring the glory of the God-Emperor there.

In the dusty Imperial Navy training base, Horatio met Poniatovsky. The young, flamboyant officer had a bruise on his face, and the smell of alcohol on him, though concealed, was still obvious. He was somewhat disheveled, arranging training exercises in the camp from the makeshift command tower.

“I don’t remember you getting beaten up so much at the tavern yesterday, especially on your face.” Horatio pinched his chin, suppressing a laugh, and carefully examined his “colorful” face.

"I slipped and fell while cleaning." Poniatovsky covered his face immediately, like a horse whose ears had been pulled, looking utterly pathetic.

Just then, a muffled engine roar came from afar.

Poniatowski quickly seized the opportunity to change the subject: "Speaking of which, there's a squad of soldiers hovering in the sky outside, supposedly belonging to the planetary governor. They're here for training, and they say it's on your orders. I didn't let them land; I just kept them on standby in the sky. Is that true?"

"It's true."

Horatio nodded and walked toward the observation window of the command tower. "These are the conditions I agreed upon with the governor yesterday. To be honest, apart from being far too 'obese,' this man surprisingly didn't cause me much trouble, so I readily agreed to his two requests."

One of these tasks was to help him train a small 'military training unit'.

"Okay, I see."

Poniatowski picked up the communicator and said to the ground control station, "Guide them to land in the most remote West Eighth District. We don't need the recruit training facilities there yet."

"And while we're at it, let's arrange a 'beer set meal' for them to test their mettle."

"Received, (*beep) Tower calling XPL-3471, please land in West 8th time zone according to ground beacon guidance."

Soon, the large airship slowly descended. Although it had the appearance of a civilian transport boat commonly seen in the upper-level hive cities, the additional matte-finished armor on its surface, as well as the advanced optical targeting equipment and ground attack pods covered with precision lenses mounted under its wings, all indicated that it was no ordinary creature.

The gull-wing deck of the airship slid open silently from the side, and a well-equipped combat squad, painted in black and red camouflage, deftly dropped rappelling ropes, descending from the sky like deadly black widow spiders.

Their highly coordinated movements, along with the undisguised chilling aura they exuded from the battlefield, caused Horatio, Poniatowski, and Jadviga to involuntarily furrow their brows.

"Are you sure... these people are from the planetary defense force?" Poniatowski blinked and asked Horatio hesitantly.

“There’s no mistake, their identification codes match.” Horatio answered calmly, but his gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s, fixed on every movement of the soldiers.

“Well,” Poniatowski shrugged, “aren’t their equipment… a little too good? I’ve never heard of any planetary defense force in any star system being so extravagant as to have a Hellfire Gun and a full set of armored assault armor for every soldier. And their disciplined movements, you could tell me they’re the Storm Loyalists and I’d believe you.”

(End of this chapter)