Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 908 (08.907): "Departure, towards the Xuanwei Line!"

“Then you need to give me a reason.” Horatio stared into Latti’s eyes and pointed to the armored box that Latti treasured. “I need to make sure that this thing won’t blow my ship to a pile of scrap metal during the voyage.”

“You don’t need to worry about that…” Lati turned around and, with an almost reverent gesture, pointed to the box and explained, “It’s an array of Thinkers with an extremely high capacity. But the contents inside involve the highest level of encryption, so many people can’t decipher it.”

To be honest, I never expected to find it in a place like a 'landing port'. I was even worried that I'd never find it again.

"Then why can't it be opened here?" Horatio's doubts were not shaken by her explanation.

"Because I must ensure the absolute purity of the environment, so that it will not have any dimensional impact on it. That's why it's sealed in such a tightly sealed armored box."

A rare resolute look appeared in Latti's eyes, which puzzled Horatio. "This device is the only one of its kind in the entire galaxy. Once it is damaged, the research data inside will never be able to be extracted, and all the efforts I have made in this life will be in vain."

"Why are you speaking so absolutely?" Horatio keenly caught the deeper meaning in her words. "You seem to know a lot about this."

A bitter smile played on Latti's lips. Horatio wasn't sure if this was yet another of her negotiation tactics.

Then, she proudly puffed out her chest and said to Horatio, "Because this is the Thinker Array that I used to store tens of millions of experimental data."

It contains many ancient mysteries that have been completely lost to this day. The most important part involves a great genetic engineering project, far beyond your imagination…”

She slowly opened her arms, and under the beams of light shooting down from the sky, piercing through industrial smoke, her half-human, half-machine body resembled a forbidden statue of the Virgin Mary from a dark age of technology.

[Could it be related to the Primarch?] Horatio analyzed Latti's words in his mind, each syllable seemingly carrying immense weight.

"Could this contain some kind of record..."

"Whatever you've guessed, don't say it aloud, Captain." Lati's eyes held a sorrow that transcended eternity, a loneliness that seemed to transcend time.

But that sorrow was quickly replaced by resolve; she raised her head in the sunlight, as if performing some sacred ritual:
"I will tell you everything later. But not now, because the name of this thing has supernatural effects."

We can't gamble with all this, especially in a murky place like 'Landing Port.' I absolutely cannot open this box here, and I absolutely cannot reveal what I'm really doing."

"...Understood." Horatio was silent for a moment, then finally chose to trust him. "I'll trust you this time. Show me the results as soon as possible. Our time is limited."

“No problem, Captain.” Lati’s face regained its confident glow. “With this, I assure you, a mere few hundred gene seeds from Astartes… no, even creating a ‘large camp’ in batches is no problem.”

Horatio noticed that Latti used an extremely archaic term—"camp".

That was the 30K era, the Great Expedition period, and a formation used by very few Astartes legions.

The number of soldiers in one "camp" is greater than the number of soldiers in an entire battle group of the Holy Scripture Corps today.

In today's 40K era, almost no one uses such a staffing system anymore.

Latti not only knew the word, but she clearly understood its meaning. Combined with her mysterious past and motives, Horatio couldn't help but begin to reassess the true identity of the woman before him. Up until now, everyone he had met within the Mechanicus had treated this "priest" with utmost respect.

But if she really had such a high status, then why did she have a so-called "mentor" above her in Abyss Harbor?
Sage, priest, mentor... This intricate web of relationships made it difficult for Horatio to determine whether the woman before him was truly unassuming or harbored a secret.

But now, his and her interests are highly intertwined.

Horatio needs Latti, and Latti needs Horatio.

They have gradually become an inseparable community of shared interests.
-
"My lord, loading is complete, and the fleet is ready to depart at any time," Captain Kudo of the 'Snowstorm Thunderclap' reported to Horatio via holographic communication.

His image flickered faintly on the bridge of Horatio's flagship.

The massive cargo ship, carrying goods worth more than ten "profit points," arrived at its port of call. It was now loaded with military supplies that Sintira had urgently ordered from the Colonus Expansion Zone and was preparing to sail to its final destination on this voyage—the final gateway of the Whirlwind Line, the industrial city of Sintira.

"Set sail and head to the war zone," Horatio gave the order to set sail.

Then, he connected to the command communications of the Calissis squadron.

"Major General Bruyès, what is the current situation on the defensive line? I have heard a lot of news from the merchants and ronin in the port about the critical situation."

"Prepare for warp fluctuations, High Commander." Rear Admiral Brues' holographic image appeared before Horatio, his face visibly weary. "A powerful warp surge is spreading from the Eye of Terror toward the Calicus Sector. Fleet Navigation Intelligence is unsure when it will affect Sintira, but it has already severely disrupted navigation near the Spiral Line."

"The Starfield Navy Department judges that this is a feint by the Eye of Fear; they are using this chaos to conceal the whereabouts of a more sinister plan."

Surviving witnesses reported seeing a massive plague fleet emerge from the Eye of Terror, under the cover of chaos created by the warp; its current whereabouts are unknown.

"The Calissis-Fortress Line fleet has received an early warning and is tracking and attempting to intercept this mysterious plague fleet."

This forced the main force of the Calicus fleet to split into three groups: one to continue guarding the Eye of Terror, one to track and intercept the Plague Fleet, and another to fight along the Whirlwind Line.

"It seems you'll be busy putting out fires once you arrive on the battlefield," Horatio said in a deep voice.

"That's right. After you arrive at the Whirlwind Line, you will temporarily serve as a strategic reserve force on the outskirts of Sintira."

The Gothic fleet has informed us of the situation; you should use this time to form a new force.

Once the other escort squadrons dispatched from the Gothic Sector arrive in Sintira and assemble into a considerable fighting force under your command, the Gothic Fleet will be officially formed as a combat detachment. At that time, it will be able to carry out proactive attack or dynamic defense missions depending on the battle situation.

"I don't know the situation of the other escort teams; I haven't received any communications from them. All I know is that at least one escort team has suffered a devastating blow from the aliens. Since things have come to this, let's focus on our respective duties. Good luck, Major General. And please give my regards to Admiral Treville."

(End of this chapter)