Warhammer: Empire Reboot

…………

Lawson no longer cared how the Thousand Sons Legion and the Necromancer Dynasty fought.

The necromancer overlord Somtatech seeks revenge on Thousand.

Chiko needs to prove that she has completed the handover.

The Black Legion must retrieve a missing sealed casket from an Ominous Ark with a damaged engine.

Everyone is busy. The busier the better.

The key fragments are no longer on that ark.

Vigilant Star, upper level of Saint Harbor, Nachmond Wartime Command.

Lawson sat on the council seat that originally belonged to the Agammenus family.

There were three key fragments on the table.

The first came from the depths of Agrippina; the second from Alpha agents captured earlier; and the third was just stolen from the Thousand Sons Disaster Fleet.

The three fragments are all different in shape.

When placed together, they exhibit subtle fluctuations. They don't truly fit together, yet they find their angles to each other.

Like three pieces of a jigsaw puzzle cut by the same ancient will.

T-001 stood beside the table, its mechanical eyes kept dimly lit.

"in conclusion."

T-001 raised its robotic arm and projected a 3D analytical diagram: "Material cannot be classified. Possesses high-order adaptive camouflage. Currently exhibits weak gravitational entanglement. After three resonances, a fragmented heterogeneous space index was generated."

“Non-standard real-world coordinates?” Lawson tapped the table lightly with his fingertips.

“Yes. The reason Vashtor’s calamity fleet is running around like headless flies is because they are tracking this echo.” T-001 put away the projection. “They are looking for a door that is unknown to us.”

Lawson's memory of the Ominous Ark war was incomplete, consisting mostly of fragments.

Abaddon, Vashtor, the Key, the Ancient Device, the Galactic Invasion, the Dark Angels and the Stone Fortress, the Eldar Web, and something called the Ancient Legacy.

After experiencing this universe firsthand, the fragments were finally pieced together into a clearer image.

"His divinity lies behind the door."

Lawson sneered, "A demon demigod, trying to bypass the Emperor, the Four Gods, and the existing warp order, to open the treasure trove left by the ancient saints, and use its contents to achieve ascension. Bypassing the rules. Directly becoming a god."

"He's got a good plan."

T-001 asked: "Should we activate the highest level of stasis to physically isolate the three fragments?"

Lawson raised his hand and picked up the translucent bone fragment he had snatched from Qianzi.

The fragments vibrated desperately at his fingertips, trying to switch their disguises, but were firmly nailed to their original form by the living metal.

Lawson casually tossed it back onto the table. "Take the finest glass dome and place it on the top of the tallest observatory in Saint Harbor."

The T-001's mechanical eye blinked for a rare half-second.

“Even with shielding, the physical height of the spire will still cause signal overflow. Vashtor’s psionic radar will detect it.”

"We need to let them smell it."

Lawson stood up. "Make the outer layer of the seal thinner."

Lawson walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the entire hive city.

"If you want to become a god, you'd better see if I agree first. If Vashtor has the ability, then come and take it for himself."

Three hours later.

At the top of the Vigilant Star Tower, an old aristocratic star-gazing palace has been emptied.

The key fragments were placed in the center of the Star Gazing Palace.

The outer layer of the display stand is engraved with a short inscription: "[Captured from Chaos]".

There was nothing else.

The ripples emitted by the fragments were like a lamp deliberately placed in the dark.

This was enough for the psionic slaves who were specifically tasked with tracking down the key fragments for Vashtor to detect the unusual direction from several star systems away.

The first chaotic fleet to detect the fluctuations was a fragmented formation belonging to the Cataclysm Fleet.

They just raided a fringe mining world.

Inside the fleet's divination chamber, three psionic slaves chained to a mechanical throne screamed simultaneously, pointing towards the vigilant star.

The Chaos Lord sat on the throne on the bridge, listening to the report from the priest of the Dark Mechanicus.

"Are you sure? Vigilant Star?"

"The echo is extremely clear."

The priest replied, “Sir, once the fragments are recovered, the Warlord’s bounty will fill your cargo hold.”

A deathly silence fell over the bridge.

The adjutant swallowed hard: "Sir, Lawson is over there."

The Chaos Lord stared intently at the coordinates on the star map that represented the meat grinder.

"No matter how many blessings you receive, you still need to be alive to enjoy them."

The Chaos Lord whirled around. "Full starboard. Go around that hellhole."

The priest waved his mechanical tentacles in dissatisfaction: "This is the warlord's order! You don't have to go, I'm going there in the shuttle!"

"Go ahead, and give my regards to Lawson while you're at it."

The Chaos Lord didn't even glance at him. "Throw him into the launch bay. Fleet, turn around immediately!"

The fleet did not enter the outer monitoring range of the warning star, and even deliberately widened its course, circling half of the star system before leaving.

The second group to detect the fluctuations was a fleet affiliated with the Word Bearers.

The Dark Preacher roared fervently from the altar: "Listen! This is the ultimate trial bestowed upon us by the gods!"

Ten minutes later, the Chaos Lord smashed the preacher's head into his chest cavity with his power scepter.

"That's Lawson's fishing platform, not some damn divine trial. Go away!"

The third group was a remnant of the World Devourers.

They did indeed roar with excitement for five minutes after hearing that the Vigilant Star had a key fragment.

Then an internal battle ensued, and the conclusion was: first, go and slaughter an uninhabited Imperial mining planet, and once you've collected enough skulls, then "consider" facing Lawson.

They also avoided it.

Inside the Vigilant Star Command Center, Lawson looked at the various surveillance reports.

"The seventh one?"

"Yes," T-001 replied, "the seventh disaster formation that took emergency evasive action after detecting the signal. Three others even turned off their radars and blindly jumped into subspace."

"A bunch of cowardly bullies who prey on the weak."

Lawson chuckled and tapped on the star map. "Bring out the Abaddon."

T-001 confirmed: "The Abaddon is undergoing hull cleaning. The raw, fleshy joints of the Black Legion haven't been completely scraped off yet."

"As long as the main gun can be displayed, that's fine."

Lawson stared at the calamity fleet on the star map that had just escaped by detouring. "Use Abaddon's flagship to chase after Vashtor's ships. Remember to put the identification code on the public frequency and set the font size to the maximum."

In the outer orbit of the warning star, a massive black warship began to turn.

Inside the bridge, the Cornerstone crew members occupied the positions that originally belonged to the Chaos slaves.

The Star Trek assassins completed the calculation of the short-range pursuit route.

"Abbotton, set sail."

Inside the bridge of the Ominous Ark.

The Chaos Lord's breath caught in his throat as he watched the massive shadow rapidly approaching on the observation screen.

Even if the paint scheme was altered and the Warlord's Eye was removed, he could still recognize the unparalleled silhouette of the ship.

“My lord…” the adjutant’s voice trembled, “it is the spirit of vengeance.”

"Shut up. That's not the case anymore."

In the public channel, lines of glaring Gothic-style data links were forcibly inserted into the Ark's screen.

[The flagship of the Dark Side Ruler of the Empire: the Abaddon.]

[Illegal modification of a derelict ship ahead. Stop operations immediately.]

Surrender all prohibited goods and wait in line for a physical ritual to be performed.

The adjutant was on the verge of tears: "Sir, the course hasn't been calibrated yet..."

"Lossen's cannon is already slammed into our face! Force warp! Immediately!"

"The ark structure will tear apart!"

"That's better than being torn to pieces by him! Jump!"

A few minutes later, the Catastrophe Fleet, like rats scalded by boiling water, forcibly tore open a rift in the warp and dragged the disintegrating frigate inside.

The USS Abaddon stopped at the edge of the breach and fired three rounds of heavy artillery fire as a perfunctory farewell, smashing two straggling frigates.

Lawson watched the transmitted video and leaned back in his chair, somewhat bored.

"Since no one dares to come, then the rules of the game should be changed."

Lawson looked at the larger star map.

Vigilant Star, Agrippina, Nakmonde Corridor...

And countless assassin anchor points scattered in the shadows.

"Notify all dark-side anchor points to enter Level 2 combat readiness."

"No matter which disaster fleet finds the debris, as long as they dare to land, have the combat formation airdrop over along the anchorage. Loot the goods and leave, and while you're at it, dismantle their ships."