Warhammer: Empire Reboot

Source: Deathwatch Combat Company, under the Imperial Inquisition.

Vehicle: Deathwatch Stealth Frigate, Ominous Signal.

Signal type: Emergency loss of contact warning.

Lawson reviewed the complete intelligence package.

The Death Signal is a standard stealth warship of the Death Watch. It is not large in tonnage and has average firepower, but it is equipped with the Empire's most advanced stealth force field generator and electronic jamming system.

Its mission is not direct combat, but to carry out reconnaissance, infiltration, and assassination missions deep within alien-controlled areas.

These types of warships are special assets in the Imperial Navy's organization, few in number, and each one is priceless.

The communications indicated that the culprit was on a reconnaissance mission deep into alien space.

The target area is located outside the Empire's territory, marked on the star map as the "Viola System," and belongs to the peripheral colonies of the Tau Empire.

The Tau Empire, an alien civilization on the eastern edge of the Milky Way.

A young race with blue skin, who believe in the "Way of the Highest Good," and are skilled in long-range firepower and armor technology. In the Empire's official designation, the Tau Empire is a "heretical force to be eliminated." But in reality, the Empire maintains a delicate, unspoken, and tacit understanding with the Tau Empire on its eastern frontier, with both sides facing more dangerous enemies and not having the energy to eliminate each other for the time being.

The situation in the Viola galaxy is even more unique.

According to intelligence gathered through cross-referencing using swarm intelligence, this star system belongs to the sphere of influence of the Tau Empire's most legendary military commander, the visionary commander Oshova.

This Tau war hero left the Tau Empire several hundred years ago due to ideological differences, and led a group of followers to establish an independent colonial enclave in the gray area between the Empire and the Tau Empire, known as the "Vision Enclave".

The relationship between the Vision Enclave and the Tau Empire is extremely complex. Nominally, they are rebels, but in reality, the Tau Empire has an ambiguous attitude towards them, wanting to recruit them while also being wary of their military strength.

The visionary commander himself is an even greater mystery. It is said that he wields an ancient sword of unknown origin, has a lifespan far exceeding the normal limits of the Tau, and has never been defeated in hundreds of years of war.

What is the ominous signal going there for?

Lawson reviewed the mission briefing that Deathwatch had submitted to the Inquisition.

Mission codename: "Gray Shadow".

Mission Objective: Reconnoiter alien military deployments in the Viola system, assess the threat level of the Vision Enclave to the Imperial eastern frontier, and, if the opportunity arises, assassinate high-value targets.

A standard Deathwatch mission; the Empire's reconnaissance of the Tau has never ceased.

After arriving in the Viola system, the ominous signal activated its full-power cloaking field and infiltrated the galaxy's interior.

Then things started to get interesting.

The last battlefield situation report transmitted by the deadly signal showed:

When it arrived in the Viola system, it discovered that a large-scale three-way war was breaking out inside the galaxy.

The first force consists of the regular army of the Tau Empire. The fleet and ground troops of the Visionary Enclave are engaged in a full-scale battle against the invaders.

The battlefield situation report mentioned numerous iconic Tau armor pieces: the Crisis Armor, the Tide Armor, the Light Lance Destroyer, and the Ion Cannon Array. The Foresight Commander himself did not appear on the battlefield, but his elite armored forces were executing a highly effective layered defensive tactic.

The second force was the Orcs. A sizable Orcish WAAAGH fleet, from an unknown direction, entered the Viola system and clashed head-on with the Tau. The Orcish fleet consisted of about thirty warships of various types and several hundred small assault boats, with a ground force exceeding five million. This was a typical medium-sized WAAAGH, considered mere harassment by the Imperium, but posed a serious threat to the Tau colonies.

The third party is chaos.

The killer signal's sensors detected energy signatures from subspace rifts at the edge of the battlefield.

An ominous ark emerged from the subspace and cut into the outer orbit of the Viola system.

The commander of the Ark has been identified as Ugalax the Soul Eater, a high-ranking demonic entity loyal to Khorne, and is marked as "extremely dangerous" in the Empire's threat database.

A three-way battle ensues between the Tau, the Orcs, and the Demon Prince.

The captain of the Ominous Signal made a reasonable judgment: to remain hidden and observe, wait for the three parties to wear each other down, and look for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack on a lone, high-value target.

The battlefield situation report ends here.

The alarm signal has been lost.

The way they lost contact was very sudden.

By tracing back the last data packet from the cornerstone communication node, swarm intelligence precisely reconstructed the timeline of the communication loss...

The communication signal switched from normal to complete interruption within 0.03 seconds.

In an instant, it went from full to zero.

This means that the Cornerstone Sequence assassins responsible for communications on the ship were physically eliminated within 0.03 seconds.

Lawson's eyes narrowed slightly.

The ominous signal is a stealth warship.

Protected by a full-power stealth field, it is almost transparent to external observers.

The Tau's sensors, the Orcs' detection equipment, and even the demonic radar of the Ominous Ark would have difficulty detecting it from a distance.

The core sequence assassins remain inside the ship, enveloped by an invisible force field, making it impossible for external forces to pinpoint their location and kill them instantly.

There is only one conclusion.

The attack originated from within.

There is a traitor on the ominous signal.

Lawson snorted coldly.

The Deathwatch are the elite armed forces of the Imperial Inquisition, whose members are drawn from various Space Marine Chapters and are theoretically all loyal warriors who have undergone rigorous selection.

But the phrase "in theory" has been proven wrong far too many times throughout the empire's millennia-long history.

Alpha Legion's infiltration, Chaos's corruption, and Tzeentch's long-term strategy—any one of these could plant a time bomb within Deathwatch.

The traitor acted immediately after the ominous signal entered the war zone, eliminating the communication node and Lawson's cornerstone assassins.

This indicates that the traitor knew the special identity and communication capabilities of this cornerstone assassin and had been plotting this for a long time.

The current status of the alarm signal is unknown.

It may be under the control of a traitor, it may have crashed, or it may have fallen into the hands of one of the three parties.

Lawson closed the intelligence package and thought for a few seconds.

The ominous signal itself was not his main concern.

A stealth frigate is not a strategic loss in the Imperial Navy's assets.

Although the Deathwatch combat company on the ship was elite, it was not worth Lawson personally taking action against.

What truly interested him was the Ominous Ark.

Where the Ominous Ark appears, there will always be key fragments.

Vashtor's treasure-hunting radar won't be aimless.

The fact that the Demon Prince Ugalax arrived in Tau Empire territory with an ark indicates that the Viola system holds what Vashtor needs.

For every additional piece that Lawson takes, it means that Vastor is one step further away from becoming a god, while Lawson is one step closer to understanding the true purpose of these fragments.

Moreover, in the Viola system, there are also the Tau, the Orcs, and a Demon Prince tearing each other apart.

The three-way battle, coupled with the Deathwatch warship harboring an internal traitor, creates an extremely chaotic situation—precisely the kind of chessboard that Lawson excels at manipulating.

You can only catch fish in troubled waters.

Lawson gave the order.

The swarm network instantly transmitted the command to the fleet nodes on the eastern edge of the Empire's dark side.

The closest mixed fleet to the Viola system, consisting of two Luna-class cruisers, four Sword-class frigates, and a transport ship fully loaded with combat units, immediately changed course and moved toward the target system.

Lordson led the two great demons into the static field, traversing thousands of light-years within the light barrier.

A second later, he stood in the main seat of the Vigilant Star Domination Court.

The familiar skyline of the city unfolds outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The Imperial fleet formations on orbit were conducting routine patrols, everything was calm and normal.

Lawson pulled up a detailed star map of the Viola system.

This was the first time he had extended his reach into the territories of foreign tribes beyond the borders of the empire.

All previous actions—reclaiming the lost worlds, eradicating Chaos, raiding the Great Vortex, and forcing the Eldar to submit—were carried out within the sphere of influence of the Empire.

Viola is a new chessboard.

On the chessboard are four factions: the Tau regular army, the orc WAAAGH, the Demon Prince's Omen Ark, and a Deathwatch stealth warship whose whereabouts are unknown.

Five parties, if you include Lawson himself who is about to enter the scene.

Qianxian tilted her head curiously to look at the unfamiliar markings on the star map.

"The Tau? You mean those little blue-skinned people? I've heard they have incredible firepower, but they're as weak in close combat as newborn human babies."

Never underestimate anyone.

Lawson's gaze did not leave the star map. "The Foresight Commander is a legendary figure among the Tau. His armored forces have fought against Imperial Space Marines on the Eastern Frontier, and the battle was evenly matched."

"First, we need to find that missing Deathwatch warship. My men died on it, and we need to settle that score."

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Chapter 232 My two soldiers are missing here. Has any of you seen them?

Viola Galaxy, the flagship of Dawn Shield, the command center of the far-sighted enclave.

O'Showa looked at the burning planet in the projection.

By titanium group standards, O'Shaughnesser's lifespan has long exceeded normal limits.

The natural lifespan of the titanium group is about forty standard Earth years, and even with the support of the most advanced medical technology, very few people can live past sixty years old.

O'Showa lived for over three hundred years.

The Empire's Inquisition suspects he used some kind of alien life-extending technology.

The native Aetherians of the Tau Empire believe he has been corrupted by evil forces, a fact he has never explained.

Three hundred years have left their mark on him.

His left shoulder and below were entirely prosthetic, which was shattered by a powered punch during a battle with Imperial Space Marines and replaced with a Tau prosthetic.

He had an old scar on the right side of his face, running from his temple to his jaw, a souvenir left by the orc warlord's cleaver.