Chapter 292: Joint Exploration of the Space Hulk with the 18th Legion

827. M30, Islington System.

The company of Kirkland, Company Captain of the Second Company of the 11th Chapter, the "Order Shadow," together with Cassian Vaughn's 18th Legion, were ordered to resolve a space hulk.

On the bridge of the Heavy Battleship Vostonia Shield, Kirkland opened his mouth to issue an order.

"Open the protective shutters; I want to see the hulk with my own eyes first."

"Before we begin focusing on the details of the space hulk, let me first feel the battlefield with the gift bestowed upon me by my Gene-Father."

The voices of the servitors rang out in unison. "As you command."

The motors hummed, the shutters on both sides of the window rose, and the bridge was instantly flooded with blinding orange light.

Kirkland narrowed his eyes: "Dim the windows, ninety-seven percent."

Under the silent command of the servitors, the Machine Spirit exerted influence on the glass, causing it to darken.

Kirkland's eyes widened; a bright orange sun occupied most of his field of vision.

The ship was close enough that those on board could see flares erupting from its roiling surface.

Islington's star was so violent that of the eleven planets in the system, only four had a combined total of less than five million people struggling to survive.

"The hulk will pass between our orbit and the star very soon, Captain," the shipmaster reported.

"Ten..." a servant began to count down, "... three, two, one."

"I see it." Kirkland saw a massive black shadow sliding across the surface of the star.

"Display the view on the main star map table, compensate for the stellar brightness," Kirkland ordered.

"Yes, my Captain," the shipmaster replied, operating the console in front of him to relay the order to the relevant officers.

The bridge rang with the mechanical, robotic sound of "As you command."

The star map table flickered, and a holographic image of the space hulk formed before the Command Throne.

Kirkland walked to the star map table and looked at the space hulk, which was much larger than the battleship and covered most of the Islington sun.

It was formed by ships and cosmic debris piled up in the tides of the void, like an art deco ornament shattered upon hitting the ground.

Kirkland raised his left arm, his gauntlet sliding over the confusing, cluttered surface.

Aircraft cabins, Void Ship turrets, crushed freighters, the streamlined hulls of Xenos ships, pockmarked half-mountain asteroids, and icy pillars of comets were pieced together in a chaotic mess.

The materials constituting the hulk came from many races of the physical universe, but what fused them together was the Warp, which cared nothing for the laws of physics.

The shipmaster held a Data Slate and walked to the side of the star map table.

"The Auger Matrix Master reports the mass of the space hulk is approximately 25.84 trillion tons, albedo 0.96, gravitational displacement..."

"Best estimate, it is composed of 136 ships."

"The Auger Matrix Master reports there are several unstable radioactive sources inside the hulk; deep-probe scanning is impossible."

Kirkland withdrew his hand and looked at the young Lexicanum wearing a psychic hood to the side.

"Nicholas, what have you discovered?"

"Psychic readings are stable; there is no abnormal activity," the young Librarian said.

"Then, I hope you can coordinate with the Techmarine to find a permanent home for the space hulk in Islington," Kirkland said.

The time the space hulk would linger in the real world could not be determined.

"Father, I hope that after recovering valuable assets, the remainder can serve as a training base for the Legion."

"Training recruits in complex environments will be beneficial for improving their adaptability."

Kirkland spoke, emphasizing the Primarch's order.

"The time a hulk stays in a system is usually not long, generally five to ten days, and then it will leave," Nicholas said.

"The 18th Legion has always been responsible for dealing with space hulks appearing throughout the Imperium; their Librarians and Techmarines are highly experienced in this regard."

"They follow the trails of infested planets and use astrometric data to successfully predict the time of a space hulk's arrival in the Islington system."

"I have already communicated with their Chief Librarian; he and the Forge Master will provide me with assistance to complete Father's order."

Kirkland recalled the Gene-Father's order and issued a command to the Sound Array Master through his comms headset.

"Send a communication message to the 18th Legion, requesting to establish a communication link."

One stellar hour later, a heavy landing craft.

Acefeld wore green-painted Mark I Thunder power armor; his helmet was strange, a pig-snout helmet decorated with many emerald sensor eyes.

The insect-like appearance was bizarre, unsuitable for humans to wear, and even less suitable for combat.

As a veteran of the 18th Legion, Acefeld was the most experienced Warrior in the field of exploring space hulks; he held the honor of being in the first wave to board a hulk three times.

"Company Captain brother, close your visors," Acefeld's gravelly voice rang out on the squad channel, and he subsequently explained.

"The space hulk is close to the star; the scorching light will damage your eyes."

Kirkland immediately issued orders to the Order Shadows; the warriors of the Second Company of the 11th Chapter approached the space hulk under Acefeld's command.

Acefeld chose a human warship of unknown age, secured himself to the surface of the warship with magnetic locks, and cut with a chainfist.

There was no sound in the vacuum, no roar of the chainsword, only sparks flying in space.

A Techmarine from the 11th Chapter, wearing a full set of servo-harnesses, knelt five meters away from him, a plasma torch burning at the end of his extra mechanical arm.

Three minutes after the visor timer started, they outlined a hole large enough.

Acefeld let out a breath and said on the squad's communication channel: "Based on my experience, reserving enough space for two Astartes to pass through is a simple and effective means to increase the survival rate when accidents occur."

Kirkland keenly sensed the sorrow in the veteran's tone; he had clearly experienced much, and the dangers of a space hulk would be no less than a battlefield.

The Second Company Captain issued an order in the company channel in High Gothic: "Everyone, stay alert; I do not want you to lose your lives due to stupidity."

Acefeld entered the communication channel due to the Second Company Captain's temporary authorization and heard Kirkland issue the order.

He looked at Kirkland with appreciation and then issued an order to the servitors he had brought.

Two servitors in vacuum suits carefully took out a cylindrical device and activated the runes.

Pistons descended from the assembly, revealing an access port, screen, and keyboard on the top.

He explained to everyone: "Because space hulks spend a long time in the Warp, coupled with stellar interference and various other conditions, standard Auspex detection is ineffective."

"This is a Seismic Detector; by collecting vibration data, it can form an accurate map of the space hulk."

After Acefeld uploaded the space hulk map to the tactical network, Kirkland took his honor guard and followed him into the inner hull.

Magnetic locks secured their boots to the deck, and they walked tentatively for a dozen steps, adapting to the environment of the space hulk.

Kirkland knew from the display in his eyepiece that the gravitational field was below 0.016G.

Walking through a corridor, Kirkland suddenly sensed a creature approaching, and Acefeld's raspy voice sounded in the vox-channel.

"Threat target approaching."

Kirkland aimed his Bolter Pistol toward the direction of the threat icon marked by Acefeld, and a second later, he saw the direction of the target clearly.

It was a bizarre creature; its upper body was shaped like a brown cheetah, and its lower body consisted of eight spider legs.

The spider legs slid strangely across the deck, allowing it to run with great speed.

The moment Kirkland saw it, he pulled the trigger, and the bolter round he fired hit at the same time as Acefeld's.

In silence, the cheetah-spider-legged creature fell onto the deck.

"Swift reaction." Acefeld's strange helmet saw Kirkland and himself move simultaneously, and the Order Shadows behind them were only a split second slower.

After his surprise, he concluded that it was because they were well-trained and quick to react.

The team continued forward and walked through another corridor.

Kirkland suddenly raised his Bolter Pistol and pulled the trigger repeatedly.

His honor guard was only a split second slower, but Acefeld did not react at all.

It was not until the Monster was blown to pieces that he reacted.

"I forgot, the Order Shadows possess keen perception."

"That is a gift bestowed upon us by the Gene-Father." Kirkland walked to the monster's remains and leaned down to examine them.

Acefeld also walked over; he looked at the countless centipede-like slender legs beneath the cheetah body's abdomen and explained.

"The Emperor told us that there is no life in the Warp."

"But ships that intrude into it may carry creatures from various worlds, and they undergo mutations under the influence of the Warp's Distortion."

"This kind of mutation has granted it more stealthy physiological functions than the previous type of mutated creature."

He shrugged: "The helmet I am wearing is a custom model I requested from a Techmarine based on experience."

"But clearly, it is not as keen as your perception."

"The Order Shadows are suited for exploring space hulks; you only need a short time to adapt, and you will become veterans of all kinds."

(End of chapter)