The hall of the Safinius Mining Guild was drowned by the roar of voices. Every guild president and every administrative official were competing to speak at the same time.
The speaker presiding over the meeting slammed the side of the podium several times with his left prosthetic leg before the hall returned to basic order.
"It won't help to panic."
He shouted sharply:
"Maybe there's another explanation for things."
"What other explanation could there be for an Adeptus Astartes warship appearing without warning in our orbit?"
A guild president asked loudly.
"What explanation could make more sense than that the Empire is preparing to launch a massive war on this world?"
The hall was once again noisy under the dome. Ever since the fortune teller antenna detected an unknown ship breaking into the galaxy, the presidents had been called together for an emergency meeting.
When the Astropaths identified it as a Space Marine warship, the meeting devolved into chaos.
"They are the emperor's loyal servants and envoys."
One guild master loudly said:
"Representing supreme authority, we should pay tribute to them accordingly."
"Are you crazy?"
The president who spoke earlier asked back.
"Do you know how much assets everyone will lose every day once our place becomes a battlefield? Not to mention the parts that are destined to be destroyed in the war!"
"But everyone already knows that the mining area is full of monsters."
At this time, the speaker presiding over the meeting suddenly mocked:
"Or do you want to summon the Guards, the local defense force and the mining militia to fight those monsters?"
He looked at the other party with eyes that were almost contemptuous.
"Tell me, which option looks more crazy?"
The other presidents fell silent, realizing the truth contained in these terrible words.
So the Speaker decided to strike while the iron is hot, and he said calmly:
"There is a turning point in this, and we can seize it. Gentlemen of the guild, we must unite and not let Safinius become a battlefield. As long as we show our position and strength, we can solve the underground problem.
Threat, these angels will leave soon."
"Where's the Legal Department?"
Another president spoke. He had been smoking a pipe, shrouding himself in a lingering smoke.
"If the Space Marines support them, there is nothing we can do to stop them."
"It doesn't matter, we still have an ally... the bishop will take over everything."
This sentence made everyone's eyes light up.
"Yeah, I almost forgot about that useless bishop. If it were him, the situation would at least be controllable."
It was raining heavily when the Space Marines arrived.
The downpour of rain washed over the shaft's main landing platform and the surrounding wilderness just outside the edge of the deep underground mining settlement. The rain-soaked shielding layer sizzled and the rocky surface of the platform danced with water.
A giant beast descended from the nearly black sky, with curtains of water hanging down its broad sides. The coat of arms with two crossed swords reflected a moist luster on the gray shell.
When this powerful machine roared and flew overhead, the gathered guild presidents huddled together more and more, shivering in their rain-soaked attire.
The aircraft's afterburner engine whipped the embroidered hems of their robes, pulling a lady's shawl off her shoulders and throwing it into the vast curtain of rain.
When the Thunderhawk finally came to a stop on the platform, the painful howl of the engine finally subsided to a low idling roar.
The dark muzzles of the many weapon systems on board glowed coldly in the rain.
For a moment, everything seemed to have stopped.
Everyone in the guild looked up anxiously, and finally a loud crash made them almost jump.
The Thunderhawk's front hatch began to lower, spraying out a cloud of water mist.
The seven giants came through the water mist, and their armor-clad steps left a rhythmic echo on the plastic steel plate.
The stature of each giant is far beyond that of ordinary people. They are covered in silver-gray battle armor with different shades. The black eyepieces shine in the dazzling lights of the emergency light belt in the landing area.
On various parts of the armor, streamlined etching lines depict patterns of thunderclouds and flames.
The extremely powerful bolters and melee weapons are held in their fist armor. The only thing that is a little reassuring is that the power within them has not yet been activated.
Two columns of seven giants walked through the hatch to the platform, forming a towering human wall in front of the guild presidents.
With the final crash of ceramite? They stood still and let the rain wash away their armor.
For a moment? They remained motionless and silent.
Until one of them took a step forward? His armor was more silver? The thundercloud pattern on it was lifelike, as if destructive power would pour out of it at any time.
The people in the guild cowered before him.
"Who is the planetary governor?"
The giant asked, and the voice came from the arc-shaped grid of the helmet speaker, as if it came from some abyss? The words woven in High Gothic seemed stiff and unusually formal.
No one in the guild responded? And the giant didn’t speak again.
Finally, the head of the planet's Ministry of Interior office couldn't bear the silence and responded humbly:
"The decrees here are all issued by the mining collective meeting, my lord, except for the Emperor of Holy Terra? There is no other leader here."
Saphinius was first used as a planet directly under the Terran government during the Great Crusade. It was managed by the Planetary Governor dispatched by the Imperial Ministry of Interior. However, during the Horus Heresy, the Planetary Governor defected, causing the planet to break away from the Empire.
's embrace.
Although after the rebellion ended, the planet returned to the Empire, but the liberators were not the Imperial Army, but the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Out of concern for the stability of energy supply, the forge world Griffin IV sent troops to restore this mineral-rich planet at the end of the Horus Heresy, and planned to take it into its possession.
Such a decision naturally encountered serious opposition from the Ministry of Interior. After the two sides fought and fought a hundreds of years of legal battles, the final result was that Safinius became a semi-autonomous planet, with personnel jointly dispatched by the Mechanicus and the Ministry of the Interior.
Supervision is carried out, and local production quotas are coordinated by both parties.
This is a mixed solution, but it is undoubtedly the only solution that can resolve the contradiction.
Therefore, the administrative body of Safinius is a parliament jointly formed by the local mining guilds. It is precisely because 98% of the population on the planet are miners, so there is no problem with this system.
For a while, the giant didn't respond.
Later, the guild heard a rattling noise, which some recognized as some kind of internal voice call, transmitting private messages on the Space Marine's helmet communication channel.
Finally, the giant leader spoke again.
"Nice to meet you. I am Soshyan Alexei, Chapter Master of the Astral Knights Chapter. I am here to request assistance from the Ministry of Justice."
Then he took off his helmet, revealing his tough and sacred face, and glanced at everyone.
After hearing his identity, many presidents let out suppressed exclamations, and even their bodies began to tremble involuntarily.
Many people have only one thought in their hearts:
A Chapter Master of the Adeptus Astartes arrived in person, and things seemed to be really serious——