Warhammer: The Worst Start There Is (40k) - Chapter 16: Plague Marines

They were going to cleanse every planet of Ultramar, then radiate towards the other star domains of the Imperium, saving humanity from its continuous descent into the abyss, preventing the fate of the Imperium of Man from collapsing.

Countless war engines were activated amid the prayers of the Tech-Priest, trailing huge flames as they departed from the starport, sailing into the starry sky.

One after another, the Gellar Field of the warships were activated, their massive hulls enveloped in a faint halo.

The Gellar Field was one of the crucial technologies that allowed humans to traverse Warp effectively.

This field effectively prevented the Imperium’s ships from being corroded by the surrounding Warp enemy, and it also stopped the attacks of those lifeless beings hidden beneath the Warp tide.

The awakening of Guilliman and its insane declaration of war had long attracted the attention of the Chaos Gods.

That a human, even if they are a Primarch, had dared to declare war against them was an unforgivable slight against them.

Their response was equally straightforward.

The Immaterium boiled with the anger of the gods, and the violent ether sea raised storm waves like never before.

The sea rolled, roared, and the storms of destruction incessantly assaulted them.

Arrogance turned into surging whirlpools. Fury and desire merged into a frenzied storm, despair transformed into steep straits, and countless ravenous Daemons hid on the sheer cliffs.

They waited for any flaws to be exposed by the Imperium’s ships, thus launching their attacks.

The bound navigators were immersed in nutrient fluid, their arms and heads connected to the ship’s mechanical equipment by cables.

They used all their strength to peer into the path of the Warp currents with their third eye, directing the ship’s navigation.

Navigators were a special existence with a history spanning thousands of years.

When humans ventured into the stars and began colonizing the planets of the galaxy, navigators appeared in the human world.

During that golden age, some humans who first came into contact with Warp underwent subtle genetic mutations.

They became exceptionally sensitive to the flow of energy in Warp, capable of providing effective guidance and navigation for spaceships during Warp travel.

These individuals were transformed and optimized to become navigators.

Navigators possessed a third eye, either implanted or born as a natural mutation.

The third eye could view the flow of Warp energy in Warp, discern directions, and, most importantly, see the light of the Astronomican.

The Astronomican served as a vital beacon for the Imperium’s Warp navigation, built by the Emperor during the Great Crusade and currently maintained by the Astronomican Court.

Fleet navigation was extremely perilous, even with mental preparation. However, when facing Warp storms, Guilliman still felt a sense of dread.

The light of the Astronomican was almost imperceptible, becoming very faint. Navigators had to expend more effort to discern the route.

Imperium ships could no longer linger in Warp for extended periods as they had in the past; they had to jump out of Warp periodically.

Thanks to the Tech-Priest’s maintenance, the Gellar Field of every ship in the fleet was running smoothly.

Without the Gellar Field, when in the Warp, the humans are no different than prey to the Daemons and other Warp monstrosities.

“It seems we must find a way to quell the Warp storms,” Guilliman said, looking at the data tablet in his hand. His brow furrowed, realizing that the Warp storms were more severe than he had anticipated.

Either they had to find a way to calm the Warp storms or enhance the Imperium’s ships to withstand them.

If they couldn’t achieve these two goals, the idea of countering the gods would be nothing more than a joke.

Daemons and traitors had no need to worry about the effects of Warp storms, while the Imperium of Man faced immense challenges. It was clear that victory for the Imperium would be hard-won.

Guilliman contemplated where he could find the necessary items and technology to ensure the precise and accurate navigation of the Imperial fleet.

Footsteps echoed as a young man in a robe, his eyes entirely white, entered the Primarch’s exclusive room.

“Sir.”

Though the young man’s eyes were blind, he effortlessly located Guilliman’s presence and respectfully greeted him.

“Roshan, is there something you need?” Guilliman interrupted his contemplation and looked at the young man who had entered.

He paid no mind to the pure white irises of the young man; such white irises were not uncommon.

The eyes of Astropaths were essentially like this; in simple terms, they were blind, but they possessed a spiritual eye that could replace the function of regular eyes.

The Imperium’s faster-than-light travel relied on the Warp, and interstellar FTL communication also naturally depended on Warp.

The distances between star systems were incredibly vast, often spanning dozens or hundreds of light-years.

Conventional communication methods were severely lagging and couldn’t meet the Imperium’s needs.

Communication using the warp was an inevitable development.

Astropaths played a crucial role in the Imperium’s ability to transmit messages through Warp.

In every star sector, subsector, and star domain, Astropath fortresses were established to collect and relay information.

Astropaths would convert the information they needed to send into thought dreams. They would then use their psyker abilities to transmit these dreams into Warp, crossing the galaxy to deliver them to other Astropaths.

Communication between Astropaths was not in written text but in thought dreams.

The receiving Astropath had to describe everything within the dream and then decode it to obtain the information.

To enhance this form of transmission and ensure it wasn’t tampered with by certain entities in Warp, Astropath fortresses often formed Astropath Choirs to boost transmission power, ensuring the Imperium received their messages.

All Astropath fortresses and active Astropaths within various fleets fell under the jurisdiction of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica of Terra, which periodically supplied Astropaths to each fortress.

All Astropaths underwent a special process to shape their abilities: the Soul-Binding Ritual.

At regular intervals, the Adeptus Astra Telepathica would send pre-selected psykers to the Imperial Palace.

These psykers would be purified by the Emperor’s power, enabling them to maintain their sanity in Warp despite the prying and whispers of Warp Daemons, ensuring they wouldn’t be corrupted or devoured.

However, the Soul-Binding Ritual came with risks. Due to the Emperor’s powerful will and physic abilities, ordinary psykers were incapable of directly facing the Emperor’s presence in Warp. This often led to damage to their visual organs, resulting in blindness.

In more unfortunate cases, their sense of smell and hearing could also be lost.

Roshan was relatively lucky; he hadn’t lost everything, only his sight.

“New information, sir. A plea for help from the Sara System has arrived. The forces of chaos are still rampant there, and the local garrison claims to be under attack by Plague Marines.”

“Plague Marines?”

Guilliman furrowed his brow slightly but quickly relaxed and made arrangements.

“Let the fleet continue advancing towards the Industrial World – Connaught. I will lead a small team to handle this matter.”

“Sir, isn’t this a bit inappropriate? You shouldn’t risk yourself. Perhaps you can order a few captains to handle this task.”

Roshan spoke up, advising Guilliman not to go personally but to delegate the mission to others.

“No place is absolutely safe. Danger is what a Primarch needs to face. I need some achievements to stabilize the hearts of the Imperial citizens. Even a minor victory will be interpreted by those who thirst for victory as the Imperium fighting back, and chaos failing. Do you understand, Roshan? As of right now, They are too afraid; I need to bring them victories to bring back their confidence.”

Guilliman looked at Roshan standing before him and smiled.

“But I still don’t think it’s a good idea. My lord, you’re simply too important. If something happens, who will guide the Imperium?”

“I am not a mere figurehead. I am a Primarch with great power. I was created to help the Imperium of Man to win their wars, not to be placed on a shelf as a mascot. Our conversation ends here. I hope you can return to your post, continue collecting information from the Warp. I look forward to the next piece of information you bring.”

“Yes sir.”

“Very well, go. And by the way, have Sycarius at the door come in. I have something to discuss with him.”

Roshan once again saluted and left. He understood that once a Primarch made a decision, it was unshakable. He could offer advice, but it was only advice.

The authority of a Primarch was unassailable. After hearing Guilliman’s words, Roshan obediently left and let Sycarius in to meet with the Primarch.