The Sisters of Silence are a singular entity within the Imperium. Daughters of the Emperor and the ultimate bane of all psykers. Over ten millennia, the vast majority of these anti-psychic warriors faded into myth; only a few cadres remained, maintaining a tenuous collaboration with the Inquisition to assist in the collection of the Black Tithe.
It was not until the resurrection of Roboute Guilliman and his return to the Imperium that these heroic warriors were truly welcomed back into the fold. Even so, their numbers are but a shadow of the splendor they possessed during the Great Crusade.
These Blanks do not merely serve the Emperor in life; even in death, their untainted bones possess a potent anti-psychic resonance. These relics can be inlaid into storm shields to provide protection against the foul sorceries of the Warp, or ground into fine dust to be incorporated into specialized anti-psychic munitions. Such rounds can banish a daemon with ease or wither the unnatural strength of Traitor Astartes, proving especially lethal against the Rubric Marines of the Thousand Sons.
Guilliman looked upon the bleached, pale remains and hesitated. Though he desired to grant them a peaceful interment, the current crisis afforded no such luxury.
"Divide these remains equally and distribute them among the Chapters," he commanded. It was a pragmatic, if heavy, decision.
A warrior of the Imperial Fists offered a sharp salute and stepped aside to begin the somber task of gathering the vast quantity of bone. Shortly thereafter, a detachment of Apothecaries from the Imperial Fists arrived on site to survey the remains of the fallen Astartes.
From among the thousands of corpses, they successfully extracted dozens of uncorrupted progenoid glands belonging to various different Chapters. The reason for their preservation was simple: the fallen Sisters of Silence had collapsed atop these loyalists, or their bodies had been shielded beneath the Sisters' remains. Even in death, the Null-effect of the Sisters endured, warding off the corruption of Chaos and allowing the gene-seed within the protected corpses to survive the Warp-tainted environment.
These gene-seeds would be temporarily preserved by the Imperial Fists' Apothecaries before being returned to their respective Chapters, alongside the remains and personal relics of the honored dead.
The reaction of the Adeptus Custodes was far more complex. They remained deeply affronted by the Iron Men's forceful intrusion into the Imperial Palace, yet they felt a profound sense of gratitude toward Axion for returning these heroes of the Imperium. Although the Custodian remains had been stripped of their Auramite plate, the recovery of the bodies was nonetheless a matter of supreme honor for the Ten Thousand.
Understanding the machines' utilitarian perspective, Guilliman turned to the Sapient Machine Automata currently forming ranks to return to their transports.
"Tell me," Guilliman asked, "what price did the Imperium pay for this?"
The automaton did not demur. It gestured toward the discarded racks of Custodian wargear and the power armor under-suits stripped from the remains.
"The Custodes have already settled the collection and transport fees for all remains. All Auramite materials have been properly reclaimed."
Guilliman stared in stunned silence at the Custodians, who were still meticulously identifying their fallen brothers. He eventually gave a mute wave of his hand, signaling the machines to depart posthaste.
Lion El'Jonson watched the Lord Regent standing dazed before the hangar bay and strode forward, clapping a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"These martyrs deserve their glory, Guilliman."
"Ah... yes. Quite right, Lion."
The Lion gave Guilliman a searching, cryptic look but said nothing more. Long accustomed to guarding the Imperium's darkest secrets, he sensed something was amiss with the Primarch of the XIII, but he chose not to pursue it. The remains of his own sons were waiting to be laid to rest, loyalists who had been silent in the darkness of the Webway for nearly ten thousand years.
Simultaneously, Axion was navigating the labyrinthine depths of the Webway, controlling a proxy chassis while clutching the mysterious key. The Machine Legion had scoured this section of the Webway clean, but the detection range of the key remained an unknown variable. The fact that there was only one key severely limited Axion's efficiency.
Because the internal crystalline structure of the key defied analysis, Axion dared not risk letting nanomachines consume it for reconstruction. In a Webway of such staggering complexity, even a single patrol through the surveyed sectors took at least a month.
Furthermore, the original description of the location had been exasperatingly vague: "Deep within the Webway."
Just how deep that meant remained a mystery. For now, Axion could only command the key to be paraded through established zones, watching for any sign of resonance. If nothing triggered, the search would have to push into the lightless, uncharted depths.
As Axion waited, another region on the Imperium Nihilus side of the Great Rift was becoming a flashpoint for multiple powers.
…
The Hexoesis Sector.
The T'au Empire was currently prosecuting its Sixth Sphere Expansion here, while in the nearby Cassandra System, a massive multi-faction conflict was brewing.
At the heart of the Kessandras System lies Volkus, a critical defensive hub. It is a non-standard Imperial Industrial World, boasting a diverse output that ranges from heavy tanks and armored vehicles to combat boots and lasguns.
Volkus is unique because of a weapon of unthinkable scale: the Massif Ballistus. An engineering miracle, its anchors plunge deep into the planetary mantle while its barrels reach into the stratosphere. Because the muzzles are situated in the freezing upper atmosphere, massive electro-thermal generators are required just to prevent the weapon from seizing with ice.
Detailed records of Volkus only go back a millennium, leaving its true origins and architects shrouded in mystery. The twin barrels of the Massif Ballistus can simultaneously fire shells weighing tens of millions of tons, striking targets up to 800,000 kilometers away. The destructive power of these oversized munitions is absolute. A single shot can vaporize a Space Hulk or annihilate an entire Chaos fleet. It is whispered that when Ork raiders attempted to turn Volkus's moon into a staging base, the cannon tore the satellite in half. The resulting gravitational shifts and planetary disasters were stoically accepted as the "Holy Price" of the Emperor's deliverance.
To facilitate their expansion, Commander Shadowsun had deployed significant infiltration forces. Opposing them, Imperial defenders had begun a desperate holding action across the complex industrial landscapes of the planet.
As the fires of war raged, the countdown for the Imperial Tithe continued unabated. The looming arrival of the Inquisition and Adeptus Mechanicus tithe fleets had also drawn the shattered remnants of the Indomitus Crusade Fleet Quartus. This fleet had suffered far more grievously than the Second; following the disaster at the Battle of Malak, Fleet Quartus had been torn asunder by the destruction of the Choral Engine and the subsequent eruption of the Murder Curse. Now, its surviving vessels were limping toward Volkus.
The T'au were waiting for their saboteurs to either destroy or seize the Massif Ballistus before launching a full-scale assault. However, they were not the only ones coming.
Several massive Ork warbands were closing in rapidly. To the Greenskins, the "Great Boom-Boom" of the Massif Ballistus was more desirable than any technology sought by the Earth Caste. In their eyes, the cannon was big, WAAAGH!, and loud, and according to Ork logic, the biggest is always the best. Scrapper-fleets were already vying to join the "festivities."
Meanwhile, in the deepest sub-levels of the world's Hive Cities, Chaos Cults and Genestealer Cults had already descended into a hidden, bloody war for the shadows.