An old model Destroyer burst out of the Warp.
Although fragments were peeling off the hull from the long journey, and the portholes, which they couldn't afford to replace, were crudely welded shut with steel plates.
But looking at the world before them, the believers on board erupted in cheers of survival.
In the distance was a massive dead world, its colossal body blocking the star and casting a vast shadow across the void.
The planet rotated slowly, gradually revealing the light of the star behind it; then, as the shadow receded, a massive fleet slowly came into view.
Along with them, at the center of the fleet, was a super-giant ship bathed in light, its towering form steadily revealing itself.
The believers inside the Destroyer cheered even more fanatically at the sight of this giant ship, so much so that the tremors of their own vessel, which felt like it could disintegrate at any moment, no longer seemed important.
Then, a Transport flew out from the fleet, merging like a tiny speck of light into the Destroyer the believers had pooled their money to buy, guiding them to join Sith's procession toward Terra.
Amidst the roar of engines, the giant ship in the distance, with a sculpture of Sith mounted directly on its spine, gradually eclipsed the galaxy in the eyes of the believers as they prostrated themselves in continuous, pious worship.
At the peak of the orac, the very top of the Flying Cathedral.
It lacked the bustling activity of the crowded crews and soldiers in the lower decks.
As Sith's private quarters, it was located at the highest point of the entire ship, surrounded by a single, floor-to-ceiling panoramic window.
No lights were on; the magnificent starlight of the galaxy outside shone upon Sith's massive desk, which faced the window.
It also elongated the silhouette of Sith, who was working quietly in the silence.
The rustling of a pen across paper echoed softly, accompanied by the splendor of the galaxy.
"Lower the resource supply of the Flagship by another level. The supplies saved should be prioritized for the ships with the strongest combat capabilities."
The rustling finally stopped. In the silence, Sith put away his pen and gazed out the window at the Destroyer whose crew was constantly prostrating and excitedly joining his fleet. After a moment of silence, he spoke.
Behind him in the darkness, Van Roth lowered his head and sighed silently before cautiously stepping forward to take the document Sith had just signed from the desk, then quietly departed.
He turned and handed it to a member of the Blackwatch, watching as the Blackwatch guard turned to leave and delivered the document to the many captains, logistics officers, Commanders, and even Astartes Captains waiting densely in the corridor.
The door closed again, once more shutting out the brief anxiety from the corridor.
Sith sat behind his desk, silently gazing at the deep galaxy ahead. During the brief pause, Van Roth, behind him, steeled himself and took the opportunity to speak:
"The food won't last much longer, but compared to food, the promethium required for the fleet's navigation is even more scarce."
"I fear that the several supply points further along our route will be just like the world before us."
"By the time we arrive, nothing will be left for us but ruins after an extinction."
As Van Roth spoke, he looked at the dead planet outside Sith's window. In reality, on Sith's star chart, this was supposed to be a prosperous Hive City world.
It was supposed to provide ample supplies and the equipment his new recruits desperately needed.
But when Sith arrived, even though it was still far from the Segmentum Solar, what awaited him were ruins that had been extinct for who knows how many years.
Yet on Sith's star map, this world was still marked by the Department of Internal Affairs as a bustling Hive City world.
In the most recent records, the Tax Department had even collected taxes here!
Looking at the cold ruins below, Sith wondered which other unlucky planet had been forced to bear a double tax burden.
Van Roth's words added a layer of heaviness to the already quiet room.
Even the orac's servo-skull huddled obediently in a corner, not even daring to show the red light of its bionic eye.
Sith remained with his back to the others, followed by a long silence unlike any before.
Because this time, Sith was truly at his wit's end!
A hundredfold increase couldn't turn one grain of rice into a hundred. If it really happened suddenly, Sith's first reaction wouldn't be that his ability was amazing, but that that old fellow Tzeentch was up to some new wicked trick!
Thus, inside Sith's room, even Van Roth sensed Sith's helplessness.
Sighing in resignation, Van Roth was about to grit his teeth and leave to continue toward the next supply point according to the Department of Internal Affairs's star chart, when a projector in a quiet corner, directly linked to the bridge, suddenly lit up.
And within the projection was a Tau Empire stealth ship, detected from afar before it could even get close.
Sith finally reacted. He turned and stared blankly at the Tau Empire ship in the projection, strutting about as if streaking right under his guns. His eyes, which had been downcast due to the supply shortage, gradually lit up with...
Green light.
Sith hadn't mutated into a Necron; he was just'starving mad'!
The presence of the Tau Empire stealth ship was quickly detected by the orac and relayed to all the surrounding fleets.
Thus, facing this group of xenos charging in without a care, almost every ship under Sith's command aimed its guns at them.
The only one that didn't move was, ironically, the orac.
It wasn't that the orac couldn't reach from the back, but rather that Sith was terrified he would blast these Tau Commanders into atomic particles with a single shot.
Looking at the Imperium's dense array of gun muzzles and the various frigates, Destroyers, and even Cruisers beginning to move into an encircling formation, the most bewildered party wasn't Sith's side—who were wondering why the xenos were on a suicide mission—but the Tau Empire, who felt like they were being surrounded.
Inside the state-of-the-art stealth ship, the Fire Caste Commander watched the human fleet gradually closing in outside the bridge.
Finally, after frowning and hesitating for a long time, he summoned the courage to look at the Earth Caste scientist on the other side, who had solemnly guaranteed that their stealth technology was flawless.
"Why do I feel like..."
"...those daemons across from us are aiming right at us!"
The Fire Caste Commander's words didn't draw a fierce rebuttal from the Earth Caste. On the contrary, the Earth Caste scientist stared blankly at the panel in front of him, and after repeatedly confirming several core parameters, he looked up with eyes full of confusion.
Then, seeing the shutters being removed in the distance and the Macro Cannon muzzles being fully pushed out, the Earth Caste scientist swallowed hard.
"No need to feel. They..."
"...are definitely aiming at us."
Fire Caste: "???"
Because they had surrounded the enemy without any obstacles and had Sith's personal orders, almost no heavy firepower was deployed in the bombardment; instead, light Macro Cannons were primarily used.
Even so, the Tau Empire's nanomaterial ship was battered until large sections of the hull cracked and broke apart.
Ship debris flew through the void in every direction, along with the terrified Tau Empire crew members.
Compared to the Imperium of Man's 'ferocious' firepower, an even more despair-inducing sight for the Tau Empire was watching a Transport shimmering with black lightning fly over arrogantly, right through their ship's point-defense fire.
To the point that when the Fire Caste and Earth Caste on the bridge saw this, they stared blankly at the tiny silhouette, then blankly at their own thick point-defense batteries.
After a long pause, they spoke in shock and doubt:
"Has the gap between us and the daemons already grown so large..."
"...that a warship can't even shoot down a Transport?!"
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