Chapter 1631 Arrival at the Maelstrom
“Huh, after more than a year of walking, we finally arrived at the Maelstrom.”
Looking at the distant and slowly moving red nebula outside the observation window Group, Soshyan clenched his fists subconsciously.
The fleet is now at the edge of the Kliman Drift Zone, which means they have officially entered the strange area called the Great Whirlpool. After that, the fleet will go straight to the Sagan Galaxy.
The Maelstrom, the area connected to the Empire's territory is often called the Maelstrom, and the Ministry of the Interior has given it a lengthy administrative name, calling it the "Imperial Resource Exploitation Network 004-357" "Whirlpool Autonomous Region" is located in the area close to the Silver Core in the Extreme Star Territory.
Like the Eye of Terror, it is an ancient rift in the Warp, but unlike the Eye of Terror, which was created when the Chaos God Slaanesh was born, the Maelstrom is, as far as Imperial scholars can determine, a natural phenomenon.
Just like using physical means to observe the center of the maelstrom, you will find that it is dark because all the light is involved in the subspace, where the material and non-material worlds intersect, and if you are not careful, you will fall out of it. Reality falls into the void, or returns again.
But the area around the Great Whirlpool is visible because it is located near a straight line between the core of the Galaxy and Terra, and is an area with the densest stellar mass, so the outer spin covers hundreds of light years. If you just look at the outline of its outer region, you will find that it is a huge, slowly rotating gyration, made up of a mixture of nebulae, dust and stellar matter, although countless stars and worlds in it have long since disappeared.
Although the turmoil and unpredictable warp storms are enough to render any star map worthless and any conquest or even patrol an impossible task, it is still larger than has been recorded Most other Warp storms are much more stable, and there is evidence that they existed before humans evolved.
However, although it is stable, it is not a static existence. As time goes by, the size and turbulence of the vortex will fluctuate periodically, and the last position cannot be found through any internal position. , this is also what Baiscar told Soshiyang very carefully.
Over the centuries, many scholars and explorers tried to find a pattern to the chaotic fluctuations of the Maelstrom, but most went mad or lost themselves, and the few who left discernible records often attributed its patterns to Compare it to the intermittent sleep breathing of the gods, or the electroencephalogram of a nightmare tearing at the brain.
But this does not affect the importance of the Maelstrom. As early as during the Great Crusade, the Emperor sent troops to try to penetrate the Maelstrom and remove the evil forces hidden in it. At the same time, the wealth in the Maelstrom would also be transferred to each other. Human explorers and trading fleets were attracted to the Maelstrom.
With the unremitting efforts of many explorers and expedition teams, part of the Great Whirlpool was discovered in the middle of the Great Crusade. It turns out that humans also tried to colonize here in the early days. There is a lot of evidence that humans in the Golden Age once existed in the area.
Similarly, the Maelstrom Zone also has a large number of enemies. They come in various and disgusting forms. In the early battles of the Great Crusade, hundreds of battleships and troops were sacrificed here. As the galaxy The other regions were reconquered, and the Emperor declared the region cleansed.
In the years following the Horus Heresy, Primarch Guilliman of the Ultramarines Legion believed that the Maelstrom posed too great a threat to the stability of the scarred Imperium and that its dangers could not be ignored , and subsequently ordered the surrounding area to be reinforced to contain any possible attack from within.
Over time, the Empire slowly established several important Imperial outposts within the Maelstrom during the 38th and 39th Millennium. These outposts became increasingly prominent as a beacon of Imperial influence in the region, as well as a swaying beacon of defensive power. .
Three of the important star systems formed a distant trade chain, allowing the resources and wealth of the Maelstrom area to continuously flow into the empire's treasury. These three star systems are Siniax, Sars Gan and Badab.
When time entered the 41st millennium, the forces of Chaos became more and more active, especially the Word Bearers warband who repeatedly summoned demons to attack the imperial world, and the situation in the Maelstrom became increasingly unstable. , causing this space to almost become a paradise for pirates, criminals and traitors, and also making the empire's most important commercial route increasingly threatened.
Especially in 557.M41, after the destruction of Signax, the empire’s most important military town in the Maelstrom region, the Empire’s control over the northern Maelstrom region quickly collapsed. Without Signax, Combined with other losses in the region over the past few centuries, vital Imperial military supply chains extending to Bakkar and Terra were threatened, forcing the High Lords Council of Terra to take action.
587.M41, under the order of the High Lord, the Maelstrom Guardian Alliance headed by Star Claw was established.
These include the Lamenters Chapter, the Tomb Guards Chapter, and the Mantis Warriors Chapter.
“Originally I thought this was our place of glory in the past, but in the end it became our place of curse.”
A low voice made Soshiyang turn around, Then he saw Malakin slowly walking over, and suddenly he remembered that he had indeed invited him to the flagship before. Because he wanted to know some of the internal details of the Maelstrom Guardian.
“Brother Malakim.”
Malakin walked to Soshyan and looked at the Kliman drifting zone with some nostalgia in his eyes.
“I separated from the recruit company in 647.M41, officially joined the Sixth Company, and happened to participate in the Natural Disaster Battle.”
“The Natural Disaster Battle?”
“This is A campaign launched by the Alliance against several demonic worlds entrenched by the forces of Chaos at the core of the Maelstrom. The main target was actually Galmyk, a world occupied by the Word Bearers. This world had already become the Word Bearers before the end of the Horus Heresy. A lair where they are constantly launching attacks on the empire."
"Garmyk."
Soshyan then remembered information about this legendary demonic world, but since the rise of Huron, the Word Bearers seemed to have rarely been active.
And Malakin continued to describe everything that happened in a calm tone.
"At first, the expedition was successful until the Tomb Guard Chapter withdrew. The High Lords forced them to withdraw from the Maelstrom Guardians and sent them to the distant Veil Sector to support the Thanatos Expedition. "
"This——"
Such an important force was suddenly transferred away at a critical moment in the war. If it were Soshiyang, he would probably be furious."
"What were the High Lords thinking?"
"I don't know, but this sudden transfer effectively ended the Scourge campaign, and the Guardian Alliance then requested that a replacement Chapter of the Tomb Guard be reassigned More than a hundred years after arriving in the Maelstrom, but being rejected by Terra, the alliance suffered a series of setbacks, and the remaining three chapters suffered heavy casualties. It was also during that period that I became the company commander, and Starry Sky The former Chapter Master of the Claws, Rovik Black, was killed in action while resisting an Greenskin attack in 715.M41. Luft Huron, who was the Third Captain at the time, subsequently became the Chapter Master."
As he spoke, Malakin turned to look at Soshyan.
"At that time, he had only served for one hundred and sixty years, and was almost the youngest Chapter Master in the Empire's recorded history, of course. Until this record was broken by you."
".Really? .”
Seeing some embarrassment on Soshyan's face, Malakin withdrew his gaze and looked at the star cluster.
“At that time, the Guardian Alliance was already overwhelmed by the Chaos invasion and pirate attacks. It could only adopt an increasingly defensive posture and suspended all operations near the Maelstrom. Even now , I also have to admit that Huron was a skilled tactician and charismatic leader who saved the Guardian Alliance and readjusted the alliance's strategic deployment and formulated a policy to expand its fleet - a large number of He captured pirate ships and formed a huge fleet for daily patrols. He also implemented a policy of scorching the enemy planets and increased the chapter's reserve of exterminating weapons. At that time, many worlds in the Maelstrom secretly protected pirates, and Huron ignored them. Overcoming the protests of the Ministry of Interior and even the Ministry of Military Affairs, he decisively ordered the execution of an extermination order and used the method of killing chickens to scare monkeys to make many world rulers give up the practice of continuing to collude with pirates."
(End of Chapter)