Chapter 2232 Memorial of the Phalanx
The Phalanx, the largest known space fortress in the Human Empire, is also the current home of the Imperial Fists.
It floats in the orbit of Terra like a silent but determined sentinel, its towering spiers piercing the stars and reflecting the sun's rays. Huge docks and flight decks extend from all sides of it, The countless fortresses and battleships that Soshyan had seen in the past were not worth mentioning in front of it. Even Mars and Jupiter were not such magnificent creations. The moon, which was in the same orbit as it, seemed to be insignificant in comparison. A small circle.
The origin of this huge space fortress is basically known to everyone. When Dorn and the Emperor met for the first time, Dorn, the original body of the Imperial Fist, dedicated the mountain formation to the Emperor, but later The Emperor returned it to Dorne, and it has been proudly serving the Empire and the Imperial Fists Legion ever since. This huge interstellar fortress is completely autonomous and can move through the warp. The warriors of the 7th Legion are on the planet. The Age of Crusade often travels across the galaxy on it.
In the descriptions of countless archives and classics, the Phalanx is not only an extremely strong fortress, but also an indestructible war machine. Its firepower is enough to rival an entire expedition fleet, and it can rely on its own Power sweeps across the galaxy.
At the height of the Horus Heresy, when the rebels launched an attack on Terra and the Imperial Palace, the Phalanx had been severely damaged and had to leave Terra's orbit and head to the outer reaches of the solar system, thus allowing it to escape the fate of destruction.
But when we look at it now, the mountain formation is a bit bleak. Many areas of it are shrouded in complete darkness. Even the docks are mostly closed, and less than half of the forts are active and on alert. Looking around, a considerable number of forts were placed on the emplacements like dead plants.
Ten thousand years of continuous vigilance operations and wars have caused some inevitable damage to the Phalanx. Although the Imperial Fists continue to work hard to maintain the Phalanx, the weapons of the past legions can only be relied on by a single Chapter. It was too difficult and reluctant to maintain, and as time passed, more and more powerful fortress systems failed, and the skills required to repair them disappeared from the Techmarine database.
Once upon a time, the phalanx was like a giant twinkling in the stars, but now its peak has long passed, like an aging knight, stubbornly guarding the dilapidated castle - just like this empire .
However, today’s mountain formation is bleaker than in the past.
Because it lost another knight, a knight covered in scars who watched over humans and the children of Dorne in the political whirlpool of Terra in the dark 41st millennium.
Crack——
With the scream of the metal gate, the servants in black robes on both sides of the passage bent down and lowered their heads, and then two servo skulls holding incense burners came from inside Floated out, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps.
Wearing power armor and a black burqa, Soshiyang appeared solemnly in the light, followed by the company commanders in the battle group, and then the soldiers, each of them wearing armor They are all covered with burqas woven from black gauze, which also represents the purpose of their trip -
Mourning.
They are now located in the waiting area behind the airport of the mountain formation. From the outside, you may not be able to intuitively appreciate its size and grandeur. When you walk in, everyone in the Astral Knights is amazed at the scale of this ancient fortress.
This waiting area alone is probably the same size as their monastery fortress on Nessen IV, and even hangs from the barely visible rafters on the deck are Imperial Fists decommissioned aircraft from the Legion era to the present. , they are preserved and displayed to commemorate past victories and those who fought and died on these aircraft.
Between the airport and the corridor leading to the foredeck, huge flags are hung, each flag is four meters wide and eight meters high, representing each battle company of the Imperial Fists, each with Own uniquely decorated with coats of arms and prayers.
On top of the battle company flag is a larger battle group banner, with a golden background inlaid with shiny black and blood red, with "VII" engraved on it - remember the great expedition The origins of the Emperor's 7th Legion.
Go through the foredeck and enter the Memorial Hall. It is only a hundred meters high. The dome is decorated with the victories of legions and chapters. There is a 30-meter-wide diamond on the top of the dome. The walls There are beautiful reliefs on the walls, and the marble floors are decorated with Imperial Fists mosaics. The walls are lined with ancient mementos, as well as huge murals depicting famous battles in the Chronicles of the Imperial Fists. Some ancient weapons and armor can Dating back to the days of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, they were permanently preserved, reverently displayed after time had robbed them of the possibility of use, and each piece of weapon and armor was detailed with its provenance
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At the other end of the memorial hall is a huge staircase. Various trophies are placed in the hall, from the heads of huge alien beasts to enemy weapons and armor, all to highlight the past of the Seventh Legion and the Imperial Fist. glory.
Finally, the team arrived at the Heart of Sigismund, which is also the center of the mountain formation. It was also the strategic room where the Imperial Fist Legion executed its war plan. It is more than one kilometer wide. Surrounded by various murals and flags, a huge statue of the Primarch was also erected.
During the Chapter Era, this was also where the Imperial Fists held major events.
At this time, the warriors of all the companies of the Imperial Fist gathered here, holding helmets under their arms, gathered around the statue of the original body, and under the statue of the original body was a marble coffin.
When the Astral Knight arrived, all the warriors of the Imperial Fists focused their attention on him.
Soshyan stepped forward solemnly, holding a cluster of flowers picked from his robe in his hand, which he specially prepared in Jupiter and consisted of yellow and white flowers. Then he walked to the coffin. In the dense mist, a scarred warrior lay quietly in the coffin. He was wearing a simple white robe and holding a sharp sword in both hands.
Soshiyang lowered his head and closed his eyes. He did not expect that the first meeting between him and this senior who helped him a lot at the feast of blades would actually be the last time we met again. Even though they were separated forever, he originally wanted to take advantage of this trip to Terra to catch up with the other party.
With sadness, he stepped forward and placed the flower in his hand on the opponent's sword.
"Chapter Master Pew, you have fulfilled your duty, go on well."
Then, the warriors of the Imperial Fists hit the breastplate hard with their fists three times.
Then the servants will carry the coffin away. It will stay at the temporary parking place of the mountain formation for a short period of time, and then it will be sent to the tomb under the Terrababu Fortress. It will be much like the Imperial Fist. The martyrs were buried together.
At this time, Soshyan finally knew who the new Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists was, but it was not the Lysander he had guessed, but the former Second Company Commander Vaughn Hagen!
What happened in the middle is not easy to find out from Soshyan, but he guessed that Lysander himself gave up his position as Chapter Master. During the several years of getting along with each other during the Maelstrom Expedition, Soshyan discovered Lysander It seems that he has an unusual hatred for the Iron Warriors, which is much stronger than other Imperial Fist warriors——
Perhaps Lysander has regarded revenge as his lifelong mission, which makes him unable to shoulder the leadership Duties of the Chapter.
Of course, this is all Soshyan's own guess.
"Chapter Master Soshyan, Chapter Master Pew often praised your abilities and charisma in the past. He believed that you were the best heir of Dorne in this millennium. To be honest, this comment made me a little confused. "Jealous."
When Vaughan Hagen shook hands with Soshyan and said these words, Soshyan couldn't help but smile. Although the new chapter leader also looked unsmiling, Not a rigid person.
Soshiyan replied softly:
"Everything is as the emperor wishes."
Vaughan Hagen has the standard face shape of the Imperial Fists, with clear lines like a knife and an axe, and his eyes are always very calm. He has served as the second company commander of the Imperial Fists for more than three hundred years, and his influence is only inferior to that of Laishan. Virtue. (In fact, after searching for a long time, Lao Mo was unable to find out which company commanders Wernhagen was before. He could only infer that he was the commander of the second company, because Thor Garadon was suddenly transferred from the third company to the second company at a certain period. (long, this is the only personnel change that can be explained)
Then he introduced the other leaders of the Imperial Fist to Soshyan, including the new Second Company Commander Thor Galadon, and the Third Company Commander Isaac La, Fourth Company Commander Arals Lidolo, Fifth Company Captain Dravatus Fani, Sixth Company Captain Antalos, Seventh Company Captain Regor Desian, Eighth Company Captain Quite Karam, Ninth Company Commander Kahren, Commander Lucien of the Tenth Company, as well as the hermit commander, the director of the think tank and others.
After that, Soshyan held a separate three-person meeting with Lysander and Vaughn Hagen, mainly to explain the current situation of Terra, especially the high lords.
It can be said that Pew's death was unfortunate. Originally, as a member of the High Lords Council, he could exert influence to help Soshyan on such occasions, but as his death Lately, the current Chapter Master Vaughn Hagen had just taken over and had little influence in Terra's political games. After all, Pew's political influence had not been inherited.
It means that the Imperial Fist can now give Soshyan very little political help.
This situation was actually not surprising to Soshyan, but his keen political sense smelled a strange smell, and he thought of the sudden recurrence of the high lord's affairs about the Mantis Warriors, and soon realized that this was by no means isolated. incident, nine of the high-ranking seats are fixed, and only three are non-fixed. After Pew dies, the non-permanent seat he holds will obviously be taken away, and such actions are often accompanied by political attacks. , the incident with the Mantis Warrior was just a signal.
I’m afraid there are more things to come.
However, according to Soshyan's observation, Vaughn Hagen probably has no intention of inheriting Pew's political assets. His thoughts on the future of the Imperial Fist are more focused on how to fight and expedition. So I didn't take the initiative to mention these things.
(End of this chapter)