Warhammer 40: Mortal Gods

……

Marshal Earls stood by the porthole of the Void Port office, looking out at the boundless void outside.

A dozen small ships are docked outside the Void Port, and workers are covering up the logos of various Tyrone sector shipbuilding companies on these ships with a symbol that looks like a sun god.

That is the symbol of the Orps Sector. When Orps once existed, the Orps Sector Fleet used such a symbol.

When he was young, Earls heard his father talk about the Orpsian Sector Fleet. Legend has it that when the Orpsian homeland still existed, that sector fleet had hundreds of warships.

Until Orpheus fell in less than a hundred days and lost contact with the empire, the sector fleet naturally disappeared without a trace just like the hometown of the Orpheus people.

Earls once asked his father, how did they, the descendants of the Orps, survive?

His father told him that it just happened that there was a small patrol fleet that did not have time to participate in the large-scale fleet battle. After this fleet realized that they were fighting an enemy that could never be defeated, they chose to transport a small number of Orps. The people fled their homeland, at least keeping the spark of the recovery of the Orps sector alive.

"And what about the surviving fleet, Father?"

Earls's childhood questions echoed in his mind.

"The ancestor of our family, the leader of that fleet... he sold all the battleships to the sector that houses us Orps in exchange for the shelter under our feet called New Orps."

His father's answer also lingered in Earls' mind.

"Keep in mind that our homeworld is Orpheus, a sector occupied by abominable aliens."

"Keep in mind the hatred of Orps and the last wishes of our ancestors."

"I don't expect you to achieve much, child. I just hope that you will tell your children what I said."

"As long as the Orpsians remember the hatred of their lost homeland and the long-cherished wish to regain Orps from generation to generation, we will definitely be able to return to our hometown one day and drive out those abominable aliens! On the throne of Bless you!”

Earls, who was standing alone by the porthole, heard these words, as if his father, who died during a reconnaissance operation against the fallen area of ​​Orps, was standing next to him, patting his shoulders over and over again. Repeating those words that have been passed down to this day in the family and on this planet called New Orps.

"I did it, father." Erth said to himself, "My people and I have rebuilt the fleet, and we will return to our fallen homeland, even if... even just to take a look at it."

There was a sound at the door.

An officer hurried into the office while changing into the top of his navy uniform.

When the officer pushed the door open as usual, he saw Earls standing by the porthole looking at the tiny fleet of more than a dozen ships.

When Earls turned to look at him, the officer pointed to the corner of his eye.

Earls stretched out his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes, and then realized that he had shed tears at some point.

"Sorry." Earls cleared his throat and glanced at the fleet outside, "It's just that we finally have our own fleet, and the time for us to return home has finally arrived, so I..."

The officer shook his head and got down to business: "The Tailong people from the Beizhou Shipping Industry Group said they could give us one more transport ship, but they would not give us the weapons used by the Tailong Navy, because the weapons used by the Tailong Navy are prohibited from trading. Unless we can get a special trade license issued by the regent himself."

"We are not eligible to apply for permission," Earls said. "Thank the Tyrone for me. On behalf of all the descendants of the Orps, I am grateful for their generosity."

The officer nodded and conveyed the order from the marshal of the Miuni fleet on the data slate.

After the Eye of Terror was closed, the data tablet finally became more useful than parchment.

Although he couldn't get more advanced weapons, Earls still felt that he was lucky.

After the Golden Crusade, the Tyrones have a large number of transport ships to deal with. Some of the ships will be sold to companies in their sector or to people on the planet who raise funds to buy ships, while those damaged ships will be After repair, sell to people outside the sector.

The fleet of more than a dozen ships outside the Void Port is composed of transport ships purchased from the Tyrone sector.

Even so, purchasing transport ships is not an easy task, but the unity of the descendants of the Orps allows at least a small fleet to fight in the name of the Orps sector.

It was an incident that made Earls' blood boil when he recalled it.

People on the entire planet New Orpheus spontaneously raised funds, both businessmen and ordinary people contributed their own efforts. Even the descendants of Orpheus living in other places also found ways to provide help within their ability.

Now that the fleet is finally organized, Operation Homecoming can begin.

"Marshal." The officer interrupted Earls' sigh, "Can our fleet... really rush into Orps before it is destroyed, and really see our hometown as we expected?"

Hearing this, Earls fell silent.

Everyone knows very well what will happen to this fleet if it really dares to set foot in the occupied area of ​​​​Orps - destruction.

This was undoubtedly a suicide action, but Earls picked the time well. He chose to personally lead the fleet to carry out a suicide attack, and he was sure that this attack would bring better results.

So Earls replied: "To be honest, I think we might be annihilated the first time we come into contact with the alien patrol fleet, but our actions will have an effect and will promote the recovery of Orps. "

Hearing Earls' pessimistic answer, the officer had no expression on his face and thought it was expected.

He had been prepared to die just like everyone else in this fleet, otherwise he would not be standing here as a member of the Orpheus fleet.

"The Regent is planning to counterattack the aliens that are constantly awakening, and he is selecting a star sector suitable as a war front." Earls said, "The operation we are about to conduct at this time may make the Regent's eyes fall on this star. district."

"The Prince Regent will choose this place as the war front, and our hometown may be recovered by the Warmaster and the Sons of God." The officer continued following Earls' words.

But Earls did not nod. He thought for a while and said in a deep voice: "Maybe it didn't go so well. But at least the regent knew that the once-fallen Orps sector still has its descendants who are eager to escape from the hands of the aliens. To restore it, eager to bleed for it and sacrifice for it.”

The officer still found Earls' candid response to be expected.

It is not without reason that this nobleman, the descendant of the leader of the fleet who once sheltered the survivors of Orpheus, is respected.

At least he doesn't deceive others into dying. He clearly tells these idiots who join the fleet what the consequences will be, and then he personally takes the idiots who still insist on staying in the fleet to die.

"For Orpheus!" the officer saluted.

"For Orpheus." Earls put on his military cap. "When you are ready, set sail."