Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 103 Terra, Here I Come.

Doom embarked on a long warp journey to Terra aboard his flagship.

The emperor, far away in the Terran palace, was also preparing to board a warship and head to the void, fully armored.

Alpha Legion spies discovered a suspected Primarch in the frozen world of Fenris, awaiting confirmation from the Emperor.

He walked out of the room, but his hurried steps stopped.

Sensing that its master had stopped, Waldo turned around and glanced at the Emperor, his eyes showing no doubt or confusion, and stood quietly waiting.

Every action of the Lord of Mankind is the result of careful consideration. The commander of the Imperial Guard need not doubt; he only needs to await his master's orders.

"Notify Horus to return and prepare to welcome his brother back."

The Emperor stopped in his tracks, and Waldor ordered the accompanying Star Speakers to send a message to his son in the Void, summoning Horus back from his expedition.

The Star Speaker, dressed in a long robe and hood, with his greyish-white eyes filled with reverence, bowed as he went down to convey the Emperor's orders.

"Number 21 is back."

The Emperor spoke to Waldo. In the voice of the Lord of Mankind, there was an unprecedented excitement and urgency.

Waldo's eyes narrowed, understanding why the Emperor had halted Fenris's journey and remained in Terra.

Because of the Primarch, whom the Emperor valued most, he found his way home from the void.

"I need to prepare a celebration, a grand celebration like never before."

The Emperor returned to his room, where servants removed his golden power armor. His tone was unusually excited: "To celebrate the return of Number Twenty-One!"

Subspace travel is tedious.

At least that's what Gerhan thought before.

Before entering the warp, Imperial ships need to activate the Geller Field to create a real universe bubble to avoid the invasion of the warp's strange energy.

The ship needs to lower its armor plates to cover all portholes, including the bridge, to prevent sight and thought from affecting the reality bubble.

The spaceship, like a sealed metal coffin, was tossed about in the turbulent subspace currents, like a lone boat in a storm.

Things are different now. Perhaps it's because the Primarch is in charge, but this magnificent warship doesn't seem to have its Geller Field activated.

The bridge was not closed either, and through the portholes, one could see the magnificent energy flows in the subspace that were constantly churning and changing, eventually becoming chaotic.

Directly in front of the ship, however, there was complete calm.

The spaceship traveled through subspace without being affected at all; the subspace energy seemed to have created a smooth and flat path in front of the ship.

He found it incredible and ultimately attributed it all to the power of the Primal.

“My lord…” Gerhan asked cautiously, his tone humble, “The spaceship seems to be slowing down?”

Although there were no reference points in the subspace, Astartes' keen senses told him that the ship was indeed slowing down.

He stood beside the Primarch's seat the whole way, answering the Primarch's questions. Sensing the ship slowing down, he cautiously inquired about it.

Gerhan was eager; he desperately wanted the Primarch to return to the Empire, where his brothers would bask in endless glory.

And the most crucial point.

The Shadowmoon Wolves’ cousins ​​were extremely pleased with themselves for thirty years because of the return of Primarch Horus.

The soldiers of the Fifth Legion are now eager to return the Primarch to their former masters, to shatter the arrogance they've enjoyed for the past thirty years as the "only ones who own the Primarch."

"It is slowing down." The answer to Gerhan came not from the Primarch, but from the electronic voice of the mechanical intelligence.

"There is a barrier here, we need to slow down."

“A barrier?” Gerhan murmured in confusion. He didn’t understand how there could be a barrier in the warp.

"An unknown subspace phenomenon; there is an unexplained barrier here, forcing the spacecraft to slow down."

Turing's electronic voice hissed as he explained to outsiders those "unknown subspace phenomena".

The intelligent machines will not tell outsiders that the barrier is an ancient creation that acts as a "stopper," a "speed bump" generated in subspace.

At the outermost edge of the Nur Cluster, in the Ancient Fortress Galaxy, a powerful ancient machine projects "folds" in the subspace.

This forces ships approaching the Nur Cluster in the subspace to slow down and leave the subspace, awaiting inspection by the Fortress System.

Spaceships leaving the Nur constellation also need to slow down in order to pass through this area normally.

Gerhan nodded repeatedly, looking as if he had just realized something.

Their spaceship, swept away by the subspace turbulence, strayed from its normal course and then, much like it had crashed into something, suddenly lost control and decelerated, being flung out of the subspace.

Now he understood; he had run into a barrier.

It's like a car traveling at high speed being blown off course by a strong wind, then hitting a speed bump, losing control, and veering off the road.

Doom glanced at Turing out of the corner of his eye. The seemingly simple-minded machine harbored a multitude of clever ideas within its intelligent circuits. The existence of the warp barrier was a crucial means for the Nur constellation to defend against external enemies.

All the foreign spaceships returned to the real universe and faced the Fortress Galaxy on their inevitable path.

"At our speed, the subspace route ahead is smooth, and we should be able to reach Terra in three months at most."

Navigator Franshka is asleep inside a machine; her body is asleep, but her consciousness is connected to the spaceship's main control system.

With Sofia's help, the navigator and digital life form work together to continuously correct the subspace course.

It's important to understand that for a journey spanning tens of thousands of light-years, even a slight deviation from the course can result in a final destination that is hundreds of light-years different.

The journey through the subspace was initially beautiful, with stunning scenery, but in reality, it concealed hidden risks.

With Doom present, the warp filth dares not come.

They only dared to hide in the shadows, watching the deathly black hole inscribed with runes, radiating intense malice, baring their fangs and claws in the warp.

"God Slayer..."

"Challenger..."

“The despicable one…”

"Doom..."

The dangers hidden in the warp dared not call Doom by name; they whispered in the shadows, praying for his swift departure.

The journey was smooth sailing, and Doom kept asking Gerhan about the current state of the human empire.

Gerhan, of course, dared not conceal anything and poured out all the knowledge he remembered, including the current situation of the empire.

Three months felt like yesterday, and the spaceship was now very close to the golden sun.

"Attention all crew! The Void Lone Ranger is about to arrive at its destination!"

Sophia's voice rang out, and the subspace engine activated, tearing a rift in the real universe in the subspace in front of the spaceship.

Gerhan is now panicking. The Primarch's ship did not pass through the "Gateway to the Underworld," the stable subspace stargate of the solar system.

Instead, they entered the human throne world directly from another direction.

He seemed to want to give the emperor a surprise!
When a warship the size of an asteroid jumps out of subspace, the subspace fluctuations it generates spread throughout the solar system.

Almost all the bird oracles emitted piercing screams at the same time, and the warning orders spread throughout every fortress.

In the solar system, on the throne of the world, someone has plunged a knife into the heart of humanity!
"Head to Terra."

Doom sat on his throne, issuing orders with a blank expression, his heart and face showing no change whatsoever.

There was no excitement or trepidation about returning home; for him, Terra was merely his birthplace, not his true home.

At this very moment, the solar system's communication channels are exchanging information to confirm the enemy's origin.

The space telescope finally captured the silhouette of the ship—a magnificent, pitch-black warship that almost disappeared into the cosmic background.

Most striking are the raised fins on its back, with a rune mark on each side.

Solar system observers know that it is the emblem of the Legion of Doom, their unique mark.

The guards fell silent, unsure how to respond to this familiar yet unfamiliar warship.

"Let it come over."

As they hesitated, a direct order from the Throne World dispelled their doubts.

The chaotic communication channels suddenly went silent, and Doom knew it was the spaceship's markings that had put the solar system defenders at ease.

To please its master, Sophia painted the spaceship jet black and printed emblems on both sides of the fins.

The spaceship reflected the dark light of space as it slowly glided closer to Terra.

"It cannot compare to Nur's beauty."

In the panoramic command room, Harlan looked down at Terra and shook his head in great disappointment.

In the minds of the Star People, Terra should be a deep blue planet with vast oceans and a clean atmosphere.

It is now desolate and barren, with only steel cities and nests piercing the clouds.

Gerhan wanted to refute, but couldn't help comparing Nur and Terra in his mind, and found that the two were indeed incomparable.

He looked up and saw the Primarch raise his right hand, making a grasping motion toward the void, as if summoning something.

A subspace rift appeared on the bridge, and a malevolent red lightsaber flew out from the rift, which was caught by Doom.

Doom looked down at Terra, his expression serious. He didn't know what the outcome would be: "Terra, I'm here."

(End of this chapter)