3rd POV — Solon Bar Shipyards
The Imperius Resolute limped into dock like a predator with broken fangs. Her hull was blackened, sections held together with plates scavenged from a dozen wrecks. But she was alive — and for the first time in centuries, she was surrounded by allies instead of carrion.
Solon Bar roared with activity. The shipyards' forges burned night and day, their glow reflecting off void shields like a second sun. Eristan's Magos-voice crackled over the station vox:
"Structural integrity at 68%. New prow being forged. Secondary lance spine installed. Anti-warp gun mounts being fabricated — double priority."
Custodes guarded the outer ring, their golden forms moving through dock scaffolding like sentinels carved from living light. Grey Knights and Salamanders drilled openly on the decks, their sparring echoing through the metal halls. Even mortal crews carried themselves differently; there was an edge to their eyes now — the look of people who had seen Haki in use and believed.
3rd POV — Anti-Warp Armament
The weapon that had drawn the most attention was the Carytid Pattern Anti-Warp Lance — a relic blueprint pulled from the STC cache Shawn had secured months ago. Each was a massive energy projector built to tear holes in daemon flesh and collapse unstable warp manifestations.
Valen and Eristan worked together in the weapons forge. Valen's Aegis flared intermittently, warding the worksite from flickers of the immaterium. Eristan's mechadendrites spun, welding adamantium braces with the precision of a surgeon.
"The principle is simple," Eristan explained to Cassian, who stood observing. "The beam resonates on a frequency hostile to immaterial entities. Against physical matter, it's merely destructive. Against warp-formed bodies, it unravels them."
Shawn stepped in, his armaments blackened with Haki. "And with Armament layered over the beam's emission crystal, the weapon will pierce even the strongest daemon shells."
Cassian's eyes narrowed. "We've needed this for two thousand years."
Shawn POV — The Drills
I watched the drill cages from the observation gantry.
Custodes vs. Salamanders. Grey Knights vs. Grey Knights. The clang of ceramite on ceramite rang like war drums.
Haki had changed everything. At first, they all fought with the same basic applications: Observation to read their opponent, Armament to harden against strikes, bursts of Conqueror's to stagger.
But now… the differences were coming out. Salamanders pressed forward like a rolling wall, using Observation not just for combat, but to read the flow of the battlefield. Grey Knights layered Aegis into their Armament, making every block a psychic shield. Custodes used minimal movement, relying on pinpoint Observation bursts to preempt attacks.
Still, my Salamanders crushed them more often than not. They'd been with me longest. They'd bled with me. The others would catch up — but not yet.
Valen stood beside me, eyes bright with warp-light. His Haki pulsed like a steady heartbeat, syncing with mine.
"They're learning faster than I expected," he said.
"They have to," I replied. "Because what's coming will eat the slow."
3rd POV — First Firing
The first completed anti-warp lance was mounted on the Resolute's prow. The test target: a warp-rift caged outside the station — a small, unstable tear captured by Valen and locked in place by Eristan's null-fields.
The moment the weapon fired, the rift screamed. A beam of white-blue light lanced forward, coated in the invisible weight of Armament Haki. Warp-entities within the tear burned away like mist in sunlight.
The rift closed.
Cheers erupted across the dock. Even the stoic Custodes allowed themselves a nod.
Cassian turned to Shawn. "With twenty of these, we could cleanse entire sectors."
Shawn shook his head. "We'll need more than guns. We'll need soldiers who can reach the rift when it's not anchored."
3rd POV — Orders Given
The command council gathered in the Ember Vow's strategium.
Cassian, Valen, Eristan, Vulkar, Tahak, Basur, two Custodes Tribunes, and a Grey Knight Grand Master.
Shawn stood at the head of the table.
"We split the Crusade," he began. "Not to weaken it — to grow it. Our leaders take fleets to cleanse nearby subsectors. Every victory recruits more. Every battle teaches Haki to those who can use it."
Cassian folded his arms. "And the rest?"
"Defend Solon Bar, finish the weapons, train until our weakest soldier can kill a daemon alone."
The Grey Knight Grand Master nodded slowly. "When we reunite…"
Valen finished for him. "We'll have an army that could march to Terra itself."
3rd POV — Departure
Within a week, the docks were emptying again.
Fleets peeled away from Solon Bar, each led by one of Shawn's strongest:
Vulkar took the Resolute and a Salamanders-heavy spearhead.
Tahak commanded a mixed Grey Knight and Navy task force.
Basur led Custodes in fast strikes, aiming for rapid liberation of key strongholds.
Valen remained with Shawn — his presence too valuable to split.
Each force carried Haki-trained captains. Each bore Armament-wrapped banners. Each knew the plan.
Shawn watched them depart, the weight of command heavy but steady on his shoulders.
One sector at a time. One world at a time. And when we return… we'll have enough to choke Terra with our banners.