Chapter 15: Entering the Bottom Hold
"Take away the fallen soldiers and grant them the honor they deserve. Increase the food and living rations for their families!" Lucan ordered.
"Your benevolence will be remembered by all!" Verre responded.
"Verre, I've learned the names of some traitors within the Enforcer teams. Send men to arrest them!"
From the memories, Lucan also knew many people's names. To carry out such an organized rebellion, Scott was not the only insider; many others had also been secretly turned by him.
"Verre, have Pavian prepare a suit of Marauder combat armor for me. I intend to go to the bottom hold personally!"
"That is likely not a wise choice, Captain! Your safety is paramount!" Verre's first reaction to Lucan's proposal was rejection.
"Obey the order, Verre. I have reasons why I must go. It is for the good of us all, and especially important for the entire Dynasty."
"This… very well! But please allow me to accompany you! I cannot allow another Captain to be placed in danger alone."
"Alright, you go get a suit of combat armor too!"
"I'll see to it at once!"
Taking the elevator, Lucan and Verre arrived at the lower decks.
When the soldiers saw Lucan, they all made the Sign of the Aquila in salute.
"Look… it's the Captain! The Captain has come to the lower decks! I heard all this gear we're wearing was provided by him!"
"Praise the God-Emperor! Without this equipment, many more of us would have died…"
Seeing the fervent and adoring expressions of the crowd, Lucan felt a little unaccustomed to it.
But he tried his best to maintain his composure.
He nodded in acknowledgment to the crowd.
"Captain, your combat suit has been prepared for you!" Pavian was already waiting for Lucan.
Hearing that the great Captain Lucan required a set of equipment, he had immediately rushed here personally with servitors.
"Please forgive me, my Captain. Hearing that this suit of armor was for your use, I and the other Tech-Priests made some small modifications. I believe only this can ensure your safety!"
"Modifications? What do you mean?"
Pavian excitedly ordered a servitor to push forward Lucan's set of Marauder armor.
The originally black CMC-660 combat suit belonging to the Marauder class now looked exceptionally ornate.
A golden Aquila was emblazoned on the chest, and prayers to the God-Emperor were inscribed as etchings all over the armor.
Purity Seals hung from each of the shoulder pauldrons.
Lucan knew Pavian intended this to give Lucan some immunity to psychic threats, but for Lucan himself, it was a bit redundant.
"Thank you for your kind intentions, Pavian, but this weaponry… isn't it a bit off?"
"I retrieved a personal force field from the Dynasty's treasury of spoils and added it to the suit.
Furthermore, please forgive me, I selected two relics left behind by past Rogue Traders. I believe your ancestors would also be willing for you to use these items."
The relics Pavian spoke of were a master-crafted power sword and a master-crafted heavy bolter.
"Pavian! You actually snuck into the family treasury and dared to remove the sacred relics of our forebears without authorization!"
Verre loudly berated Pavian, but Pavian remained kneeling before Lucan.
Lucan stepped forward and caressed the power sword. As he pressed the switch on the hilt, a pale blue disruption field instantly enveloped the blade.
"A power sword…"
Lucan was very satisfied! This was a power sword; this thing could even cleave a Greater Daemon and was a rare item in the Imperium.
He tried a few swings; it felt surprisingly natural in his hand!
As for the bolter, Lucan wasn't particularly interested. After all, while shooting things up was fun, sacred melee was even more satisfying!
"Alright, Verre. Pavian's punishment for unauthorized access to the treasury and misappropriation of sacred relics will be dealt with after this matter is concluded!"
"Very well… Pavian, there absolutely must not be a next time! After this is over, you too must accept due punishment."
"Everything is for the Captain, Purser Verre! Isn't his safety the most important thing?! The Omnissiah be with you, my Captain!"
Although he verbally spoke of punishing Pavian, Lucan was actually very pleased with Pavian's actions.
Lucan's psychic resistance was frighteningly high, but on a physical level, he was still just flesh and blood. The force field could greatly enhance Lucan's survivability against physical attacks.
Relics or not, sacred items or not, compared to enshrining these things, Lucan preferred to use them directly. He didn't care about any taboos!
With Pavian's help, Lucan donned the equipment and armor.
Surrounded and protected by a host of soldiers, he advanced towards the bottom hold.
Damon's squad acted as the vanguard, continually pushing forward. The subsequently added soldiers bolstered their assault force. Under absolute fire superiority, the traitors fell back repeatedly, and they had no effective countermeasures against the highly mobile Reapers.
Damon and his soldiers cleared a safe passage for Lucan. The remaining stragglers weren't dealt with immediately; those madmen were too busy hiding. As the purge was completed, Lucan's Psy-crystal savings approached thirty thousand. These thirty thousand Psy-crystals represented the lives of nearly ten thousand traitors.
And Lucan once again warped in 50 Raynor's Raiders to supplement his forces.
The upcoming operation was not suitable for the humans of the Warhammer universe.
Arriving at the entrance to the bottom hold, the team had already assembled outside the passage, awaiting Lucan's arrival.
"Damon! Assemble all Raynor's Raiders! You need to complete a mission with me! Have some of them switch to Firebat gear!"
"Your soldiers have assembled, Commander! I also had them re-equip in advance. We are ready to depart at any time!"
"Verre, you and your crewmen will guard the entrance. You are not needed for the upcoming mission!"
"No! We agreed before, my Lord! I will absolutely not let you go in alone! Please allow me to protect you by your side!"
Seeing Verre's expression, which clearly stated, "If you don't agree, I'm going in anyway," Lucan could only say helplessly.
"Verre, then you will swear by your loyalty to the Dynasty that you will absolutely not reveal anything you see inside!"
"I, Verre Rodrigo, swear by the Dynasty and by my family that I will absolutely not reveal to outsiders anything I see within!"
"Good! Then let's move out! It's time to end this riot. Enough sacrifices have been made! Every second longer we spend in the Warp brings more danger."
Leading his host of soldiers, Lucan walked into the deepest part of this voidship.
Relying on Scott's memories, Lucan also knew where the so-called ritual was located. As soon as he entered the bottom hold, LucAN sensed dense Warp energy.
Compared to the lower decks, the level of Warp influence here was several times greater. The normal lighting systems in the entire bottom hold had also been cut off; everyone could only rely on the tactical flashlights on their combat suits to find their way.
Lucan had already formed some mental image of this so-called bottom hold, but when he truly saw the scene within, he was still shocked.
It was dilapidated and ruined, with countless damaged and abandoned instruments and chambers scattered throughout.
Exposed conduits, pipes leading to unknown destinations – without Scott's memories, one might search a lifetime and never find the correct location.
"Verre… how do you even find your way around in here?"
"Periodically, Tech-Priests lead teams to map the area, but these maps only cover the regions near the entrance. The complex environment here makes a complete mapping nearly impossible. Moreover, some of the mutants hiding here will deliberately alter the terrain."
"You people are really something else…" Lucan muttered.
Through the light provided by the flashlights, Lucan discovered that the surrounding space was rippling.
Transparent, human-like figures even flitted about in various places.
"Do not fire! These are illusions produced by the Warp's influence; they are not physical entities! The resentful spirits of those who died tragically & horribly here have formed these ghost-like presences!"
All sorts of bizarre phenomena that shouldn't exist in the material universe appeared continuously. If an ordinary person stayed here, they would likely be driven mad within minutes. Lucan, however, was like a Warp energy absorption and purification unit at this moment.
While purifying the surrounding Warp energy, he also protected the soldiers beside him from its influence.
One, two, three, four… his Psy-crystal balance was actually slowly increasing just by being here.
Everyone felt as if countless eyes were staring at them from all directions.
(End of Chapter)