After considering the odds a little, I did split the Crusade in two.

My Primaris Lamenters would move onto the Eternal Lament and provide support to the Forge World of Sigma-Ulstari , alongside half of the Auxilia Units. We were to meet again at Forge Gryphonne_IV , while my Black Lament and the Knights of House Lancefire would continue onward to Forge Kiavahr and the home system of the Raven Guard.

Spartan would join Valerian and provide him tactical support, while M would remain with me, and continue to coordinate the fleet much better than I could.

It was also a test for the Lamenters, as they would deploy without me for the first time in a century.

They also took the 4 Battlebarges and the 40 Drop Cruisers, as those were part of their normal fleet deployment, including 100 Silent Sisters for safety reasons.

Princeps Dae was in command of the Deus Ex Titans, and she decided to stick with me. As she put it, I could always father more Lamenters, but there was a single Pef in this universe. Sadly, also true.

Sister Stern was practically glued to my hip anyways, but I did send Abelsalom and the Polaris Psi-Titan to support the Lamenters. He needed to prove himself as well.

During the week of travel, I let Anzion create a durable cloneskein designed to support Primaris gene-seed, given the hardest possible mental and physical resistance possible for a human, starting from a Catachan genetic template and going much further.

M and I also spent these two thousand years of accelerated time exploring and abusing the STC Constructor until it could produce Primaris equipment, although still only the walking type: Terminator and Invictus suits as well as some new Leviathan Dreadnoughts, both for Astartes and the fragile Sisters. Librarian Menelau was busy investigating the Gnostari Fane on board my Black Lament, and sometimes produced a new STC like the Magna Rail Rifle or new mining tools, or even a new type of walker suit called Thunderkyn Exo-frame that could be used with minimal bionic implants.

These Exo-frames were given to the infantry Auxilia and the Battle Sisters to allow them to carry heavy weapons on foot, as well as the new Blank Voidguards recruited from the Blank Division for ship security.

Give them an inch of blackstone-plasteel armor and these new suits would become the equivalent of Astartes power armor, if not as agile. Give them multi-lasers or Ion Beamers, and they would almost match an Astartes in a few cases.

Or even Las-cannons and heavy bolters, if we didn't have any better.

I was a bit astounded how far we've come, from the times when a simple Las-cannon was a tank weapon, while bolters were the main weapon of a Space Marine.

There was still much work to be done, for energy generation and sensors, but it would come. I was almost matching the Tau now, not that they had true Battleships or Titans anyways.

I was not even surprised when both M and Anzion showed up one day, equipped in Master-crafted Invictus Warsuits the size of a Knight. A Primarch clone was still as big as a Primarch, and Vulkan was the largest of them by far.

"Eh! You wasted a decade for these warsuits..." I commented wryly.

"It was only a few hours of real time. In the old days...it would have taken a year or more." M reminisced with a longing voice.

"There is a small chance that your step-brother might show up. If you enter his Ravenspire." I offered with a low voice.

"Corax will probably kill us, not knowing what we are." Anzion said with a sad smile.

"He might try, that's true. But, remember who I am. I will fist his ass, if Corax tries fratricide on my watch." I answered in a joking voice, and powered up my Phase Claws with a buzz sound.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The two clones glanced at each other, and grimaced. Maybe I was not joking.

However as it happens, luck was on my side. We found the Kiavahr System surrounded by Orks, billions upon billions of them, likely part of the Waaagh!_Garaghak going by the millions of meks and larger Gargants filling up ships and Roks and several Space Hulks.

Upon seeing the immense Ork Armada, M scowled and threw me a disgusted look.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"You realize the Imperium would crack under this assault. Not only in void combat, but on the ground as well. There are at most 4000 Astartes here, and some 40 Titans from Graia, and only 4 Warlords among those. As for Legio Vindictus they barely have 23 Titans" the clone grumbled with a morose voice. As if numbers were that important.

"And yet, you are now a Lancefire, by my grace and blood. How easy do you want me to win?" I inquired with my amazing subtlety.

The Ordo Xenos Inquisitor sitting at my left simply snorted, while Canis raised his eyes wide at me. "Wof!"

Damn it. No! Not another stupid melee, Canis!

"We can use all this metal back home. And even to forge new items during this Crusade. Plus all the relics a Space Hulk may have. " Librarian Menelau spoke softly, proving his new-found calling as a Lancefire Grimnyr.

See? That was a wise advice. Not something I expected from a Librarian, to be sure. Then again, he was more of a mutated Lancefire, than a pure-strain Librarian psyker.

His mother gave him a stern look, possibly to shut him up.

Sister Stern just laughed lightly and teleported away, reaching the top of the Ravenspire with a single warp.

She could already push out from the tesseract, so there was no containing her anymore. She did as she pleased, which mostly meant throwing gigantic lightning storms and evaporating poor daemons.

Immense power and the ability to resurrect? I suspected she was reaching the boundary of a Primordial, if she wasn't already. Maybe Stern could solve the Fulgurite shard one day.

Or Canis might eat it. Hmm. Maybe not Canis, not yet. When he can teleport, then we might try.

By accident, my hand slipped on the Command Throne power plate, bringing the Immaterium Beam online and blasting the largest Space Hulk with its killing waves, followed by a Nova Mine to vanish the Hulk into the tesseract, while all sensors were blind.

One down, five more go.

"Oi! Oiiiii! Who stole my Big Star-Krumpa?" an aggravated Ork Boss shouted on the vox.

I mean, there should be at least a bit of common sense...nevermind. Still Orks.

I fired once more, this time targeting another Space Hulk that provided the boss location via an easily traceable vox comm. Blaaaaaaam!

The Black Lament's beam should have ended the poor Boss Garaghak life, and all of his entourage of Nobs and Meks.

Nova mine again to mask my actions from sensors, then snatch. To my surprise, the large Ork Boss didn't die, and still howled inside the tesseract labyrinth, smashing frozen Nobs with his giant Klaw.

So, the Ork Bosses could get as strong as a Great Daemon after all. Never seen one this strong, but maybe it was also a function of how many Orks he had around him. The Waagh Field would get bigger.

Maybe my bodyguard Joghaten will want to duel him? Or M?

"Want to duel this big Ork Boss? I have him trapped, for now." I asked M with a wry tone.

"Accel time, I don't want to miss the fleet combat." M demanded with an interested voice.

Both Valyene and Menelau rose a finger to show they wanted inside to watch. Then Canis stood up, knowing a decent meal was at hand.

Fine! Go gang up on the poor Ork Boss.

Click.