The air was thick with dust and tension as the thunderhawk’s engines cooled. Officers and scribes stood in rigid formation on the landing pad of Hive Galtran’s bastion-spire, their medals dulled by the ash winds of the coming storm.

Valeria Invicta descended the ramp alone—gold-clad, silent, and radiant like a blade drawn under a darkening sky. The gathered soldiers stiffened as her gaze passed over them, unreadable.

She stopped before the assembled commanders, helm under her arm, her voice cutting through the air like a falling sword.

"I have been sent by orders of the Imperial Regent Roboute Guilliman to assist in the coming defense of this planet for its importance. Which one of you is in charge of the planets defence?"