The Princess Bellana hung in orbit like a silent sentinel, her hull gleaming with the cold light of distant suns. Docking procedures commenced under the watchful gaze of the void station’s augur arrays. Through the vox came the voice of her captain — Elara Voss, calm and measured, her tone hiding the weight of command. Beside her stood First Officer Kieran Thorn, Freight Master Talia Vael, and the ship’s medicae, Magos Helix, once known as Niko.

The cell crossed the void aboard their shuttle, docking with the station’s transfer bay. Waiting to receive them was Elara Voss herself, flanked by Thorn and Major Remundo, second in command of the station. Formalities were brief; duty eclipsed pleasantry. A shared meal followed — ritual more than comfort — before the truth was spoken aloud.

The tainted corn. The contamination. The Genestealer seed.

Records and samples were laid bare before the captain. What began as a trade dispute had revealed itself as a planetary infection — a hive infiltration taking root in the very food of the Imperium. The local Tech-Master, Jax Rin, oversaw a servitor tasked with recovering samples of the grain. Under the sterile lights of the station’s laboratory, the truth confirmed itself once more: Genestealer infestation, active and spreading.

Realization settled over them like ash. There could be no negotiation, no containment — only purification by fire.

At Abelath’s command, the Relentless Victory translated back to Panavor III. Five hundred souls — the untainted, the loyal, the few — were evacuated aboard the ship. Then came the cleansing. Orbital lances ignited, turning the governor’s palace and the processing complex to molten ruin.

For a brief moment, silence reigned. Then the enemy came.

Sensors screamed of advancing hostiles. Armored infantry surged from the ruins, driven by the hive’s will. Among them strode a Sentinel Scout Walker, its auspex searching for Imperial life-signs to erase.

Once again, the cell prepared for war.

XP earned:
40 XP => Marc, Jochen, Peter, Karsten
20 XP => Christian (not present)