Wallisstad, an unremarkable habitable planet in the Draco Sector.
As an agricultural world, its primary colors consist of vast stretches of azure and disconnected patches of lush green. The produce it yields supplies several large Hive Worlds within the sector, and it also serves as a resettlement planet for Imperial Guard veterans.
Soldiers from this sector who are fortunate enough to complete their service peacefully will be granted a plot of farmland or an estate upon the vast, fertile lands of Wallisstad.
This land is tax-exempt for ten years, after which they need only pay a sufficient tithe to continue farming it for generations.
For many soldiers originating from the lower levels of Hive Worlds, this temptation is undoubtedly immense; however, considering the extremely low survival rate of the Imperial Guard, the number of lucky souls who actually receive this gift is quite small.
On the other hand, even with a tiny probability, given a massive base population, the absolute number can reach an unprecedented height.
For a long time, the primary production on Wallisstad has been driven by large-scale private farms. Privileged landowners command millions of peasants (serfs) to toil for them, earning considerable profits. With no intention of investing in development, the planet's overall level remains stuck at a basic stage of industrialization.
The serfs, for the most part, receive only half-rations, but compared to the one-third rations of an ordinary Hive worker, they at least do not suffer from extreme starvation.
Thus, the planet has remained quite peaceful.
The most recent war dates back three hundred years, when a small Ork warband invaded the planet, but the Sector Defense Force responded in time to nip the danger in the bud.
As for other threats, most have little interest in such a valueless planet.
Recently, however, the planet has not been peaceful at all.
Five months ago, due to the continuous accumulation of tithes, a group of serfs unable to endure the exploitation rose in rebellion under the leadership of a veteran named Herni. They killed the landowner and burned his estate to the ground.
Their demand was simple: they wanted to become yeoman farmers who would still pay a reasonable tithe to the Imperium.
A large portion of these people had been yeoman farmers in the past, but due to bankruptcy and various other reasons, they had been forced into serfdom.
Such a demand could naturally not be accepted by the Planetary Agricultural Union. As the primary members, the great landowners immediately passed a resolution to mobilize the Planetary Defense Force and their respective family private guards, clamoring to hang all the rebels.
During this process, the Imperial Guard stationed in the sector maintained a rare silence and took no action.
In a sense, this rebellion was something the Imperial Guard was happy to see.
Although the Department of War had signed a written agreement with the Sector Governor stating that resettlement lands could not be changed at will, over time, those greedy landowners had been constantly finding ways to encroach upon the veteran resettlement lands demarcated by the Department of War. The Sector Governor, including the Adeptus Arbites, either turned a blind eye or made various excuses to deflect.
The local Imperial Guard had long been infuriated by this.
This rebellion happened to be an opportunity. Once they could intervene, the Department of War could suppress the rebellion while simultaneously striking a heavy blow against the landlords encroaching on the resettlement lands and reclaiming the stolen territory.
However, deploying troops to suppress a rebellion required the consent of the Sector Governor, because the Wallisstad Agricultural Union had only referred to the uprising as a "disturbance" in their reports.
If it was merely a disturbance, the Imperial Guard had no justification to act.
Consequently, a very strange situation emerged on this agricultural world: on one hand, the rebellion was intensifying, while on the other, the local authorities never summoned the Imperial Guard to quell it, and the Guard acted as if nothing was happening.
Against this backdrop, a warp disturbance suddenly appeared in the high orbit of the planet Wallisstad.
"Prepare to exit the Warp. Five, four, three, two... one! Warp engines offline!"
Accompanied by a strange vibration in high orbit, two warships—one large and one small—slid out from the brilliant warp rift like fish leaping from water, leaving behind ripples in space.
"Engines at low power. Open long-range communications. Activate auspex arrays."
Under Loken's busy commands, various instruments and devices that had been shut down in the Warp woke up one after another. Simultaneously, massive amounts of data rolled from various sensors into the Cogitator arrays, appearing in the memory and processors of different Tech-Priests in the form of more concise and clear code.
"Captain Soshian, all systems are normal."
Loken briefly collected the data, then turned to speak to the tall figure standing before the Command Throne, while intentionally or unintentionally glancing at another figure beside him.
The rumor that an Astartes had suddenly appeared on the ship was indeed true.
"Good. We will hold position here for now."
Soshian nodded, gazing at the crystal-clear planet through the viewport.
To this day, he still did not understand the purpose of this journey.
"So this is the Draco Sector..."
Beside him, Saul—who had changed into silver-gray power armor, had his hair trimmed to his shoulders, and his face cleanly shaven—was also gazing at the planet, though his focus was different from Soshian's.
He was pondering his memories of this sector and quickly found a key point.
"Is it this?"
"What?"
Soshian turned his head.
"The Draco Sector... hmm, a great event once occurred here."
"What event?"
"If my memory serves me correctly, it was in this sector that the Imperium fired the first shot against the Ork Empire of Urano."
Soshian froze for a moment; he had not seen this record in the historical archives. Saul gave him a look, seemingly knowing what was causing his confusion, and continued
"The leader of that battle was Horus."
Just then, the bridge doors suddenly opened. Accompanied by the sound of pneumatic pistons and heavy footsteps, the *Sacred Unwavering* entered the bridge.
Immediately, all other mortals on the bridge, including Loken, bowed to him, aside from Soshian and Saul.
"Have we arrived at Wallisstad?"
The deep voice of Magos Sedes came through the speakers.
"Yes, Venerable."
Soshian tapped a few times on the Command Throne's console, and a massive holographic image of the planet appeared above the bridge.
"We have reached the high orbit of Wallisstad and are ready for drop deployment at any time."
He paused.
"However, I still wish to ask: why exactly are we coming here? This appears to be nothing more than an ordinary planet."
"And one currently experiencing riots," Loken suddenly interjected.
"I have just received a sector broadcast. Due to the escalation of the unrest on Wallisstad, the surrounding area has been declared a military exclusion zone. All vessels entering or exiting must undergo registration and inspection."
"Ignore them," Magos Sedes said firmly.
"Soshian, take a squad and drop to the surface. I have a locator here; follow the coordinates provided by it."
As he spoke, a silver disc appeared in Magos Sedes' palm. Loken craned his neck to look and cried out in surprise
"That is a high-precision long-range positioning teleportation coordinate device!"
"You know about this?" Magos Sedes turned to the Tech-Priest below the bridge.
"I... I heard my mentor mention it. It is a very rare crystallization of ancient technology. Generally, it serves as a medium between two large teleportation arrays, allowing them to bypass complex rituals and data streams. As long as the correct coordinates are input, it allows two large arrays to be used freely in a very short amount of time."
After hearing Loken's explanation, Soshian seemed to realize something and said
"Venerable, the treasure you are looking for... is inside a large teleportation array?"
"Indeed. Resolve this quickly. Deploy your drop as soon as possible."
"Understood."
Then, Magos Sedes turned to Saul.
"Lieutenant Saul, I must trouble you to accompany them as well."
"No problem."