The scene was total chaos.

What had once stood as a beacon of hope and a testament to the grandeur and might of the Imperium now lay in ruins. The space station, originally in the shape of a wheel, had been torn apart, shredded, ripped to pieces. Hundreds of large chunks floated. Amidst them drifted thousands more corpses. A swarm of small Imperial ships darted back and forth between the planet underneath and the site of carnage as attempts were made to rescue survivors.

Vinder’s face had gone white as he stared at the display.

“This can’t be happening,” he muttered.

“Nim, have we been spotted?”

“No, Val. Nobody’s looking for us, so I think we’re safe.”

“Cloaking is still active?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tap into their systems without them noticing?”

“I think so.”

“Alright. See if you can find any recording of what happened.” She turned to face the rescued crew of the freighter. “What do you know about this place?”

“It was a military outpost,” said Vinder. “Hundreds of garrisons were posted here. They should have been able to hold off an attack from a lone ship. Nothing could have done this. And certainly not so fast. This makes no sense.”

“Val,” called out the disembodied voice. “There is a lot of chatter on their com systems about what happened.”

“What are they saying?”

“They echo what our guest has said. Nobody understands what hit them. They had no warning. The ship appeared out of nowhere and just attacked them out of the blue. Went right through their shields. Anything they threw at it just failed.”

“Did you find any footage?”

“Yes. I’m sending it to the main screen now.”

They all turned to watch.

The ship that had attacked the freighter appeared. It was dwarfed by the station, but it went on undaunted. There was no hesitation, no pause. As soon as it came within range, it started shooting red beams at the gigantic structure. The beams met no resistance and cut through the alundil walls like it was butter. Multiple rays shot out at the same time, all hitting different parts of the station. Its gruesome deed was over in under two minutes. Then it just warped out as suddenly as it had warped in.

“Damn,” whispered Val.

“There’s something else,” said Nim.

“What?”

“The attacker broadcasted a message to the planet below as it was ripping through the station.”

“Let’s hear it.”

A new voice echoed in the small room. It was deep, hoarse, and filled with anger.

“Hear this, citizens of the Imperium. The time has come for you to make a choice. The world as you know it has ended. This empire—like every empire that has come before it—will fall. I am the Sword of Justice, come to judge the sins of the Emperor. They are many. He is a corrupt man at the head of a corrupt government. Their time is overdue. They shall fall. But you, friends, shall rise. If, and only if you renounce your allegiance to the tyrannical sovereign. He cannot protect you. He cannot save you. Stay in his shadow and you will die. Leave now. Flee. Go to the rim or beyond, and stay clear from military outposts. Only there shall you find redemption. For I hereby sentence the Imperium to oblivion. So speaks Horus, god of justice and retribution.”

While the man’s voice had spoken, you could hear the beams shooting in the background, along with the screams of the wounded and of the dying.

Then it all went quiet.

Val stared at the screen.

“What the hell?” she snapped. “Horus? Seriously? This guy is a lunatic.”

“Who is Horus?” asked Vinder.

He sounded confused.

“An Egyptian god from Ancient Earth,” she answered, pacing the room. “But this guy is no god. He’s a madman, that’s what he is!”

“A man with godlike powers,” said Vinder as he pointed at the chaos outside.

“He must somehow have acquired alien technology, that’s the only explanation. There’s nothing in the Imperium that could cause this amount of damage in such a short time.”

“What about Qevahr?” asked Nim.

Val frowned, but before she could respond, the merchant spoke up again.

“We must warn the Emperor...”

She laughed as she pointed at the swarm of Imperial ships that were still busy going through the wreckage.

“I’m pretty sure he knows by now. Your Emperor has made many enemies lately, it seems.”

“He’s your Emperor as well,” Vinder reminded her with a scowl. “Or are you denouncing him? Are you going to follow that madman?”

“I follow no one,” she said with a grunt. “I’ve lived in the rim all of my life and intend to keep doing so. If Horus—since that’s what he calls himself—wants to go against the Imperium, that’s his problem. Besides, it’s not like there’s anything I could do to stop him.”

“Then why did you follow his trace after he attacked my ship?”

Val stared at the man, then turned away.

“I don’t know,” she muttered as she sat back at the controls. “Nim. Do we know where that ship went next?”

“No. It was already gone by the time we got here.”

“So there,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “See? Nothing more I can do. Shall I drop you off down there, or do you want to go somewhere else?”

Vinder’s jaw tightened.

“Here will be fine.”

She nodded as her fingers danced across the dashboard.

Starrider veered and headed down toward the surface of the planet.