73: Chapter 73: The First Plenary Session of the Allied War Council; The agenda item was to inscribe the provisional covenant into law.

Four days after the Battle of the Star of Judgment, the briefing room of the Wrath of the Emperor was filled with people. This was not the kind of emergency meeting typical of wartime that could be interrupted by alarms at any moment, but the first true plenary session since the formation of the Coalition. Marcus Aurelian sat at one end of the long table, having finally swapped the Inquisition formal robes he had worn throughout the entire campaign cycle for his daily combat attire. The fingers of his right hand rested once more on the edge of the tactical projection, with only a faint calcified scar remaining where the bone had been fractured. He looked up, scanning everyone present, before pushing a newly compiled Coalition battle report to the center of the table.

“Send the battle report to Terra. The title should be ‘Battle of the Star of Judgment Concluded, Total Victory for the Coalition.’ Include the damage assessments for all Coalition units and the latest status of the Old Ones' assessment window at the Void Throat in the main text. Do not end with ‘Long Live the Empire’; use ‘The Coalition Marches On.’ Let Terra get used to this format.”

The communications officer hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and began typing. Bern laid his Holy Hammer across the conference table, his Psychic Talisman resting securely against the inner side of his breastplate. Sebastian’s power armor still bore the scorched marks of the Tzeentch error-correction code’s shrieking; his helmet sat on his knees. Oldenburg sent a holographic image from Griffin IV, with the latest organization chart for the Third Assault Fleet spread out before him. The Iyanden Farseer stood at one side of the table, the cold blue light of his wraithbone staff blending silently with the cold green light patterns of the Brood Queen’s Photonic Crown in the projection. Nephilak’s quantum-state communication was linked directly from the Solemmnace Dynasty’s core matrix, while Canoptek-7’s engineering and technical assessments were displayed quietly on the table in holographic form.

Marcus skipped the pleasantries. “Next item on the War Council’s agenda. The Coalition has defeated the Tyranid main fleet, Leviathan, repelled the Tzeentch error-correction code infiltration, successfully activated the Old Ones' Final Sealing Protocol, detonated the Great Rift, and destroyed the Chaos Scavenger Fleet. The Old Ones' assessment window remains open, and the Psionic Void Network is extending its coverage to all Coalition defense sectors in the Ultima Segmentum. The Blackstone Defense Line, the Void Throat, and the Star of Judgment Sealing Protocol have formed a superimposed defensive depth. While the immediate threat has been neutralized, the Old Ones' ultimate test is not yet over. The Coalition needs to transition from a wartime command structure to a long-term joint defense and cooperation system.”

He pressed the projection, and the current organizational chart of the Coalition was unfolded before everyone. Temporary groupings, wartime authorizations, emergency protocols—layers of clauses were like a pile of armor plates hastily welded together. Every piece had withstood the impact of the previous campaign, but none were designed for long-term use.

“First item: The Coalition's long-term military structure.” Marcus projected the proposals of the War Council’s standing committees onto the screen point by point. “The War Council shall be the supreme coordinating body of the Coalition, with three standing committees under it: the Joint Fleet Command, the Psionic Void Network Technical Committee, and the Void Throat Defense Command. The Joint Fleet Command will be responsible for the unified dispatch, joint exercises, and emergency response of all Coalition fleets. Oldenburg will serve as the first Commander, with a Vice Commander dispatched from The Swarm’s Leviathan battle group, and liaison officers stationed from the Solemmnace Dynasty and Iyanden Craftworld. The Psionic Void Network Technical Committee will take over the upgrade and maintenance of the Psionic Void Network, the interpretation of the Old Ones' database, and defense against Chaos infiltration. The Brood Queen will serve as the Director, with the Iyanden Farseer and Canoptek-7 as Deputy Directors; Bern will serve as the human representative responsible for the integrated coordination of holy power defense schemes. The Void Throat Defense Command will have full authority over the Void Throat seal assessment and the subsequent operation of the Star of Judgment Sealing Protocol, with the Blackstone Cerebrate as the Commandant, Bern’s Grey Knights squad as the permanent holy power guard, and an Eldar Spiritseer as the prophetic web monitoring consultant.”

Bern gently placed his Holy Hammer on the table and stood up, stating that the Grey Knights accepted the appointment. The Void Throat was the Coalition's most vital strategic asset, and the Grey Knights would guard it as they guarded the Golden Throne on Terra. The Iyanden Farseer nodded slightly, adding in high gothic that the prophetic web monitoring for the Star of Judgment Sealing Protocol required periodic calibration. The Eldar Council of Seers would dispatch a permanent Spiritseer to join the Void Throat Command, while also offering a prophecy: the Old Ones' next round of assessment would involve a long-term verification of the Sealing Protocol's stability, with a time span that might far exceed a single campaign.

Marcus turned to the second item. The Battle of the Star of Judgment had exposed several weaknesses in the Coalition's military structure: the need for temporary calibration of Void Shield coordination during joint operations, inconsistent ammunition and energy supply specifications, and repair standards for damaged ships that were incompatible across the four civilizations. He proposed the Coalition Joint Military Industry Initiative—integrating The Swarm’s bio-smelting, the Necrons' living metal casting, the Eldar’s Wraith-forging, and the Empire’s Adeptus Mechanicus production lines into a single integrated platform. A permanent joint headquarters would be established at the original site of the Metallis Forge Temple, with representatives stationed from each member civilization and a rapid response force with a rotating command.

Oldenburg sent a note from Griffin IV, stating that the Third Assault Fleet had consumed a large number of Void Shield overload components during the Battle of the Star of Judgment, and that the Adeptus Mechanicus' production standards were on a completely different scale compared to the regeneration cycle of Necron living metal. “Joint military industry isn't just about unifying specifications; it’s so that in the next campaign, we aren't still rummaging through our respective warehouses for spare parts before the battle starts.” Sebastian flipped his helmet over and rested it on his knees, adding: During the joint operations at Silent Tomb-7, the ammunition supplies for the Terminator Assault Platoon were dragged directly out of the leviathan mothership’s creep conduits by Drones; that efficiency was ten thousand times higher than the Departmento Munitorum. If the Adeptus Mechanicus were willing to learn, he wouldn't mind letting Drones open a few more supply lines in the Terminator hangars.

The Brood Queen’s quantum-state translator lit up on the table. “The Overmind agrees to the Joint Military Industry Initiative, but with one condition—The Swarm’s bio-smelting formulas are core genetic assets and will not be included in the shared database. The Coalition may use the adamantium-chitin composite armor and Living Railgun components produced by The Swarm, but they may not reverse-engineer their genetic coding. The boundaries of technology sharing shall be uniformly defined by the Psionic Void Network Technical Committee.” The Iyanden Farseer likewise made a reservation: Wraith-forging involves the Craftworld’s soul core network and cannot be shared externally, but the Eldar are willing to provide Wraith-shield generators to the Coalition as non-shared tactical supplies according to a quota before each joint campaign. Nephilak’s reply was the shortest—the regeneration protocols for living metal have been recorded in the annex of the void covenant; they are available for use by the Coalition but cannot be reverse-engineered. Canoptek-7 added that the Hammer of Silence could permanently station an engineering ship at the joint headquarters, specifically responsible for emergency living metal repairs of damaged Coalition vessels.

Marcus recorded these reservations one by one, then keyed the fleet channel to formally promulgate the resolution: “The Joint Fleet Command is hereby established as a permanent body, with Oldenburg as the first Commander. The Psionic Void Network Technical Committee is established as a permanent body, with the Brood Queen as Director. The Void Throat Defense Command is established as a permanent body, with the Blackstone Cerebrate as Commandant. The Joint Military Industry Initiative is launched, and the Metallis Joint Headquarters is officially established as of today. The details of each permanent structure shall have their draft organization completed by their respective committees within one week. Oldenburg, you will arrange the fleet rotation schedule. Bern, the holy power defense scheme for the Void Throat is to be in the hands of the Blackstone Cerebrate within three days. Brood Queen, let the Overmind know that the Coalition is no longer a temporary partnership—we have a charter now.”

The Brood Queen slowly stood up from the other side of the conference table. Her Photonic Crown pulsed steadily with cold green light patterns above her head, and every Blackstone Resonance Chamber on her adamantium-chitin carapace adjusted its angle slightly with her movements. She did not use the translator; instead, she used a forelimb to carve a line of text onto a creep recorder, which was then projected directly onto the main screen via a quantum-state link.

“The Overmind says the Coalition has passed the Old Ones' first round of testing. Until the second round begins, this Photonic Crown will remain at the Coalition headquarters. It is not the property of The Swarm—it recognizes all Coalition members who activated the Void Throat. Your name ranks behind The Swarm in the database of activators certified by the Old Ones.”

She paused, and the translator continued to glow.

“A side note—the fracture in your right shoulder was still bound with a brace during the negotiations at the Forge Temple. Don't wear it next time. The Chairman of the Coalition does not need a brace.”

Marcus looked down at the Photonic Crown and reached out his right hand. Those five fingers, which had once been bound by a brace and now bore only a faint scar where the bone had fractured, pressed steadily onto the edge of the Photonic Crown, the living metal within it pulsing slightly against his palm.

“The Swarm War Council was established from the beginning under the authorization of the Imperial Inquisition; now, we have decided to reorganize it into the Coalition War Council. I have one final command for this term as Chairman—let Terra, all Craftworlds, all Tomb Worlds, and all planets still wavering hear this: The Coalition has already won a battle, and the Coalition will continue to exist. No matter what the Old Ones test next, no matter which door Tzeentch tries to pry open next—we are here.”