88: Chapter 88 Terra Emergency Meeting: The Highlord Council Unanimously Passes New Directive: Bring Back the Allied Forces

When news of the authorization revocation reached Terra, the Council of High Lords was reviewing the Imperial Navy's shipbuilding plan for the coming year. The adjutant to the Arbiter of the Adeptus Arbites burst into the chamber, projecting Marcus Aurelian's emergency communication directly onto the holographic display at the center of the grand council table. Three data streams played simultaneously: the full text of the Old Ones' authorization return clause, the record of the United Fleet's fire control decoupling, and real-time footage of the Coalition emblem on the bow of Heinrich's ship turning gray. The twelve seats in the chamber were silent for only a moment before erupting into chaos.

The Lord High Admiral of the Imperial Navy slammed his tactical data slate onto the table, first questioning the Adeptus Arbites on who was responsible for auditing the supplementary clauses of the Coalition Charter. The Arbiter of the Adeptus Arbites opened the Black Codex, quoting the authorization return bylaws from the Old Ones Evaluation Protocol—which had been signed and confirmed by all Coalition members—line by line. He admitted that the terms passed unanimously by the Coalition War Council inherently included an automatic execution program upon expiration, and that The Swarm had not violated a single Coalition law. The Ecclesiarch of the Ecclesiarchy stood up, leaning on his holy staff, his voice echoing under the dome of the Imperial Palace: "The Old Ones' exam was taken together by the Coalition. We passed, and the authorization expired. The Swarm is not our enemy; they are the ones sitting next to us in the exam hall who finished their paper faster than we did. The Coalition has already won three battles—the Star of Judgment, the Lead-Gray Abyss, and the Origin Facility. Now is not the time to argue over clauses; it is the time to negotiate the Coalition back." The Chancellor of the Administratum immediately proposed a motion, requesting that the Council of High Lords grant Marcus Aurelian full authority to restart Coalition negotiations.

At the edge of the holographic projection, Marcus stood in the briefing room of the Wrath of the Emperor, his right hand pressed against the edge of the conference table, the fracture on his finger having long since healed into a faint scar. He listened to all the arguments from Terra and then spoke, his voice raspy but each word sounding as if it were being driven into a steel plate by a rivet gun: "Restarting Coalition negotiations requires leverage. The assets still held by the Coalition after the authorization revocation include: the Adeptus Mechanicus assembly lines and Aeldari Wraith-forge at the United Industrial Complex; full unencrypted backups of the Coalition shared database; observer status on the War Council; and the United Fleet Command fleet coordination program's local mode. These four items are the only cards left in the Coalition's hand. If the Council of High Lords wishes for me to negotiate the Coalition back, I need clear authorization from Terra regarding these cards—including, if necessary, designating parts of the United Industrial Complex's production lines as joint sovereign assets to exchange for entry terms in a new agreement with The Swarm."

The Arbiter of the Adeptus Arbites closed the Black Codex and, in a rare move, did not rebut line by line, saying only, "Authorization granted." The Administratum drafted the authorization order into a formal document, and the twelve High Lord seals were pressed onto the end of the file in succession. The Ecclesiarch paused his pen before stamping: "Tell The Swarm that the last agreement the Coalition signed was the first time humanity learned to stand on equal footing with xenos. For this new agreement, humanity demands to no longer be a student—we are allies." Marcus forwarded the authorization order to the War Council while simultaneously ordering all Imperial ships in the United Fleet to maintain a local-mode defensive formation, forbidding any proactive approach to the Blackstone Defense Line's identification zone until negotiations were complete.

The Brood Queen's quantum-state translator lit up on one side of the main screen, cold green text spreading line by line: "The Overmind has received the negotiation request. The location for the new agreement negotiations is set at the Central Dispatch Room of the Metallis United Industrial Complex. Negotiation time: Now. Additional reminder—The Swarm has completed all handovers according to the Old Ones' terms after the agreement expired, but the creep pipeline backup interfaces at the United Industrial Complex are still operational. The Overmind asks if you would like some coffee."

Marcus looked down at the cup of long-cold coffee in his hand, his mouth twitching slightly before he pressed the fleet channel: "Heinrich, deploy the Shield of the Emperor to take me to Metallis. Bern, Sebastian, and Oldenburg will attend remotely. Last time, The Swarm taught us how to fight; this time, they are teaching us how to sign an agreement detrimental to ourselves and then regret it. Bring the negotiation recorders—this time, we will write every expiration date, every authorization return clause, and every joint asset disposal plan into the standard format of the Imperial Codex. The Emperor as my witness, the Coalition as my witness—let the negotiations begin."