"My Emperor… what enemy is it? Are we going to survive?"
Fear spread through the passenger compartment. Everyone knew what it meant to be attacked mid-voyage.
All they could do was pray for the blessing of the Golden Sun and the Savior.
"No need to worry. This ship will be fine. The Redemption Fleet and the Emperor's Angels won't stand by and do nothing."
A short, broad-shouldered abhuman with a white beard remained calm as ever.
He soothed the crowd and said, "I'm an Imperial Honorary Citizen. I fought at Baal. If danger comes, I'll protect everyone!"
This abhuman was a retired veteran. He'd lived in trenches during the Apocalyptic War. He wasn't afraid of a sea of xenos bugs, let alone a bit of turbulence.
He looked at Dorn and spoke with hearty swagger.
"Big guy, you're a veteran too, right? If there really is a boarding action, we'll go kill those heretic xenos!"
Dorn nodded.
His instinctive vigilance had leaked a trace of killing intent, and the old soldier noticed.
There was no helping it. Dorn had endured too much war and slaughter. It was hard to hide that aura.
Dorn decided he would act.
He didn't want these devout believers to die. More importantly, this was his transport to Terra.
No matter what enemy it was, they had picked the wrong target!
Creak.
Dorn grabbed the rail of a metal bunk and wrenched hard, tearing off a solid metal bar to use as a weapon.
In recent years, his weapons had been worn away to nothing through countless battles. But this body itself was the strongest weapon.
He stood with the bar in hand, like a wall given form.
The next moment, the short veteran's booming voice came from the side.
"Big guy, why're you damaging public property… heh heh. You probably didn't read the ship's sightseeing manual, did you?"
Dorn paused, momentarily stunned. He really hadn't had time to read the booklet written in Low Gothic.
"Yeah, figures. You're probably not a new Imperial citizen. Makes sense you wouldn't know."
The short veteran looked understanding.
"According to the latest fire safety standards, ships have to be equipped with emergency armaments, including the cabins we stay in. It's a public safety requirement.
The security department has to inspect it…"
Under everyone's gaze, the veteran walked up to a safety-marked panel and explained:
"If an intrusion happens, the ship will broadcast a notice and unlock the emergency armament safety locks."
As soon as he finished speaking, alarms blared and red lights flashed.
The captain announced that Chaos heretics had used sorcery to teleport aboard. All pilgrims outside were to follow guidance to designated safe areas immediately.
At the same time, the captain called on anyone capable to follow instructions to specified points and resist the invaders.
The short veteran remained composed, head down as he read the newest intelligence on his dataslate.
He had just requested access to the emergency comms channel.
"The enemy is a Red Corsairs Chaos warband.
There are about thirty-plus Traitor Astartes, and a large number of cultists. Their equipment isn't great, so their firepower shouldn't be too strong…"
He explained with relief. "Good thing it's not daemons, or we'd have a bigger problem."
Dorn listened, dumbfounded. Since when were Imperial civilians this tough, like they wanted to square up with a Chaos warband?!
Crack.
The veteran smashed the glass covering the safety panel and pulled out the now-unlocked emergency armament case.
Inside was a full set of weapons: light and heavy machine guns, las rifles, shields, plus frag grenades, krak grenades, and more.
"If we were in the public areas outside, veterans would even have authorization to get a light version of bolter weapons and temporary personal armor.
Too bad we don't have time. Those old bastards move fast…"
The short veteran sighed.
He was excited. He hadn't expected his retirement pilgrimage to include another chance to fight heretics.
Kill a few more heretics, and wouldn't he earn even more holy favor when he reached Holy Terra?
When his time came, he would absolutely return to the Throne!
…???
Dorn stared at the contents of the armament case and nearly went numb. There was enough in there to outfit an elite Astra Militarum squad.
The Imperium stocked weapons like this now?
Every public area and every cabin had a cache. How many weapons was that?