A light breeze blew through the pavilion. The gentle afternoon light illuminated marble pillars, holding up a sleek marble roof. Outside, clouds could be seen gently drifting below. For indeed this almost rustic piece of architecture in roman style currently hovered over 12 km above the ground, held up by high-tech hover engines adapted from the space yakuza technology. This had two functions. First, it meant that the location was hard to interfere with from the ground, and hard to reach for would-be assassins. Secondly, it provided an air of isolation, an aura of calm that might assist in the peace talks. Or at least, that was the goal. Kaldor Draigo severely doubted that some nice cloud scenery would dissuade the beasts of the Conquerors from their blasphemous ways.

The Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights mused this, as he stood at the head of a long oaken table. Metal-reinforced seats had been provided, allowing even his heavily armoured frame to sit, but he felt more at ease standing. He'd been fighting those beasts on the front lines for over a year now, although he had arrived more than a year after his Emperor had first confronted their forces. Made a bit of a name for himself, as well. Now he had been taken from the battlefield, and was expected to preside over a peace meeting. He respected that the Emperor wished for peace, after all, none could doubt the Emperor's judgement. And Vulkan spoke for the Emperor now. But he was a man of war, a weapon in human form. For over 200 years he had wandered the Warp, tearing his way through armies of demons. At least in that cursed place his task had been a simple one. Here, he was oddly out of his element.

Invitations had been sent to all major factions, and a couple of the smaller ones. The location was a neutral one, a small building hovering over what the locals had once known as the Pacific Ocean. All factions attending were granted the right to a single representative and a single bodyguard, as well as two unarmed servants, for a total party size of 4. All factions were allowed to bring their weapons for self defence, but to draw their weapons would be considered an act of war. No military troops were allowed to approach within 50 km of the location itself, and participants would arrive via unarmed transports, flight, or teleportation devices. The conditions had been set by agreement between the New Imperium and the Dark Outliners, and it was these two factions that had originally planned this event. The Conquerors weren't exactly intent on peace, but they would be required to show up, if only to listen to what the other factions were talking about. The damned Goa'Uld xenos were also invited, but Draigo would be damned if he could predict their actions. They seemed to be almost as expansionistic as the Conquerors, but far more subtle about it. If they did show, he'd need to keep an eye on them.

Kaldor himself performed two roles at this event. He was here together with two members of the Imperial Administration, officials who would record the event and provide important information. He himself was their bodyguard, as well as the voice of the Imperium here. He represented the God Emperor, and the bastion of order formed by his works. His secondary task was that of a peacekeeper, to ensure that no faction were to take advantage of this event to attack another. he could not be swayed or pleaded with, and therefore perfectly suitable for the role of arbiter. Should any of the representatives overstep their bounds, it would be his task to eliminate them before the talks were ruined, and to make of their foolishness a message. This day would certainly be interesting.

As the hour struck three, in Terran measurements, the large marble doors leading to the landing platform opened, as the first faction of many entered the hall. Draigo sighed, in preparation. He wasn't entirely certain whether he hoped everything to go right, or for everything to go wrong. Only time would tell.....