Chapters A thousand redemptions for a thousand dead sons.
Chapter 1
The procession was long and those standing to watch were tormented by the heavy rain that wet manes and drenched coats. All they could do was watch. Their tears added to the water that fell from the sky.
Twilight Sparkle, last of the elements of Harmony had just died yesterday.
From the crowd. A lone dragon watched. He was still short for a dragon, yet that was due to his relative young age. He stood just slightly shorter than the average pony.
"Twilight..." Spike's deepened voice choked. Choked from his tears, his anguish, his sorrow. The being most like his sister was dead, and he knew he would miss her much. He had always dreaded that a day like this would happen, and here it was, his worst nightmare was upon him. There was nothing he could do.
"Why?" Spike croaked. Why did she have to die? Why did just last year, when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, now as one being, offer her a way to extend her life-span? Why did she have to refuse? Why?!
Was it that she feared the technology the humans used to extend their own lives? Was it that she disapproved of their ways of magic, and it's instability? Or was it that she believed, she had run her course? Whatever it was, it didn't matter. He wanted nothing more than her to be alive.
"Spike...want...." Spike muttered through his tears.
"Spike...want...."
"Mr... are you okay?" A filly asked. "Is there something you want?"
"SPIKE WANTS TWILIGHT TO BE ALIVE!!!"
The massive explosion was visible from Malcador's standpoint. He instantly knew what was going on even before it happened. Going over, he watched the massive dragon roar defiantly at the heavens themselves, finally robbed of it's most precious treasures.
"Spike..." Malcador said slowly. His voice soothing to the ears even above all the din and panic the dragon was causing. "Spike... if you can hear me... listen to the sound of my voice."
The dragon roared again, almost as if that was it's ay of showing it didn't want to listen to him. It was only just interested in screaming and crying in it's own language. Something that caused a few Astartes to appear with bolters at the ready. Only Malcador's orders made them not shred Spike that very moment.
"Spike... if you can hear me... listen to me...." Malcador whispered through his mind. "Twilight is good. She is at a well deserved rest, and she is happy. Do you care for her? Do you love her? Then you should be happy for her, that she will spend eternity in a blissful slumber than another century of tiring life... calm yourself... rest... your anger will drive you to ruin..."
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"The last of the elements have died." Galaxia muttered sadly. "It seems we will have to find new bearers."
"Indeed. This can take the course of minutes, days, weeks, or perhaps eons." Sigmar said as he sat down upon his throne to contemplate what to do next. "We don't have the luxury of time anymore."
"The irony of defeating one's greatest opponent and realizing we only chipped the tip of the iceberg." Galaxia replied. The alicorn stared out the window. "What now?"
"I will task Cypher with finding the best candidates for the elements." The Emperor replied as he got up. "You think..."
"I doubt it. They will turn up eventually, and when they do, we will know because of the bond they share with one another. Cypher is need elsewhere. The eastern fringes of the galaxy perhaps?"
"Yes... right... we can't ever take our eyes off that place." The Emperor sighed. "It seems that my work grows only harder with every victory."
"Even with the greatest armies at your side, the greatest warriors, the best intellectuals and having the greatest mind, body and soul, we all have our limits. They may be far off, perhaps we may never reach them, but they exist."
"And with almost no limit, I am cursed to never sleep, never rest, never being able to enjoy the pleasures of life, only eternal toil to better the life others... that is pleasure in itself. It is the only pleasure left."
"Perhaps that is why we were always jealous of mortals. They were never cursed with this thing they call immortality that they always seek out."
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Photep
The long lines of chained slaves extended as far the eye could see, many of them groaning, weeping and moaning in their infinite pain, caused by the cruel masters that were the sorcerers of the Thousand sons, who seemed to take pleasure with their every ounce of suffering.
Save for one....
There as a particular member of the legion who was not present currently to torment the slaves. He was away, in a lone cell, at the foot of the bed of a frail and old woman. Without his helmet, one would assume he was a loyalist and not a chaos sorcerer.
"For your sake... you must eat." The sorcerer pleaded. "Please...."
"I can't..." The old woman wept. "I can't... Kertus... please... don't make me..."
"Stay alive... please..." The giant of a man begged. He never uttered an order, never a threat. He was little above going to his knees to beg at this old woman. What for? For her to eat something. For her to stay alive.
"You must stay alive! You must!" Kertus said, his calm voice did little to disguise his true feelings on the matter.
"Every moment you waste on me, ten more will die. Kertus... their lives are more important. There are tender children under cruel masters that need care, abused women who need hope, broken men who need to know there is a way out... only you can give them that."
"If you die..." Kertus said. "You know what I will do to."
"No! You mustn't!" The old woman leapt up with surprising speed for someone as ill and weak as she was. "Kertus! You promised me!"
"I can always break a promise if you aren't there to see me to." Kertus said. Saying those words for him was like chewing on a rock. He hated every syllable with every ounce of his soul.
"Kertus... why? Why didn't you save yourself? Why?!"
"Because if I had, millions would have died. You among them."
"Kertus...."
"Mother...."
A thousand redemptions for a thousand dead sons.
"I hate the snow." The Space Wolf grumbled moodily as he prepared to meet up with his superiors. Like most members of his chapter, he had long hair which he probably never cut in his entire life, unlike most members of his chapter, he lacked a beard, only a relatively small mustache that he was secretly proud of.
"Lad... what don't ya hate?" Tavish asked. The Dark Angel winked cheekily at his gloomy companion who made no notice of him.
"Now that you think of it..." Fraken started. "There isn't much that I do like."
"And that's yer problem laddie."
"Stop calling me laddie for one, we know both enough that I am older than you."
"And who bloody cares about that?" Tavish replied. "Now then mate, we've got a meeting.... and by the looks of things, those gits don't look happy to see you!"
"If I get in any trouble, know that you were my accomplice." Fraken shot back. "Alright then, let's see what our superiors have to complain about this time."
"Bloody hell... those lassies can't shut up for one minute!" Tavish agreed. "I wish they would all shut the bloody hell up and let us do our face to face MANFIGHTING."
"And if we let you get away with that, half the galaxy would be in flames. Is face to face fighting to you burning down half a planet?"
"Rather destroy a world than let it fall to the Orks. The entire civilian population was gone, and there was no one and nothing left to protect." Fraken said in his normal, soft voice. He didn't yell like most of his brothers. He almost never yelled as a matter of fact. "If we abandoned the world, the damn greenskins would have had it."
"Nothing left? We could have salvaged plenty of useful materials from the planet, and you and your merry band of fools alike decide you wanted to go through a damn manual Exterminatus!" The angry Administratum officer ranted. "You have any idea how much that's going to cost to repair?! That equipment?"
"What's a manual exterminates?"
"It's the stuff lady!"
[About two days ago.]
"YEAHHH! LET'S DO IT!" Tavish cheered along with his brothers as their ship crashed straight into the orbital shipyard. "Come on ya Ork gits! Not one of ya is going to survive this!"
With a hearty laugh, the Dark Angel leapt at them with two plasma pistols in hand, shooting wildly at anything that wasn't on his side. When his two weapons overheated, he flung them at the Orks, gleefully laughing at the explosions before taking up a massive powersword.
"YA MAKING ME VERY CROSS!"
"Stomp dat humie git for mork's sake!"
"TOO LATE! HE'S STOMPING US!"
"Yew worthless... wat... HEY HUMIE... I AM TALKING TO YA. FOIGHT ME!"
"I aint gonna fight ya! I am gonna liquefy ya!"
He punched the Ork boss with a mighty blow, picking him up, he flung him straight into a massive generator....
Whoops... oh wait... he did that on purpose. Never mind.
A few minutes later, Tavish was back on board his own ship. Safe and sound. No losses.
"OH THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO GLUE YEW ALL BACK TOGETHER... IN HELL!" Tavish screamed to the void outside.
"Had fun?" Fraken asked as he sat in the Captain's chair.
"Ya! You missed a lot lad!"
"Don't care. Captain died, they needed a new one." He replied as he turned to a navigator. "Take us home."
[Back to the present]
"Orks had it taken as far as we were concerned. And since when did we take orders from you exactly?" Fraken asked with amused disbelief. "If I recall correctly, I was supposed to meet with MY superiors. Not you and some whiny pretenders who are more concerned with their wealth than actual lives or defeating the enemy."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
"You heard me quite well. You are more concerned with your paycheck and your approval rating from you commanders than you are with lives or the status of the Imperium. Want to know what's the difference between us? I don't get paid. That's why I am loyal to the imperium, and not to some shiny pieces of currency."
"YOU DARE!"
"I do. And I say this to ALL of you. Go home. I will put up with MY superiors, not angry hoarders."
"You dare insult us like this space marine?" One of the men spoke up. "We will not forget this."
"You dare insulting me by calling yourself my superior? I will not forget this either." Fraken said. "Come on Tavish, we have better things to do."
"You will regret this."
"Oh trust me. Meeting the likes of you already made me regret coming here. And they told us it was impolite to keep our superiors waiting."
Tavish burst into hearty laughter as the two exited the chamber, leaving a mass of angry men who could only rant and curse, but nothing more. On the way out, they bumped straight into a man in a white hood. Cypher.
"Oh Emperor have mercy!" Tavish panicked. "What the bloody hell did we do now?!"
"Come with me." Cypher said coldly. "He would like to see you."
"He? As in..."
"The Emperor? Yes." Cypher replied. "Hurry up. It is impolite to keep your superiors waiting."
"Milord... is something wrong?" Tavish asked nervously as he found himself in front of the glowing form of The Emperor. It wasn't just being in the presence of a god that made him nervous, it was the fact that there was about eight custodes in the room, who could probably tear him apart with nothing but their bare hands.
"Wrong? What's wrong?" The Emperor asked quizzically. "Do you know why I summoned you here?"
"Because..."
"Shut up." Fraken shot at Tavish. "We do not sire. Please enlighten us."
"Well then...
A thousand redemptions for a thousand dead sons.
"If I am going to given this in layman's terms, The Thousand Sons have decided they want to be a thorn in our sides once again?"
"Ach, and here was silly ol' me thinking those wee lassies would have learned something by now."
"Magnus the red is intent all destroying us all. Do not underestimate him or his legion." The Emperor said.
"With all due respect sah... Why are you asking us of all people? You probably could send Draigo and his lackeys to blast those gits into thin glue... Ah... Bloody hell, why don't you snap your fingers and send those buckoes back to hell? No one likes calling us in because.... well"
[Long list of things blown up and ordinances used. Including but not limited to: A "borrowed" cyclonic torpedo, Capital weaponry, An civilized world's storage of nuclear energy and a jar of peanut butter.]
"I could... But consider this your ways of paying the administratum back for the few dozen times you turned their assets into scrap metal. Besides... I have more pressing matters to attend to.
Both Fraken and Tavish couldn't tell whether or not that was a good thing. On one hand, it could mean that The Emperor didn't take the Thousand Sons seriously because they weren't much of a threat which was plausible.... But what if that for all the threat a Daemon Primarch and his legion posed to The Imperium, they were only the least of their worries?
"So." Cypher said as The Emperor paused to think about something. "I hope you and your merry men are all ready. Be warned... You may all not be so merry when this is all over. That is of course, you choose to take this task."
"Wait right there boyo... We have a choice in this?"
"He would never make anyone do something they didn't want to, especially if it may be hazardous to their well-being. I, of course have yet to add a Primarch to my list of kills."
"Enough Cypher." The Emperor said as he broke out of his thought. "Your decision?"
"Optional or not, consider this done my liege." Fraken said. "We will depart on your order."
"Not so fast my friend, I would like to prepare you for your quest."
"Prepare us?"
"One does not simply defeat a corrupt Primarch and a wicked army without support."
"Fraken. This is a friend of mine. Meet Spike." The Emperor said as he waved at hand toward the lizard that stood about five feet tall.
"Spike." The Space Wolf said as he reached out to shake hands with the dragon. "Pardon me for asking, but aren't you a bit.... Umm..."
"I can easily grow large enough to snap a Titan in two if you so desire." The deep growl of the dragon rumbled. Something was a bit odd about being threatened by something that only went up to your waist.
"My apologies, I meant no offense Spike. My name is Fraken and I am honored to meet a dragon."
"Yeah...yeah..." Spike said moodily. "Pleased to meet you too Fraken. My temperament has changed for the worse in light of recent events. A death in the family.
"I am sorry to hear that. It may surprise you, but I've had to go through that before as well."
"Sounds interesting."
"A long and sad story. I will speak of it later once we find ourselves the time. Now then... Who are you supposed to be?"
"Your navigator." The Emperor said as he gestured at the unicorn. "She is a mute. Stargazer."
"A beautiful and meaningful name. Nice to meet you too."
The unicorn bowed her head slightly and nodded to acknowledge her new acquaintance.
"My lord... If I may ask one thing, why do I need a a navigator?"
"Sub-sector Elysium. Once a beautiful set of jewels in their tranquil crown of space. Now a breeding ground for vermin. The Thousand Sons. Approximately half the sub-sector has fallen to the foul sword of chaos. Many more lives will be lost if we do not hurry. As we can expect, the Thousand Sons have put up warp storms around the sector, preventing any entry and no webway portals are within the sector under our control. The cowards seek to attack targets that may not fight back so easily. However, we know not the intentions of Magnus the red, but we have confirmed reports of him being in the sub-sector. Our mission is to destroy him and his legion. Using the miracles of The Emperor, we have devised a plan to get a fleet in. Any unnecessary loss of life has been deemed unacceptable. Exterminatus will be forbidden until we have confirmed that 100% of the population have been killed or corrupted. Until then, liberation forces will battle the legion across the sub-sector while a strike group will personally strike and kill Magnus. You are warned. Magnus the red is both a cunning and powerful foe. Engaging him in single combat is suicide under any and all circumstances."
"Now listen up buckoes! We are that bloody strike group! And you know what? I say that I'll personally stick me thumb that git's good eye and hang on till he's DEAD... I promise to let you sorry bunch of losers help."
As one could probably expect, he was met with boos and howls and the occasional piece of trash that got flung at him. Boasts soon filled the room.
"I will kill Magnus. Watch me brothers."
"We'll get to watch you FAIL you miserable wreck! Watch me and you'll see how it's done."
"Ha! You think you can fight? Only I posses the skill to slay a Primarch!"
"Keep dreaming children. I will slay that vile monster with my bare hands."
"You all forget yourselves brothers." Fraken said as the room finally settled down. "I am the hunter here. Magnus is my prey. He belongs to me. I am certain we all know why. Do I have your words of honor as men that I will get first try against him?"
Grumbles rang through the room yet everyone grudgingly agreed. Their leader after all held a long vendetta against the Primarch of the Thousand Sons.
"Remind me again. Our agreement was for my service, you would not touch any of these men, women and children. How come that they die, by the hundreds each day, not at the hands of things like aging and disease but at the hands of cruel masters and murderers?"
Magnus the Red chuckled nastily. "You seem to forget a few things. I agreed not to hurt anyone dear and precious to you. Like that blind and useless skinflint you seem to care for so much? The frail child of a dead friend? Or your own mother? Everyone else will not receive things such as my mercy."
"They are all precious... Their lives... Their souls... You kill them like they are nothing. Where is the shame of a powerful one preying upon those who may not defend themselves?"
"Like that of the False Emperor I know you "secretly" still swear allegiance to? Like the citizens of Prospero he slaughtered without mercy or discrimination? Like the sons he massacred that were still loyal to him?"
"Are you as intent as dragging his name in the mud as you are with your acts of evil?"
"Do not dare to lecture me whelp. Allow me to remind you that you belong to me."
"You are wrong Daemon. I will always be free in my mind and my heart. There is nothing you can do to stop that."
"It will soon. I will tear your mind and your hearts out. You have no idea how much I will enjoy killing you when the time comes. Allow me to also remind you that as powerful as you are, you are nothing compared to me. You killed Draco with your bare hands? I could have done that in my sleep. You can tear this ship apart by waving a hand? I can destroy the entire planet below with a thought. Now leave. Continue cherishing those pitiful mortals. When their time comes, it will only add to your sorrow. Continue to listen to your good intentions and vitreous conscience. You will reap no fruit from it."
"Kertus... What happened?" Sophia asked as she tended to the old woman in bed. She watched as Kertus took off his helmet, his eyes beginning to adopt a strange glow.
"Nothing." The astartes spat out as he clenched his fist. His eyes glowed an angry white.
"Kertus... Please..." Sophia said as she walked over to the astartes, not seeming to care that he could potentially break her in half just by glaring at her.
"Damn him... Damn all of them! I hope they all die and burn in hell!"
Sophia jumped back as Kertus flipped the table, punching the floor with his fist in senseless rage. The young woman slid back to the bed containing Kertus' mother, who had begun to watch her son finally let out his anger.
"Enjoy yourself while you still can Magnus. I will dance on your grave one day."
"Kertus... What did he do?"
"More souls damned. What for? So he can grow more powerful. More evil." Kertus breathed as his temper quickly faded. "Sophia... Forgive me for my temperament."
"No need to be sorry. We should all be sorry that we're putting you through all of this."
"It's not your fault. It is of two people. Magnus and myself. I am too weak to stop his madness."
"Kertus...."
"I will grow stronger... When I do... I will watch him suffer.... I will see him grieve... I will see him weep bitter tears... I will break him... And when that is all done. When he has suffered like how they have suffered. Like how we have suffered.... I will drive my staff through his eye."
"Vengeance will not ease the pain of anyone." Kertus' mother said as she rose from her bed. "Only your comfort can. And knowing my son still has hope.... That's all the comfort I need."
"Revenge is not for the sake of the living mother." Kertus said as he took his bedlam staff... Listening to it's attempts of tempting him. "It's for the sake of the dead. I cannot allow them to sleep restlessly knowing that justice had not been served. One day... The Emperor will grant them, will grant me, will grant us the justice we deserve. And the day I drive my staff through his eye will be the day justice is given. For the living and for the dead."
A thousand redemptions for a thousand dead sons.
"Give me one... no two..." Magnus said to his subordinate as Kertus entered the room. Even with his mask on, Magnus could pretty much smell the rage that came from the sorcerer. Had it not been for any of the current circumstances, he wouldn't have been surprised to see the man try something.
"What do you want?" Kertus hissed at the Primarch. The irony. The man who had the worst relationship with their leader got away with speaking to him in the rudest tone.
"What do I want? No my friend. It's something I need." The Daemon said as he gestured to the window. "Observe. Planet Asphodel. It contains an artifact from a forgotten era. It's name? I do not know. Just call it... the device. It looks like this."
The daemon held up an artist's representation of the device to Kertus who scrutinized it carefully.
"Had a good look? In your memory now? Good. Because you are going to go get it for me. And let me let you in on something. You finish this job, I promise you, every slave and captive we have in our holds will be released. Nothing... I promise... no harm or trickery will befall them if you do this for me... Fail however..."
The bolter shots and the sound of blood spraying on the floors and walls was enough to get his point across.
"Now get going."
"My lord, must I let you know that sending him off is folly?" One of Magnus' advisors said as he watched Kertus depart. "What if he finds ou..."
"Shh.... ears everywhere my friend. He won't. By the time he will, he will probably either be dead, or marooned somewhere far enough where we can forget about him. I think I prefer the first... though what of the second? Let him have his wish of being with his friends and family, only to make it an immortality of torment, knowing both that he may not die nor forget."
"Kertus has no loyalty to us. We all know where his true loyalties lie. So what stops him from betraying us in some way or form? If he does find out about our plans, he may end up choosing... and chances are he will destroy us."
"You just answered it. You know where his true loyalties lie. You see... The Emperor isn't just a backstabber, but he's also a weak man, clutching onto the lives of his subjects like a miser holds on to his last piece of silver. If he really is still on their side, or at least wants to be, then he won't do anything that leaves anyone still "innocent" dead. Of course... he can always prove to us that the darkness is in him too by destroying this ship and everyone aboard."
"I still have my doubts lord, though it is not in my place to question your strategies. My only observation is Kertus will show his true colors sooner or later."
"When that happens, he may be a threat to you, to the army, but not to me. I will handle him personally."
What no one knew, was Kertus had been listening.
"So let's go over this again. How did you turn that "rock" into a block of silver?" Galaxia asked as the Emperor kept shaking like he really needed to go on a bathroom break.
"Using the powers of the warp, I teleported a chunk of silver and replaced it with the rock and vice-versa... can we please stop playing this game? Right now, I feel as though my soul is going to jump out of it's body from what Magnus' plan is!" He said. He hadn't moved from the golden throne that entire day despite Malcador and Galaxia's reassurances to him that everything would be alright.
"We got more than 10,000 astartes to deal with that rabble. Why do you continue to worry about him? As we speak, I gave orders to have Leman Russ move more of his legion into the sub-sector. If the Thousand sons aren't dead in 24 hours, then we have reason to worry... but until then, what reason is there to panic?"
"Because if he succeeds, we're all back to square one." The Emperor said. "And this time, it's not just going to be Terra that's in danger. It'll be every world that has been connected to the human webway! Important ones too. Fenris, Titan, Baal, Mars, Macragge and more. If any of those worlds fall, it's going to be complete disaster!"
"That's why you're going to stay on that throne all day and not move? Maybe a disaster won't be a complete disaster if you decide to do something! It's unbecoming of a ruler to sit on his throne and do nothing while his subjects are in peril!"
"And it's a good thing so long as I sit here, nothing will happen."
"I tried to convince you." Galaxia murmured to herself as she left Sigmar on his own.
"Location of Magnus the Red is most likely to be on Asphodel. A civilized world. 80% of the population have now either been killed or captured by the Thousand Sons. 15% are still on the planet offering what meager resistance they can. 5% have fled.
"Thank you Magos." Frakan said as he gave the order to move his ship. "Tavish!"
"Aye?"
"You want to have some fun? Magnus has deployed a sizable force to Asphodel and is currently slaughtering the population."
"That git would attack some poor lads who are smaller than him! It's snakes like him that give war a bad name!"
"You going to do something?"
"DO SOMETHING?! DO SOMETHING LAD?! WE'RE GOING TO GO DOWN THE PAIN TRAIN STATION, AND THOSE GOOD-FOR NOTHING BASSAS ARE GOING TO GET FIRST CLASS TICKETS!"
"That's the spirit." Fraken chuckled as he saw Tavish take out a powersword that was almost his size.
"Come on lads! WE'LL 'EM ALL! IT'S ON!"
"Pathetic things." The sorceror said as he held a man in his massive hands. "Weak. Wretched. All of you! What is the point of your meager lives?! You break far too easy you lot!"
"Put me down devil!"
"Devil? Noooo, I am far worse." The Thousand Son chuckled nastily as he got his other hand which had gotten an odd glow. "Want to know an immortality of torture?"
"Put him down."
"Kertus? So slave, I see you've come down yourself. Would you like to see an innocent soul lose his?"
"You will put him down Shezmu." Kertus said as he approached the sorceror.
"And if I don't? What are you going to do huh? Kill me? You lose more than yo...."
The Sorceror all of a sudden found it rather difficult to breathe, or move as a whole as he felt himself being levitated into the air, a massive invisible hand threatened to smother him as he continued to make his pained wheezing noises.
"No. I won't kill you. I can do something far worse." Kertus said as he listened to the snap. There's a hundred more bones I can still break..."
Turning his head, he looked at the scared mortal who was hiding behind a rock. Eyes fixed on him in terror.
"Run."
He needed no second bidding, in fact, he was out of sight before anyone could as much as count to ten seconds. Turning back to Shezmu, Kertus listened to another audible snap of the bones before letting him down, and kicking him down to the earth.
"YOU ARE A COWARD. YOU ARE WEAK. YOU ARE NO SPACE MARINE. YOU ARE SCUM. YOU WILL NEVER BE A REAL MAN."
He lost his temper as he grinded every syllable, which was followed by a hard kick. When he was finally done, Shezmu could hardly stand from the agony that was inflicted upon him.
"You..will... pay for this." Shezmu hissed as he got up painfully.
"Just like you will pay for your crimes one day." Kertus shot back.
"You're a fool to think that you can still do what is right. Foolish whelp. You really believe after serving Magnus you can be like one of them again? Like they'll even accept you? Wrong. You'll get a bolter in the skull, and when that day comes, you'll regret not siding with us."
"When they've killed you. I can be there to tell you so when your soul is in agony for eternity as punishment for your crimes. I may not deserve to live for my sins, but I will repent and he will forgive. I know he will. You however, you are lost. You were lost by your own choice. I never had a choice."
"Even then, Magnus has won. You really think you can do what's right? You really think that the false Emperor will accept you as one of his own? He betrayed us at Prospero, he will cast you aside the moment you lose your worth. That'll be the same moment you've killed Magnus. Or at least, the same moment when Magnus is dead."
"You don't seem so sure you'll win."
"Of course not. But I am going to tear down everything that the False Emperor has built. I doubt I'll live to fight another day, but knowing that he suffered for his crimes will be enough."
"You are just like the others. Murderers trying to justify your crimes. I have a job to do. When it's over, I promise you. I will throw your corpse into hell's mouth."
"You may be more powerful than me. But you'll never defeat Magnus."
"We'll see."
A thousand redemptions for a thousand dead sons.
"Come on Lassies! Is that the best ya gits got?!" Tavish roared happily as he blasted a rubric marine into shreds of broken power armor with his grenade launcher. "Ach, that smarts!"
The Dark Angel glanced at the small wound that the glancing shot from the bolter made. A small injury that would make no difference no doubt. Grabbing his grenade launcher, he continued to rain down explosions upon the Thousand Son defensive positions.
"Come on mates! Have at them!"
The Thousand Sons were caught off guard by the massive wave of astartes screaming incomprehensible threats and/or warcries.
Any onlooker would have thought that Tavish must have had consumed a metric ton worth of alcohol when no one was looking when they factored in the screaming and yelling until a bunch of space marines, all from different chapters literally landed on The Thousand Sons. Any unintelligible screaming just grew louder as several sorcerers found that several vital and essential body parts weren't where they were supposed to be under any normal circumstance.
"Hohoho! This calls for a drink!"
"Not now Tavish." Fraken said over the vox. "Anytime but now. I am detecting movement all around you. The Thousand Sons are readying for a counterattack. Be prepared to receive them at any given time."
"Alright boyos! We got a bunch of those GITS incoming and we're not going to stop until they are BURNING IN HELL!"
"At your command brother."
"Oi Fraken! I want ALL the lads down here! Ya here me ya lazy git!"
"Reinforcements incoming."
While it would be redudant to say so, the Thousand Sons had no idea that their enemies on Asphodel would be a crazy blend of a mob rather than the somewhat crazy mob that would be the space wolves. As a result of their suprise and underpreparation, they were easily driven back in all their attempts to drive Fraken's men off the planet.
Fraken was the leader of a de facto company that really had no official name. They sometimes referred to themselves as a mob, an (unofficial) company of space marines or just "the crew".
"The crew" was composed mainly of outcasts from their chapters just like their leader.
It all started on what Fraken referred to as "his darkest day" where he met Tavish for the first time. The Dark Angel was in need, being trapped under enough rubble that it took two astartes to remove all the litter. After much careful work, Fraken was able to pull the trapped space marine out and not surprisingly, the two became fast friends.
Fraken was by the standards of his chapter, an outcast as well. He seldom drank, was quiet by comparision and had an odd interest in suits, something which earned him the ridicule of many of his battle brothers. Even now.
Having lost his pack prior to saving Tavish, the two began to wander across the Imperium to do anything they pleased. The only reason they weren't branded renegades was due to their contribution of taking up the most perilous missions offered to them. This earned the respect of many who were similar to them and the grudging respect of others who viewed their ways as "unorthodox" or worse yet, "heretical".
Given time, their numbers swelled. It wasn't long before Fraken found himself at the command of over a hundred astartes, all hailing from different chapters.
Soon, it became clear that organization had to be done out. The crew supplied itself with gifts from other chapters or whatever they could get their hands on. The three techmarines within the crew did their best in making sure that their well armed mob stayed as a well armed mob. The two apothecaries had been more than just useful. They had kept the entire band of lunatics alive for almost eighty years. Eighty years without a single death. That was a great feat.
Within the ranks of Fraken's men, were probably some of the most mentally unstable astartes in the entire galaxy that didn't encompass any chaos space marines. Lunatics? I guess. But you know what? Even with an entire ship full of crazies, they all managed to have fun. Why? Because... friendship. Everyone knew each other. Personally. As a result, one amongst the crew can name at least a dozen times of when one of his companions saved his life or made it change for the better. That was the bond between this mob of seemingly unstable lunatics with bolters and chainswords.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
"The space wolves have begun to overrun almost all our defensive positions. My estimate is that we can only hold them off for three more days."
"All the time I need." Magnus said as he tapped his fingers as if he was impatient. "Give me your opinion. What do you think will happen once we destabilize The Emperor's webway?"
"I actually don't know."
"Please. Take a guess."
"I don't know."
"Well. It's a good thing I am here for you." Magnus said rolling his eye. "Imagine this. Infinite upon infinite creatures of unimaginable savagery unleashed upon key worlds. Terra. Luna. Mars. Imagine those planets, key to the imperium, being invaded by those creatures."
"It'd be glorious."
"Indeed my friend. And you know what else? The Imperium has gotten better since the last century. Why? Because The Emperor was able to manage things again. Imagine what if... he is once again trapped on his throne? Dedicating almost all his energies back into keeping those warp beasts from tearing his Imperium apart? Sure... it may not be as good as we hope. Since he can still speak though he'll have quite the trouble ruling but it certainly will undo many of the things he was able to fix. That will be our victory. And you know what? The Tyranids. The Orks. The Necrons. They'll finish the rest."
"You are shrewd one sire."
"Indeed."
A thousand redemptions for a thousand dead sons.
"Ground secure Captain." The space marine said as he tossed the broken remains of a rubric marine into a ditch while they established a vantage point. "This ground is secure. We have taken no casualties."
"Good. It seems all is going according to plan." Fraken said as he sat down in his chair. Opening a bottle of fine wine, he poured the liquid into a crystal glass, sipping in the wine and savoring it's taste. "I will have everyone else down there in a minute. If Magnus joins the fight, tell me. Until then. Fraken out."
Deactivating the vox, the Astartes turned back to the wine he was sipping down. It was a rarity for him to consume alcohol of any kind. He allowed himself to go wild in his own thoughts until the unicorn sat across from him. It's small frame seemed to be out of place in a seat that was normally built to support an astartes in full power armor.
"I wish you can talk." Fraken said as he sipped his wine. Grabbing another glass, he poured some for Stargazer, whom sipped the thing without a word. She only looked at him through her massive eyes which seemed to be the size of dinner plates.
"You think we can kill Magnus?"
The unicorn gave no reply. Didn't even as much as move her head. Only gazed at her as if she was having a silent conversation that didn't require her to open her mouth unless you counted her sipping the wine.
"Yeah. I agree." Fraken said as he sat back. Looking down at his hand, the large golden ring on his finger stared back at him. The beautiful gold glimmered and burned itself into the innermost reaches of his mind as his hands both clenched tightly together.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
"WHO THE BLOODY HELL THOUGHT THAT HAVING THAT MONSTER HERE WAS A GOOD IDEA?!" Tavish asked as he ducked down. "HE'S LIGHTING THE WHOLE BLOODY PLACE UP!"
"He's one to talk." Someone murmured over the vox as they watched the damage Spike was causing just on his own. "In all honesty, I am relieved that we have a feel surprises of our own we can throw at the heretics."
"So... anyone know exactly how he hasn't had his soul torn our or been shredded by bolters? It's not like his skin is made out of..."
"Analysis shows that entity known as "Spike" has hardened scales that are of similar quality of ceramite. It seems that his origins from planet known as "Equestria" has made him more immune to the ruinous powers. Collecting more data..."
"Now that's a bloody monster I tell ya!" Tavish said as he watched Spike incinerate a building where a bunch of cultists were hiding. "What the bloody hell would happen if he weren't on our side?!"
"We'd get crushed to death. He was only knee high when I saw him this morning."
"Well that boyo can change his bloody size! What kind of witchcraft is that?! Surely The Emperor didn't think having that beast here was a good idea!"
"He did brother. In fact, he actually said he wanted the dragon here personally."
"Well then... it seems I am going to have some SERIOUS COMPETITION for my kills lads! HEY DRAGON! SAVE SOME FOR ME YA GREEDY PURPLE LIZARD!"
"He's not ac.."
Anyone who was hiding in the ditch just saw Tavish grab his sword and charge right into the ranks of at least a few hundred cultists and traitor space marines. Even with a dragon ravaging through their ranks, Tavish would probably....
"To hell with it! Attack brothers!"
As the incoherent screaming once again begun, the traitors soon found themselves being assaulted on two fronts. On one had, they had a 50 feet tall dragon breathing green fire that seemed to carry rather harmful properties, while on the other, they had about 120 screaming lunatics all armed to the teeth ranging from plasma rifles to power bats.
While seeming like a mob of lunatics who maybe for the better, should have ended up all in a mental institution than as space marines, the mob weren't completely crazy or stupid. In fact, they were perhaps among the best fighters in the Imperium. No small part due to their inherent ways of screaming like they stubbed their toes and charge into battle with a massive array of weapons that'd make Lootas turn even more green with envy. Much to anyone's surprise, this strategy actually works. Why? Who the hell knows? Maybe for the same reasons why when an Ork says it works. It works.
As the Mob began to tear up it's enemies on the ground. Fraken watched them from orbit and beamed widely. His men were some of the best. Granted, they weren't the most sane people to walk the universe, but of course, they were good to have in battles like these. His grin widened as he saw a single one of his men take a power axe to three rubric marines simultaneously while another picked up a cultist and used him as a bludgeon against his fellow heretics. It was needless to say that these were the best men Fraken could get. And that was something he could never replace. The friendship that bonded everyone together or their collective skill as a fighting force.
"My lord." The Captain of the ship said as he approached Fraken.
"Yes?"
"We've sighted Magnus. He's making his way down."
Fraken was out of the room in ten seconds flat. In a short time, he had already put on his power armor and grabbed his sword.
He had a score to settle. He had brothers and friends to avenge.
A thousand redemptions for a thousand dead sons.
"And here comes the boss man himself!" Tavish announced as Fraken's drop pod landed right on top of an unfortunate cultist. The doors came off and the leader of this circus stepped out. Even in power armor, he still cut quite the elegant figure. His grey armor shined almost of a silver color with the polish, red cloak was made of a rich red fabric that flowed in the wind like a flag. He was armed with a powersword in one hand a melta in the other.
"Magnus has just been sighted headed down here. He is going to be in his personal base of operations. We are going after him."
"Now ya talking my language mate!" Tavish said as he pulled out his grenade launcher. "Come on lads! THUS BEGINS MY THOUSAND YEAR REIGN OF BLOOD!!!!"
Lightning flashed dramatically behind Tavish as he laughed manically with both his grenade launcher and his sword, waving both tools of war around that anyone within a ten meter radius felt rather concerned.
"How we going to do this?!"
"You see..." Fraken said as he unfurled a map. "Magnus has holed up in this fortress with many men and arms. This wouldn't be easy even if the bulk of the invasion force was with us, but I suppose we can still as easily as finish this job ourselves. I want everyone to make a diversion outside, just make sure none of you die until I or The Emperor say you can. Once Magnus' army is distracted, we will have a team sneak in. Cut off the head and the rest of the snake will die. I will hand pick a squad, and then we will storm his stronghold. We will find him and we will destroy him. Without him the rest of the legion dies."
"Now that's a good plan! Tell me Fraken, we kill them all afterwards!"
"Indeed we do!"
"THEN LET'S DO IT EVERYONE! FREE DRINKS FOR EVERYONE AFTERWARDS!"
"HORRAY!"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
"I hope you are making progress." Magnus said to the Sorceror in front of him.
"I am." Kertus glared back as he gripped his staff tightly, watching the daemon's every movement carefully.
"You want to kill me don't you now whelp? Go on. Drive your staff through my eye like you always wanted. Try it as a matter of fact. Embrace who you truly are. You don't care about what happens to others, it's yourself, to erase your guilt is all that matters."
"The consequences would only heap more." Kertus said as he turned his back on Magnus. "Go back to your lair fiend. There is nothing for you here save for a dig."
"I'd rather watch." Magnus said as he sat down on a rock, watching the toiling slaves that kept at their labor. "These mortals... why do you pity them? Their lives mean nothing. In their pathetic perhaps less than a century worth. That is nothing. Now look back to yourself, one who is imbued with the gift of immortality. You have all the time you can want, and with this time, you can grab whatever you desire. Be it strength, knowledge or wealth. Why waste your time on others?"
"The same reason you waste your time on others. Aren't you wasting your time to try and undermine The Emperor?'
"I am far from wasting my time when we speak of that, whelp." Magnus said as he thought deeply to himself.
"Then I am far from wasting my time when I choose to do something meaningful."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thought of the day: If one man dies so another may live, than man's spirit will eat at the Emperor's table.
"Kertus. You look tired." Sophia said as she watched the giant of a man arrive inside the chambers. "I don't know much about how you work, but you may want to lie down for a moment."
"No." Kertus said as he turned to face the ground. "I'd rather not sleep yet. If Magnus gets what he wants, chances are, I may not sleep in an eternity."
"What stops you?"
"Sophia... I think I figured out what Magnus wants." Kertus said as he continued to play stare-eyes with the ground. "It's... it's an ancient device that allows it's user to move unimpeded across the galaxy instantly. In simpler terms, he may go anywhere he pleases without anything to stop him."
"What good will that do him? Even if he shows up on places like Terra or Mars, they'll be ready for him the moment he pokes his head out."
"He won't go there at all. He'll go to somewhere that may be even more important. He'll got to a planet called Equestria."
"Equestria?"
"It's a planet located on the south eastern edges of the Imperium." Kertus said. "It's also home to race known as "Equestrians". They are each about four feet tall, and seem to be the manifestation of some children's coloring book if you ask anyone. Though, I'd give up my limbs to have a herd of them be in here. Their souls act as a repellant to the ruinous powers, most servants of the dark gods find their links and lives severed in moments when they as much as touch one of these beautiful things. I've never seen one, though I've seen pictures. I hope to meet one, one day, ask it how it manages to live in a life of paradise. That is Equestria. Paradise. A world where even the most hard-hearted will found a place of solace. It also houses an important device that stables The Emperor's webway. Without it, he'd face an invasion of warp beasts.... I believe that is Magnus' goal. To destroy this device."
"Then... why are you digging for him?"
"I am not. The moment I stop and eighteen million lives are lost. I am hoping... no. Praying that...."
Without warning, a massive explosion rocked the entire fortress as sounds of bolters and rockets filled the air to the brim with their lethal screams.
"Get out of here! Hurry!" Kertus said. "I'll get my mother!"
The old woman was already making her way towards the pair. Well... sorta. She was looking around all over the place like how someone would look around the floor of where they lost their glasses.
"What are you waiting for? Get out of here!"
"I can't! I lost my ring!"
"YOUR RING?! WHAT MEANS MORE?! YOUR LIFE OR YOUR RING?!"
"They both mean the same! You don't understand!" She cried. "Kertus... please! Find me the ring! It's gold and..."
"I'll do my best!" Kertus said as a chunk of rubble clonked him on the head. "Move! Move! Move!"
A thousand redemptions for a thousand dead sons.
"DON'T HIDE BEHIND YA MINIONS LAD! FIGHT LIKE A REAL MAN!" Tavish taunted as he threw the rubric marine out a gaping hole in the wall. "FOR THE EMPEROR!"
"And we thought they were crazy." One of the freed prisoners said as a large group of them made their way out. They had just witnessed Tavish armed with nothing but a frying pan, beat a chaos sorcerer to death. A FRYING PAN.
"Tavish. What part of we were supposed to do this silently did you not understand?" Fraken sighed as he sent a bolter round through a Cultist's head, causing an explosion of blood and bits.
"What's the fun in that?!" Tavish shot back. "It'd be no fun if I couldn't do any of my face-to-face MAN FIGHTING."
Fraken threw his hands up and sighed. Looking around, he watched as several of Magnus' hostages made their way outside to safety. That was one thing out of the way.
"Where'd you think Magnus is?" Fraken asked to his Techmarine as they fought their way down a long winding hallway. "We kill him and this ends."
"Expect him to be somewhere within the upper floors." The Techmarine said. "Captain, what you are planning is highly inadvi..."
"No time." Fraken said as he broke open a nearby window. Readying his jump pack, he looked up at where he intended to go. "Tavish, you're with me. Everyone else, push through this fortress, leave no traitor alive and free their hostages. As soon as that is done, get the hell out of here."
"What will you do Captain?"
"We kill Magnus. And we have our ship level this place from orbit."
"On it. We will clear this entire building in the name of The Emperor."
"Good. Come on Tavish."
"Right behind ya mate!"
________________________________________________________________________________________________
"I think it's time we left milord." Magnus' advisor said as they watched the mayhem that was being wrecked across the fortress. "I have my doubts that this structure will hold against that horde outside."
"This fortress isn't the only thing that won't hold." Magnus said as he got up. "The False Emperor's webway will collapse once we have finished."
"But we haven't even..."
"Shhh.... I will see to that." Magnus said. "As soon as you can, collapse the mine."
"But we still have..."
"They will all be avenged in due time. As of now..."
The massive explosion that shook the room along with all the flying body parts and bits of machinery caused Magnus to be unable to finish his sentence. As the dust finally settled, he was met with Fraken and Tavish, weapons at the ready and facing him.
"I am gonna stick me thumbs in your eye and hold on until you are DEAD!"
"Arrogant fool." Magnus muttered underneath this breath. It seemed this one was completely oblivious to the fact that he was a DAEMON PRIMARCH and probably was more powerful than him and all his lunatics combined. He would have a smart reply but not this time. He was probably too stupid to understand. Or maybe, just too crazy.
"You will pay for your crimes daemon." Fraken said as he drew his sword.
"Ha! You think you two mad dogs can stop me?! I never knew the Emperor had a sense of humor. A good one at that!"
"Even if we don't stop you. Leman Russ is on his way." Fraken said. "He has given me the honor of first try however."
"Oh right... you're here to fight me?"
"We're here to kill you." Fraken said as he looked at his blade and at his foe.
"Then... try it." Magnus said as he sent a massive tidal wave of warp fire at the two astartes who dove off to find something to hide behind. As the unholy flames cleared, the two were gone. As in gone.
"NOW!" Fraken yelled as he jumped back from the window. Out of nowhere did a massive volley of grenades hit Magnus all over his body, the explosions causing him great pain as his daemonic flesh began to endure the blast. He retaliated by hurling a massive piece of rubble right back at Tavish's hiding spot, causing the astartes to have to run in an extremely undignified manner.
As Magnus dealt with Tavish, Fraken began to advance upon the Primarch's back. Sword at the ready.
"Sophia is already out." The old woman, Felicity said as she saw Kertus again, who pulled himself out of the rubble with a golden ring.
"Here." Kertus said as he dusted himself off. Finding his helmet, he quickly put it back on. He would need it to where he would be going.
"Where you going?!"
"Magnus is going to collapse the mine! I have to get them out!" Kertus said as he ran down to the dig area. "Get out!"
"I am not leaving without you!"
"You must!" Kertus called back as he readied himself. "I WILL make it back. I promise!"
His superhuman body readied itself as he ran through speeds that lesser men would have almost been unable to comprehend. He made his way down to the mine only to find it already evacuated much to his relief. What wasn't to his relief was that rocks and rubble began to fall again.
Suddenly something fell through the ceiling.
No. Someone.
A space wolf.
"FRAKEN!" Tavish yelled as he saw the massive gaping hole made in the floor. "YA BLOODY DAEMON! I AM GONNA BLAST YA INTO THIN GLUE!!!"
He also seemed to be oblivious to the fact that the grenades weren't doing much against Magnus. Perhaps causing him pain but that was about it. As he finally was in range Magnus pulled back his mighty fist and punched Tavish creating a massive hole in the wall.
[Elsewhere]
"What is that sound?"
"It's getting closer... get ready... wait... it's above us!
Looking up, the group of astartes saw Tavish, sailing and yelling incomprehensible things as he was about to hit them .
A thousand redemptions for a thousand dead sons.
Fraken grunted for a single moment as his body grew aflame in pain. He hoped that his power armor wasn't TOO damaged. He was going to be needing it.
As he slowly got up, he silently cursed himself for not using his armory to it's full extent. He cursed himself again in thinking that he could of defeated Magnus while poorly equipped. As skilled of a warrior as he was, he was a fool to think that defeating Magnus would have been so easy, even with the help of a friend that was just as skilled.
Getting up, he found that he still had his combat knife and a bolt pistol. He had lost his sword when he was hammered at least a few hundred meters down through the building.
He stopped thinking as his augmented senses picked up something.
There was someone in this room with him.
Taking his knife, he gripped it tightly and got ready for trouble.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
"I feel like every bone in me body is broken!" Tavish sobbed as the apothecary went to work on him. He had been blubbering like that for the past hour and wasn't going to stop any time soon.
"On the contrary brother, you are very fortunate to only have shattered ribs, a single broken leg and two broken arms. Your skull has a minor wound but that is negligible. It seems The Emperor watches over you rather well. You are lucky to be mostly in one piece."
Whether or not he should of said that, no one really knew in the next moments. All they could listen to was Tavish's rambling about how he wanted a drink and his incomprehensible threats and vows to Magnus.
"Hey.... where is the Captain?"
"He got punched through a bloody hole!"
"What?"
"He's still there! He's fighting! I AM COMING FRA..."
He passed out. Much to the relief of everybody.
"I think he's been drinking way too much."
"You'd think he was a Space Wolf and not a Dark Angel..."
"And then the Captain, who's a Space Wolf, never drinks... well he does occasionally, but I think we all understand the point that's being made here... hey... look. It's that dragon again. Wonder what he has to say."
________________________________________________________________________________________
"Come out coward. I know you are hiding in the shadows." Fraken said as he held his weapons. "Come out and face me. Like a man."
Silence.
"I am in no mood for games. Show yourself and I may be willing to show mercy."
More silence.
"Do you really want to play this game then? Fine. I will enjoy gutting you."
Fraken inwardly sighed as he just realized there was no way he could find his target. Sure, his senses let him see in the darkness but even then, there was just too much darkness. Even an astartes couldn't exactly gaze into a pitch black void and see things, and that perfectly described where he was no. Wherever his foe was, he couldn't see him.
On the bright side, that meant he couldn't see Fraken either. Or did it? This was going to go badly.
Just then, he thought he heard something from behind. With a silent roar, he ran to where he thought he had heard the noise and swung his blade.
It struck home.
___________________________________________________________________________________
"Naggghhh..." Kertus gasped as the short blade pierced his flesh taking off a piece of his shoulder plates.
"You were hiding here this entire time." Fraken said with unsettling calmness, he pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the sorcerer's head. "Any last words?"
"They may not be my last." Kertus replied. "But I am not your enemy."
"You take me for a fool?"
"Trust me, I am not your enemy." Kertus said as he repeated himself. "The Thousand Sons, I am as much as their enemy as you are theirs."
"You're trying to deceive me. You wear their colors and say you're their enemy?"
"Indeed I am." Kertus said, calmly this time. "If you're going to kill me, pull that trigger. If not, then listen to what I have to say. It's of the utmost importance."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Magnus has his flagship in orbit. But something tells me you already know that, what is important is that there are 3 million men and women aboard that ship."
"What's your point?"
"They are The Emperor's people." Kertus said firmly before moving on. "I also know where Magnus is going."
"Tell me then."
He did. Did it seem like a farce? No... something about this one... it made Fraken feel uneasy, though he made a good effort on not showing it.
"Now then, do you believe me?"
"Oh I believe you." Fraken said as he raised his pistol.
"Wait.."
Dakka.
________________________________________________________________________________________
"Captain?" One of the astartes asked as Fraken dug himself out of the massive hole in the ground.
"I am fine, I am fine." Fraken said curtly as he hoped that his power armor would hold. It was pretty much in pieces given it's current condition. "Listen, there's no time to lose, see to it that everyone is in fighting condition. Also, get me our navigator."
"Why?"
"You see... I just learned the location of Magnus' main hideout. But first I remembered something. Our navigator's soul posses an ability to weaken chaos. They all do in their souls."
"So we bring it here to fight?" The astartes asked uneasily. "It's not..."
"No. Not yet at least. Have our ship cripple Magnus' ship. Then have some men board it. There are about 3 million people aboard who deserve to see the Emperor's light once again."
"And then?"
"Having learned Magnus' location, we'll launch a full-scale assault. Of course, I hope our friends and brothers have arrived by then."
"But we don't have the manpower to launch two campaigns at once. It's going to take time with all our injuries...."
"Spike raze their fortress. I will take only three squads to said fortress. Everyone else makes a rescue mission for Photep. When everyone is off.... remember the battle over Macragge? The one where we sacrificed a good ship to destroy their entire fleet? Well... it'll be coming out of their pockets this time."
The astartes slowly began to smile then remembered that he had news to deliver.
"Tavish isn't recovered yet..."
"He's a loose cannon that one. Get him some medical help and no matter how much he begs, complains and threatens, give him nothing to drink. Once he can stand on his two feet and swing a sword the right way, get him down here."
A thousand redemptions for a thousand dead sons.
"Well. That's a nice surprise." Fraken said as he watched the rest of the invasion force gather at the rendezvous point. "Well you look at that."
"The Wolf King spared nothing in his efforts, brother Fraken. He gives you his blessing, perhaps you may be graced with his personal presence during the battle. Perhaps he may even thank you or beat you senseless if you happen to kill Magnus himself."
"I'll be looking forward to it." Fraken said as he sat down. "Now then, until the time comes, I will wait for everyone else. Fraken out."
"Beow out."
"And methinks the Wolf King only sent a single company when he said "some reinforcements". More like the entire bloody legion!" Tavish commented as he watched the countless warships join them.
"He really hates Magnus. I think he's still number 2 on the list." Fraken said.
"Well... poor old Magnus is going to be beaten so hard, he'll have a twitch!" Tavish said as he opened a bottle of ale. The Dark Angel was a heavy drinker, which made many wonder if he really was a Dark Angel, or maybe a Space Wolf who got so drunk, he forgot which chapter he belonged in.
"You know... drunk on the battlefield isn't the way to be."
"Tell that to your lads back in the Space Wolves mate! They're so drunk sometimes, I see them beating each other senseless when the fights over."
"No... they normally do that regardless of being sober or drunk." Fraken said as he adjusted his suit. He had a thing for those, anyone needing proof just had to look inside his wardrobe, and find several suits that were his size, perfectly ironed and without a single flaw to them. Despite being ridiculed by many, the Space Wolf always wore his fancy garments with pride and dignity.
"Well... I'll be off... heehee, I am going to blast so many of them into thin glue..." Tavish chuckled evilly as he grabbed his favored weapon, a massive, customized grenade launcher that had a reputation, half as fierce as it's user.
"Tyranid activity has been calculated to have increased by at least 300% since 20 years ago. Thanks to your efforts and your reforms, we have managed to put down any form of Tyranid offensive with little loss."
"Thank you, Magos. That will be all." The Emperor said as he cut the connection.
"Three hundred percent?" Galaxia asked with disbelief. "Three hundred percent?"
"Three hundred percent. This number is only going to increase as times go on until we put a stop to this." The Emperor said as he began to ponder. "How long do you expect the webway project to be finished?"
"Maybe... 500 years?"
"We'd all be dead by then." The Emperor said shaking his head.
"Perhaps we could rely on the obsolete warp drives that the Tau use in order to remain connected."
"That could work, until we realize that the Imperium isn't a big circle...."
"Sigmar... cutting the Astronomican array... do you really think that could work?"
"Work? The Tyranids MIGHT be attracted to the galaxy because of a machine I built.... if we pull the plug... and it turns out it wasn't the right choice.... what then? We'd be abandoning many worlds in darkness. I cannot allow that. If I save the Imperium from an act of evil... what is the point then? I'll become just like them. Even with borrowing Tau technology... there will still be trillions that are abandoned to their deaths... yet what if pulling the plug is the right choice? And that we wasted countless lives in the battles that followed... or worse yet, we were annihilated? All of us?"
"Sigmar... there is so little we know about the Tyranids. You of all people should know that."
"And it is knowing so little that frustrates me. Knowledge is power, and we have no power against those monsters save for fire and steel. That will only get us so far in the end, when we realize the Tyranids adapt to every strategy, every weapon, every soldier we throw at them. If I send in a million Imperial guardsmen, the Tyranids send in a billion creatures, I send in a thousand astartes, the Tyranids will send in a trillion creatures. If I sent in the Primarchs... I wouldn't be surprised to see an army of swarmlords running around in that case... If I went... if you went... if Malcador went... and somehow... somehow... just one hive ship got away..."
"Let's not think about that." Galaxia said as she put a hoof on his shoulder. "Okay. What was your plan to deal with them originally that didn't involve primarchs?"
"I didn't even have one. We only met 5000 years ago. But... I always wondered... if we cut off the head, will the snake die?"
"That doesn't seem to be the case with the Alpha legion...."
"No... because Omegon still lives." The Emperor said as he thought to himself. "You do know that... right?"
"No..."
"Okay. But to put it in simple terms, Omegon does not exist, is not hiding somewhere, is not planning who knows what with an army that does not exist."
"Okay... but...."
"Have we ever met THE Tyranid leader? Have we? Do we even know what it even is? Don't say it's the Swarmlord or the Norm Queens because I doubt that. What if there is THE Hive Mind, a physical manifestation of it, that's leading the Tyranids?"
"And if we destroy it..."
"The Tyranids, without their hive mind, lose their minds, literally and figuratively, and exterminating them becomes easy.... unfortunately... we don't even know if THAT exists either..."
"You know... we're going to be going in circles for weeks at this rate."
"I know right? And then what if...."
"Can we just focus on that Magnus the Red is trying to stir up trouble again?"
"Okay...okay... he was attacking sub-sector Elysium last time I checked. Someone needed to stop him. I just got word that Leman Russ sent a literal legion against him. It's going to be a heated battle for sure."
"That will be for certain... but what's so special about sub-sector Elysium?"
"Hmmm... I believe there once wa... oh dear..."
"What is it?"
"You know how the webway portal just GOT stabilized?"
"Yeah?"
"And I have a feeling you DON'T know about this artifact... it's a similar one that Cypher uses to get around the galaxy?"
"Oh dear..."
"He teleports to the Canterlot underground, finds the stabilization device... and..."
"But the dark gods are dea..."
"Doesn't matter if they're dead. We'll have an endless invasion of just regular warp beasts. Only SLIGHTLY less dangerous."
"We have to stop him!" Galaxia cried. "If we don't..."
"I'll be at the throne...." Sigmar said. "Tell Leman Russ that he might want to go try things out himself..."
