@supertinyking
As Ozo shot up from the ground, the figure instantly moved, rolling away from the attack with practised skill. He turned, blue energy gathering around his wand as spears of blue energy shot forth, skewering and severing Ozo's tongue. Without a word the figure began gesturing with the wand once more, blue motes of light gathering towards them, floating around them. A glimpse of their face revealed withered skin, and eyeless sockets, the flesh clinging to the skull in an eternally somber expression. This was all that could be seen before a burst of crystals emerged from the ground in front of the mage, a line of spiked blue magical crystals arcing out in a straight line towards his target, shredding all in it's path. It was almost as if this figure didn't need to see attacks in order to avoid them, nor did it seem very inclined towards diplomacy, or speech in general.

@Wraithblade6@supertinyking@Absolis@Nightknight@thewizardguy

Firebrand flapped off as the beam shot off, piercing red light punching a hole in the dark, swirling clouds that blanketed the sky. He watched the armor stumble, fall to its knees, and topple back under the combined assault. It rested against a building, like a monument to fallen warriors everywhere. Firebrand tensed himself for what was next. A shaft of sunlight shined down through the hole it had created, lighting the last act of this evil little drama like a spotlight. Then the armor opened up and its occupied staggered out.

It was a surprise. Firebrand had expected someone much bigger. He'd imagined the armor peeling off and a giant emerging. He at least expected someone half as large as that armor, but he wasn't even that. He was bite sized compared to it. It was disheartening. He could see the young brave fool, stripped of all his armor, readily draw his blade and charge headlong into the jaws of death and the sight brought a smile to his face. That is, until he saw where the fool was headed. That was no good, Firebrand had promised that young man his protection. He reared back and dived.

He didn't beat his wings, but shot down like an arrow. His shadow fell across Viral's back. It was probably the devil may care attitude of a man convinced he was about to die, or perhaps some hunters instinct, that caused the beastman to leap through the air at his prey with the demon around. As he fell upon Viral all of Firebrands limbs lashed out, even his tail, to lock the beastman limbs and drive him into the dirt before he had a chance to complete his leap and strike Damien.

---

---

@thewizardguy@supertinyking@Nightknight@Wraithblade6@Gentlemanvaultboy

@Absolis@Gentlemanvaultboy@thewizardguy

The doglike creature was admirably persistent. Much like denizen of the Infernum, Viral refused to show any weakness, even in defeat. If he had an ounce of loyalty, an ounce of respect, if he could have been controlled, then he might have made a decent ganeral in Hell's army. But no, Viral was wild and free, chaotic, like the rest of this fucked up and disorderly existance, and he sought to die that way. Damien was ready to oblidge him.

Seeing his enemy wounded and blinded, Damien got cocky and stood with confidance out in the open. He smirked at Viral, ready to weave the magic that would twist his heart inside out or call a hundred skeletal hands to tear his limbs off, to let it be known the fate of all who oppose the coming of the one true god... But then, the unthinkable happened. Viral leaped up and somehow threw a blade directy at Cyano. His trajectory would land him directly on top of Damien, who in the blink of an eye had to question whether or not his enemy was actually blind. There was no time to move or to cast, and Damien staggered backward with widening eyes as he gasped in shock. Oh lord Asmodeus, punish me for my foolishness.

A few shots from Cyano's multitool energy-pistol went off and there was a thud and a flash of red and metallic armor in front of the human. Quickly, as far as humans go, Damien realized he had been saved yet again by his demonic ally, the one who had killed the serpent priest. "May the Prince of Darkness himself bless you, nobel devil." Damien was truly greatful as he uttered this phrase, for he knew he had been stupid and left himself vulnerable. Such an act was unworthy of his masters and an insult to his god. Firebrand had given him another chance to prove his worth, and Damien owed him for that.

Taking one of the long bones that hung from his belt, Damien sent it whirring through the air around him in a protective fashion, a spinning bone-shield that would deflect any incoming physical attacks. He also drew his sword, a long, thin, and lightweight blade fit for a caster. It was elegant and cold and quickly began radiating a dark energy as the necromancer glanced his fingertips over it. Damien's eyes turned a solid, glowing white and an aura of necromantic power swelled around him, making him look much more imposing. He was done being stupid.

The darkened blade lifted in a direct line at Cyano, and Damien stared her down. She had fired at Firebrand, and the greatful necromancer would have no more of that. "Stop." He said in a commanding tone at her. "You will not dare to threaten one who shares the blood of my god in their veins, devil's blood. Red skin and horns and wings are marks of royalty! Be conscious of who you define as your enemy, girl. If you so much as lift your weapon at this honorable fiend, I will make certain you regret it."

@supertinyking@thewizardguy@Nightknight

orbital drop achieved... unsatisfactory conditions... adjusting body were Xel'rath's first impressions of the planet he'd been so rudely dumped into orbit over, plummeting rapidly as he reuses the frictional energy to build up a chassis capable of withstanding orbit, the pyramid-like construct enveloping the core, protecting it as the tip pierces deeper into the stratosphere.

safe drop achieved, optimizing landing capabilities were the second series of thoughts as three tentacles form along the vertices, acting both as guiding equipment and the landing gear, forming his optic sensor array just in time to get a 'face' full of metal as the owner of whatever construct he was crashing into was rather suddenly esploded as he punches through what appeared to have been the power storage unit, and while the irony was not lost on him, he was now tasked with making sure the owner of the crashed station he'd just crashed into wasn't imediately pointing an anti tank rifle at him... funny now that he thought of it, he never had a gender yet everyone had called him a 'he' so he'd adopted naturally male characteristics within his- thoughts for another time. His 'body' shifts so as to become more rounded, better able to deflect than the flat edges he'd hastily constructed during free fall, metal tendrals stabbing into the earth to anchor him before he proceeded to 'walk' out from the wreckage, adjusting his body further to allow for smoother travel without stabbing things.

@Wraithblade6@Absolis@Supertinyking@Nightknight


As he dove forward, his enemies moved towards him. The necromancer's spell had not faltered, Viral was blind as a bat. But he was a Beastman, and his other senses were more than enough to orient himself. He heard the sound of wings, and knew his opponent was upon him. He felt the movement of the air, and smelled the sulphuric stench of his estranged red brethren. Twisting he slipped downwards, balancing on his hands as he curled quickly in a ball. Like a bolt of lightning he then stretched out, using the full force of his body to drive his heel into the face of his oncoming adversary. The big red creature was heavy, especially with the primitive metal armour it wore, but Viral was stronger than a normal human, and the blow was expertly placed. Such a kick would have killed a human, but the devil was merely pushed back, perhaps bruised, as Viral once more landed on his feet.

The necromancer spoke, as Viral hissed, his charge broken. Devil. He had heard the term before, referring to the red beastmen. It was a strange name, but one fitting for the savage barbarians that had forgotten their true legacy as the sons of Lord Genome. This Asmodeus was no doubt a usurper, a being with decent power who had taken Genome's place, leading this estranged colony. Or perhaps he was another variation of Lord Genome, from another universe. An inferior one, no doubt. The entire concept of the multiverse was rather dizzying, so Viral simply retained his dedication to his cause, and forced the rest to the back of his mind. Right now, all that mattered was this fight, and to ascertain HIS Lord's dominance over this world.

With those things said, Viral turned to face the 'devil' Firebrand. This big red creature had been gunning for him from the start, and he doubted he'd be able to close with the necromancer with that thing in the air. And even if he did, he disliked the idea of a 2v1 in close quarters. "And you! Red one! Face me, in personal combat. You will pay for what you did to Enki." Uncaring for any reply Firebrand might offer he shot forward, making a surprisingly high jump to close the distance with his opponent, aiming to grab onto the devil's wings or legs, and clambering onto him. If he was able to cut off the wings, that would give him a severe advantage.

@Nightknight@Supertinyking@Tyki


The space marines seemed unbothered by the security. They had expected nothing less, and in fact a truly unprotected location would have made them all suspicious. "By law, all sentient creatures have a right to freedom, and protection form harm. You will be forgiven if you break the law upon entering the Imperium, as you are a newcomer, but such activities would need to end immediately. Nonsentient creatures are free to be experimented on, provided your experiments do not break the Kolon Act." Amon spoke in near monotone, as if he had rehearsed the statement. Which he very nearly had. Over the years statements such as this had become routine, as quite often it was the Dark Angels who had the task of finding and informing potential new members, as well as escorting them into Imperium lands. "As for the explosions.... that area is home to an incredibly volatile supernatural phenomenon. It's exact nature is classified, but the explosions you see cover an area over 100 km in diameter, and never stop." Amon shrugged, which was an impressive feat considering the size of his shoulderpads. He discussed the nuclear holocaust in a way most would describe the weather. Stranger things had happened, and continued to occur.

"More importantly, we are going to need the information discussed in your broadcast. If this is indeed a matter of global importance, then urgency is of import, and the sooner we possess this information the sooner we can evacuate you from this area." Amon glanced over at the unfading explosive lightshow in the distance. "To set up a base this close to the Quarantined area is dangerous, and prohibited. While there is no indication of it spreading, we need to get this data safely away." Again, it would also be safe from other factions.

Meanwhile, Remus looked Vulga over. The figure hadn't lied, that much the Librarian was certain of. But some elements struck him as being off. For one, this figure was like a hole in the Warp. He possessed no presence, no aura. Not in the sense of a Blank, who were like a tear in reality, a horrifying presence to psykers such as himself. Instead it was as if there was nothing there. The easiest solution was that this was a hologram, or a robot, but even those things had some mild reflection in the warp. It was unprecedented for something to just not show up. And this being had claimed to be from Infernum, a word no doubt based on Infernal. And that meant nothing good. That wasn't the kind of word you put in the name of nice, friendly colonies.

"You speak the truth. You are free to come with us, but we will take charge of the situation. The information will be transported to the Imperium. If it is of importance it will be shared across the globe." Remus spoke with certainty, as if he had nothing to fear. He was a Librarian, after all. He also didn't trust this individual, and made sure to keep at the ready for any kind of betrayal. The Devastator Marines, however, lowered their weapons as they moved on. They followed Squad Beta, with Squad Delta moving in a parallel street, scouting out for alternate threats and other factions, as well as providing an alternate angle of attack should something go wrong.

Then, the station exploded. It was a rather impressive spectacle, and the marines immediately prepared their weapons as a strange-looking creature emerged from the wreckage. Squad Alpha moved forward, shielding Martin with their bulk as they raised their weaponry, ready to charge should it be necessary. Squad Alpha stayed back, with Remus gathering Warp energy around him as heavy weaponry was aimed and prepped. Squad Delta meanwhile moved away out of sight, aiming to move behind the creature in order to attack it if it turned out to be a threat. Several sniper rifles were aimed.

"Xenos! Identify yourself!" Bravely, Amon stepped forward, ensuring that Martin was well protected behind the line of warriors. "If this is an attack, know that you declare war against the New Imperium." The old imperium would have already declared war by this stage, but practises had become more forgiving in recent years. Although this place was certainly odd, problems tended to be more diplomatically approachable than they had been back in their home universe.

@Wraithblade6


As Mithias approached the coast, he might have expected a wall of some kind. Of course, to wall off the entirety of the Imperium would have required an immense amount of resources, and was mostly pointless against the enemies the Imperium faced. Instead, the Imperium relied on the heavy-duty Tarantula turrets placed around their territory. Several of these car-sized turrets stood at the waterfront, spaced out, heavy weapons turning as the servitors within prepared to fire on the newly appeared threat. There was a moment of charging, and then twin beams of light slammed into the water. Mithias was blinded for just a moment, before realizing the beams had struck behind him, blowing two fist-sized holes in the creature. A perfect tunnel had been bored through it, allowing Mithias a surreal glimpse of the sky behind the creature, before it began to sink into the ocean.

As Mithias swam for the shore no more heavy weaponry was fired at him, although he could tell the turrets never powered down. Upon arrival he was greeted by a squad of Grey Knights, their heavy armour reminiscent of Kaldor's as two aimed their bolters at Mithias, another helping him out of the water. Their leader, easily identified by his lack of a helmet, stepped forward to meet him. "Greetings. My name is Adrian, Luitenant of the third chapter, fourth squad. Identify yourself." While one marine always had his weapon aimed at Mithias, he got no real sense of hostility, just preparation. The other marines were mainly scanning the water for signs of the monster, several making signs which were presumably to ward off evil.

@thewizardguy@supertinyking

Amon and his men heard screams at first, as though the warp itself were shouting at them deafeningly enough to cause pretty much everyone but Amon to flinch at least a little as Xel'rath tinkered with the frequency a bit, normally having to force a psionic link so the psychically sensetive space marines before him were overloaded until he 'turned down the volume' so to speak, speaking every language they understood at once as an echo. The most easilly understood one being the loudest and most prominent as the towering mechinataion before them grunted frustratedly at the impromptu conditions he was having to rush to adjust to due to the rather intimidating weaponry pointing at him. "hello? testing... can you hear me or am i too quiet?" he asks curiously, seeming to see the spark of recognition in them before he does a non-invasive scan just to determine species, there being no apparent indication of him doing anything other than speaking. "ah, humans, interesting..." he says with a barely disguised groan of aggravation at having to deal with such a prideful, primitive race that still thought themselves the pinnacle of everything no matter how many races were leagues ahead of them and blatantly so, though the more he thought on it the more he found the irony of that sentiment and- a self debate for another time. "please state your purpose and put those things down, you're being rather rude to someone you only just met..." he states monotonously, towering over them despite their size, as Amon can't help but notice a similar, rehearsed tone to the one he had just been using to confront the... creature he was now 'detaining'.

@Wraithblade6@Absolis@Supertinyking@Nightknight@thewizardguy

Firebrand took beat his wings once or twice as he dived, his attention diverted by the bolts of energy that suddenly flew around around him and his decent speed slowed. Viral's sudden attack took him complexly by surprise, the impact catching him under the jaw and throwing his head and himself backwards. He quietly panicked, before quickly righting himself to get back into the fight. Only to find that the battle lines had been redrawn.

The Necromancer was locked in a stare-down with the blue haired woman, by his words the one that had shot at Firebrand during his dive. He wondered what game she was playing at? Did she sudden'y want to protect the beastsman? He didn't have time to contemplate that as Viral shouted his challenge and laeped into combat. Firebrand beat his wings fiercely, carrying himself upward narrowly out of the way of Viral's grasping fingers and letting the beastman sail under him before dropping down and placing himself back to back with Damien. "It would be my honor, Viral. But I worry about whether we'll be allowed." He said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the necromancer. "I told our young friend here I'd protect him as best I could. Were he to find himself in danger from the other elements still active on this battlefield I would have no choice but to abandon the battle to aide him. An oath from the Demon Firebrand, freely given, is not something so casually cast aside. Not to mention the chance for Blue Hair or the Rat to interfere on your behalf like before."

To make his point he tapped Damien on the shoulder without turning around and mumbled. "If you're still doing something to him, do me the kindness of dispelling it." He said, pulling another talisman out from around his neck. This one had the shape of a suit of armor, and as it activated he felt the magic fortify him for the coming battle. The beastmans next attack would not send his head spinning like the last one. "I'll fight Viral." He called out to the battlefield, eagerness apparent in his voice. He was almost shaking with anticipation. "All of you can control your grudges until after we've settled this like warriors. If you can't, speak now."

@Gentlemanvaultboy@thewizardguy@Absolis

Still keeping an eye on Cyano, the young man with the deathly stare nodded and removed the blindness and the curse from Viral just by willing it so. "As you wish Lord Firebrand. My spells have been undone. Be wary, for this time, he can see."

@thewizardguy

Mithias flew as fast as he dared above the ocean surface, heading straight for the Imperium. Even still, the vile sea-fiend construct seemed able to keep up with him. As he approached the shore in the distance he was suddenly faced with quite a dilemma, death by shark behind him, or death by blasters in front of him. With his vampire's sight, he could make out the barrels of two massive cannons lighting up on the bank. Fear jolted through him as the flashes went off, followed by the sound as they fired directly at him.

Energy blasts singed the air just above him as he dropped down. The impact through the beast was apparent as he looked underneath himself behind him. Displaced water splashed into him with such forced it knocked him out of the air. Unharmed, Mithias rose to the surface shocked and not so certain that was the only creature pursuing him. As fast as he could, he swam and telekinetically pushed to the shore, avoiding flying in case it would be seen as offensive and might draw another cannon blast. Once at the beach, he would surrender himself.

One of the soldiers 'helped' him out of the water and brought him before the others. Bolters locked on him, and he did his best to feign defenselessness. Once again, the Imperium of Man had shown an ease in dealing with the creatures. He was much relieved to be in their hands rather than in the belly of one of those 'things.'

Mithias made no sudden moves as he responded water dripping off his clothes into the sand. "I am Mithias. I am a member of the Alliance of Conquerers, and I survived the attack on the floating pavilion." He looked around at the small squad, then he looked at Adrian, trying to read him. Consciously, Mithias tried to hide the desperation and fear that he suddenly became aware of in his voice. He shuddered a breath, "... I know who sent the monsters."

It didn't take long for the Goa'uld to temporarily deal with the Tyranid threat in the nearby area, even if the meeting spot that had been set up was basically obliterated from the face of the earth at the same time. Once Qetesh was satisfied she had the Ha'taks leave, unmolested by any attackers since those who had survived were too busy hiding beneath the ocean from the practical tempest of radioactive rain that had been unleashed in that particular area.

It was an otherwise peaceful trip though, and soon enough they arrived back at the edges of the Goa'uld's territory on this particular planet. She thought it should encompass the entire planet, but Ba'al wasn't too keen on fighting everyone just yet, not with logistics still the way they were. But at the moment she was a bit distracted from the idea of global conquest to focus more on the events that had just taken place.

As the Ha'taks headed in for their landing fields, Qetesh found herself contacted by Ba'al, fortunately over the radio so she didn't ave to endure any smug looks he might give her. 'Welcome back.I trust you amused yourself?'

"Hardly," Qetesh replied in a huff as she sat down on the throne inside her Ha'tak. "Those....things were like nothing I have seen before. They appeared to use some sort of organic technology, to the point where they might have even been a threat to our Ha'taks. I even had reports of crewmembers going mad, like they had voices in their head driving them to insanity. Fortunately we only lost assets that can be replaced, and for all their advantage they are no less immune to naquadria bombs as any other being."

'I see, Ba'al replied with a curious hum. 'I suppose it supports what we were told by that member of the Imperium. Not that such a thing should be a deterrent to us. We have faced worse before'

As the Ha'tak settled down on the ground, to be tended to by waiting Jaffa and humans, Qetesh nodded as she looked towards the viewscreen. "We will need more soldiers, and ships. I am going to return to that place and wipe any presence of those beasts from this planet, no matter the cost."

Ba'al chuckled aloud, not exactly helping his wife's mood in the process. 'I knew there was a reason I made you my Queen,' he remarked with obvious anticipation. 'I've already issued by orders, and we should be receiving reinforcements soon. In the meanwhile I have a few other ventures that should help us shore up our defenses and expand our available assets. Take as long as you need.' With that he cut off the connection, leaving Qetesh to herself.

She frowned as she thought, rising once more as she recalled what had happened. No, she would not stand for this, that much was obvious. "Jaffa, kree," she snapped as she headed off the bridge, soldiers vanishing afterwards. The Goa'uld were going to be very busy....

---

In one of the Goa'uld shipyards on the planet of Arcadia, a small affair took place, a hangar opened and closed to allow a patrolling squadron of Death Gliders out so they could ensure that Goa'uld territory was secure and had not been infringed upon by anyone. but it was what was not seen that was the most important.

A Tel'tak had also flown out of the hangar with a cloaking device activated, allowing it to hie from visible sight as well as sensors that were not powerful enough. While initial Goa'uld cloaks had problem with heat dissipation while passing through a planets atmosphere, Ba'al had long ago solved that issue. This ship was crewed with a complement of Jaffa, beaming technology, plasma cannons, and a Stargate stored in the hold. All according to plan.

Once clear of the flight of Death Gliders, the cloaked vessel took off for orbit, rising for a point about Goa'uld territory that was outside the planets atmosphere. Once it was there it would activate the hyperdrive, opening up a window into hyperspace and setting course for the nearest known habitable planet. The Goa'uld planned to explore, and they were not going to let anyone tell them otherwise.

All in all it was a fairly simple operation. Once they had arrived at their destination they would set up the Stargate and dial back to Arcadia, allowing the Goa'uld to begin the subjugation of an entire world for themselves. Ba'al was definitely looking forward to seeing what they found as they embarked on their mission.

@thewizardguy
Ozo rolled out of the way of the line of spikes, some of them getting close enough to scrape his hide, and cut into his shirt. This, aggravated him some. He couldn't risk getting close, not yet. Reaching into his backpack, Ozo pulled out a group of kitchen knives.
"Looks like some culinary trickery is what I need." He says, before slinging the sheath of knives at the figure, using his tongue as he rushes forwards. However, within his tongue, his hid one knife. He had a plan, which was to disable the mage's hand with this knife. The mage can't cast if you disable his hand..or...the quote went something like that. Of course, Enki had fallen in the back round, but Ozo was locked in combat, and there was no point in backing off now.

@thewizardguy @Tyki

Martin twitched as he saw some strange object smash into the station, until he noted the point of impact.
"....Main battery area....pointless at this stage, with no singularity to power such a thing..." Martin muttered. He began to root in his backpack, putting down different weapons, grenades, jars of odd looking spheres, until he found what he was looking for. A grouping of labeled blue crystals.
"Aha, here we go, blue space crystals..." Martin muttered, before quickly reloading his backpack, putting the weapons near the top, and on the bottom, the jars. They were far more durable than the normal jar, so the weight wouldn't shatter them. Lucky for him that was the case as well, as he had a lot of weapons shoved into his backpack. Standing up, he moved so he could see between the imperial soldiers, as he was ready for, as how they would say...."Things to pop off."

@Flamelord



The Rock was in high panic mode, servitors and marines rushing to their duties as ships and weapons alike were made ready for action. From it's position high in orbit, the advanced scanning equipment of the Dark Angels mobile space fortress had been monitoring the events of the peace meeting. While even their technology was unable to give detailed reports without altering their orbit, they would be able to detect any major occurences and interfere in the case of foul play. And given the events of the past few hours, they were none too happy.

Frowning, Asrael stared at the screens full of data as panicked officials and marines shouted reports in his direction. Not that he was usually such a cheerful person, but these events called for had calls. First it appeared that a truly massive ship had appeared, a weapon comparable only to the Great Crusade vessels prepared for personal use by the Primarchs. And even then most paled in comparison. It was a potentially devastating superweapon, and Asrael was tempted to initiate combat maneuvers the moment it appeared. However, Kaldor had not yet requested backup. Asrael didn't like it, but for the moment Kaldor spoke for the Emperor in matters of war, and he had been given express orders not to intervene without direct orders from Kaldor.

"Prepare all battlecruisers, and ready orbital weaponry. I want the chapter ready for war." Asrael's words were calm but resolute, and they stirred the soldiers around him into an even greater frenzy of activity. He would be ready for anything. And when two Goa'Uld combat craft moved into the forbidden zone, he was inches from ordering an all-out attack. It was conceivable that even an individual of Kaldor's strength had been overwhelmed in combat, but it didn't appear that weapons were being discharged. Some kind of standoff had ensued, and he still didn't have any orders from the 'Commander General'. Grimacing, Asrael waited for events to play out, occasionally giving orders to prepare specific ships or companies for combat.

Eventually, massive weapons discharge was discovered. Asrael stood, about to order an assault, when reports began flooding in of a new opponent appearing. It appeared that it was not one of the local Xenos that had broken the peace, but the Tyranid, an ancient and dangerous foe from the home universe of the Empire. This was bad news. Asrael had faced these creatures more than once in his efforts to stop the Tyranid hive fleets from devouring the galaxy, and no victory had been 'easy'. Any victory of such creatures was Pyrrhic at best. Weapons were prepared, but an orbital strike would also eliminate the xenos leaders. And if these truly were Tyranid, then they would all need to work together in order to repel this threat. That's when his 'orders' finally came.

'Tyranid threat detected, secure ocean perimeter, sweep sector for hive ships.'

It appeared Kaldor lived after all. Asrael might have issues with working under the command of an outsider, but he recognised sensible orders when he saw them, and immediately relayed the relevant commands. They would scour the skies for any hive ships, and ensure they did not spread. The greatest threat of a Tyranid attack was their ability to 'infect' entire worlds, making them completely uninhabitable even as the very terrain was devoured by great devourer swarms. If left unconctrolled, the Tyranid army could double in size less than a week after arrival, a devastating prospect to face.

Borders to other faction lands could not be controlled without breaking peace agreements, so Asrael merely sent them information pertaining to the potential spread of Tyranid organisms, and the mutagenic effect they could have on local fauna and flora. A proper guard would need to be maintained to ensure they didn't spread, and if any one faction were to fail in this duty, all would pay the cost of their negligence. Meanwhile the Imperium deployed several light cruiser vehicles and elimination squads with the goal of destroying any large groups of fauna or flora bordering on the ocean. Thunderhawks carried servitors and supplies, allowing for the rapid construction of auger sentry posts. While it was impossible to wall off an entire ocean, posts such as these could scan large areas for life-forms and inform the fleet of any Tyranid expansion. A fleet could then be dispatched to deal with them before they were able to retrieve any biomass, and in the process damage the main hive.

Of course, such efforts would be completely useless if the hiveships themselves were able to move around unchecked. If a full hive fleet was encroaching, then they could do no more than evacuate and exterminatus the planet before moving to another location, hoping the Tyranid wouldn't be able to track them to the next solar system. However, perhaps even more worrying, there wasn't a single sign of a Tyranid invasion in the skies. No small precursor infection ships, no great fleets, or even space-borne organisms of any kind. Space was as empty and desolate as it appeared. And despite heavy Auger and Astropath scanning of practically everything in the sector, no hidden force revealed itself. Tyranids were not ones for stealth, or at least the fleets themselves weren't, relying on their speed and nigh unstoppable force to take planets, as well as the inability to track their interstellar travel, which was still a mystery to the Empire.

In the course of such scanning, however, something interesting popped up on the radar. Even as Asrael coordinated countermeasures to the confirmed xenos ground forces, a lone official gave him a rather odd report. A warp jump had been detected, of unknown type. The vehicle had been heavily cloaked, and even the Rock's scanning devices weren't able to pierce it. But war- and hyperdrives of all kinds left telltale traces which could be picked up by the Rock's delicate sensory equipment. But if they hadn't been on high alert, they might not even have picked it up.

It was possible that this was a Tyranid ship, moving to a different world. Perhaps attempting to devour that world to construct a new hive vessel, and then to return to this world with a new army. Or perhaps it was a newly constructed ship, sent out to regain contact with the main hive fleet, and to bring them to this world. The Tyranid method of movement left no traces, however, and as such the chances of this being a Tyranid vessel were low. Potentially worse, however, would be a xenos vessel infected with the Genestealer Gene, unknowing pawns of the hive mind, ready to lead their civilisation into chaos. And even if this somehow had no relevance to the Tyranid whatsoever it was a potential threat, which could not be ignored.

"Trace the jump, I want to know where they went, when, and the size of the warping force." He gestured to several trusted tech priests, who immediately began analysing and configuring the data, even while others attempted to acquire additional information. Turning towards one of his many subcommanders, he issued his next orders. "I want the Fist of Heaven and the Devastation prepared for combat. The Fist of Heaven will remain in our hangars, the Devastation will be deployed. No escorts. I want a full company of marines on that ship, in additional to a full complement of servitors." It was a large orders. The chapter was hardly in any shape to deploy in such numbers, and nowadays every ship was a commodity. The Empire fleet was small in number, but they made up for it in individual quality. And one ship would be more than enough to deal with any threat that might be present, besides an actual Hive Fleet.

---

As the Devastation emerged from the Rock's hangar, it was a glorious sight indeed. At the front was a massive adamantine plate, presenting the imagery of a massive battleram, and absorbing frontal attacks. Beneath this wall of metal was a massive energy lance weapon, for long-ranged frontal assault. Along the sides of these frontal compartments stoof rows upon rows of high-powered macro canons, weapons that are to bolters what cruise missiles are to hand grenades. Hundreds of these guns could rip through enemy ships in mere moments, firing shells the size of cars at high speed. On top of it's large, cathedral-like design sat a massive Nova Canon, followed by it's brother a couple of hundred meters behind and placed slightly higher. These immense weapons of mass destruction had barrels nearly 100m long, and their long-range combat potential was practically unmatched. Behind these two canons sat a castle-like construction that functioned as a sensory array and communications terminal. More interestingly was what lay beneath the Nova Canons, in the middle of the ship. There sat the immense combat hangars of the Mars-Class Battle Cruiser, filled to the brim with fighter craft. These smaller ships were still terrifyingly capable, deployed to harass enemy ships after the heavier weapons disabled the enemy's shields, as well as fending off enemy fighter squadrons. Behind the hangar bay lay a large series of weapon cannons, reserved mainly for the heavy-duty massive energy canons that formed the secondary block of main ship combat weaponry, together with the macro canons. The two groups firing together formed a broadside that could wipe out entire fleets of lesser ships. This was also where the Torpedo Launch Tubes were located, allowing the ship to bring it's many specialist torpedoes to bear against slow-moving distant targets, in addition to deploying a special variety of drop pod intended to pierce enemy armour and deploy squads of armed space marines inside. Far below, mounted on what almost appeared to be a dorsal fin, were laser-based Lance weapons, firing a high-powered but highly concentrated burst of energy intended to melt through enemy armour and disable crucial systems. These weapons might not be as effective against Void Shields as the sheer barrage force of the main weapon banks, but they would turn armour to mush, and could cripple enemy ships with their focused bursts.

All in all, the Devastation numbered a crew of 100.000 servitors, not including the odd 100 Space Marines, tanks and war machines the ship carried into battle. This was necessary, considering the ship's impressive length at 5.4 km, a size comparable to the Anubis Mothership employed by the Goa'Uld. Compared to the power of this Battle Cruiser, practically any other galactic navy fell short. But it was also it's size and power that formed it's main disadvantage - scarcity. Even before their relocation to Arcadia ships of such calibre had been scarce, but now they were impossibly rare, and a logistical nightmare to deploy in bulk. Only about five had made their way to Arcadia at all, and the Rock lacked the sheer manpower to deploy them all. Regardless, the fact that such a weapon had been deployed would certainly garner some attention from any other factions watching the skies.

Purple energies gathered around the ship as a massive portal seemed to form in front of it. The cruiser sailed into the purple storm, geller fields fully active as it temporarily dropped into the Warp. It would use a short hop through this nightmarish realm to follow the Goa'Uld ship, using it's space-altering properties to 'skip' the conventional direct route. While this was slightly slower than the Goa'Uld's more practical warp drive, they wouldn't have much time before they discovered this ship emerging wherever they had chosen to move, potentially guns blazing.

@Tyki@Supertinyking@Nightknight

Unflinching, Amon fired a shot from his Bolter at the ground in front of the creature, about 3m away from him to ensure both parties understood it was a warning shot, not an attack. But Amon wanted this creature to realize the severity of it's situation, and the small crater formed by the Bolter shell made it clear that these were not toy guns. "By standard Imperial code of conduct, you are-"

"I'm taking command." The simply command shut Amon up, as Remus stepped forward. The man was surrounded by an aura of power, Warp energy flowing about him as he preemptively shielded himself and his men from psionic attack. While Amon made for an excellent warrior, this situation might require a degree of subtelty the man did not possess. As such, Rhemus would take charge of the situation, temporarily leaving Vulga to his own devices. "Xenos. You have intruded on Arcadia, quite probably by accident. A phenomena on this world causes powerful beings to be transported to it through as of yet unknown means. However, despite the accidental nature of your arrival, you are reponsible for dealing severe damage to property belonging to a current ally of the Imperium, and may have damaged or destroyed crucial information. Realize that your position now is one of severe suspicion, and reevaluate your responses as such, creature, for you do not wish to make an enemy of the denizens of this world." This was perhaps the most diplomatic a space marine got when dealing with a potentially hostile alien lifeform.

"I will indulge you in informing you that our purpose here was to retrieve important information you may have just destroyed in order to avert a possible cataclysm which would destroy this entire solar system. The possibility exists that recent events will cause the formation of a singularity from nothing, perhaps transported to this location in much the same fashion you were. We are also here to prevent several incredibly dangerous factions of hostile aliens from seizing this information for their various goals, and to protect the mutant who originally revealed the existence of the information to us." Rhemus looked over to where he believed the creature's face would have been, had it had one. "We will not put down our weapons as long as the possibility exists that you are a threat. As such, I would ask you return the courtesy of explanation, and elaborate on your purpose here. Should you be deemed not to be a threat to us or the Imperium we represent we will happily extend the hand of friendship, but first you must explain yourself."

Martin meanwhile received a couple of odd looks, but none of the marines made moves to stop him. In this particular situation, nobody thought it was unreasonable to want to be armed, even if it was with a weird blue-coloured crystal.

@Wraithblade6
The commander nodded, before taking Mithias with him. A large node-like construct built in the style of a cathedral spire sat in the center of the square, and a quick gesture in it's direction caused a portal to open, through which Mithias was moved. Presumably it had some form of psionic interface, although Mithias had seen a more physical interface as well in the brief moments before he was whisked away. At this point to struggle against his 'saviours' would have been pointless, as he was in the middle of the Imperium. The Throne City, capital of the New Imperium, and home to the Emperor himself. He was marched through corridors and rooms filled with various Space Marine soldiers, moved by portal from location to location, occasionally switching hands. It was like he was being hoisted up the chain of command by the ever present armoured gauntlet on his shoulder, stopping occasionally for a conversation between high-ranking officials.

After a dizzying little adventure into the surprisingly complex world of Imperial politics, Mithias found himself sitting in a massive golden room adorned tastefully with giant pillars and skulls, which appeared to be a repeating fashion. The ceiling arched away into the distance, and the waiting room itself was large enough that you could have reasonably fitted a few middle-class homes inside of it. Sitting in front of Mithias was a small wooden chair, and a table upon which sat a bowl of chocolate chip cookies. The small gesture of hospitality was painfully out of place in the vast grand hall, which possessed an aura of uncaring magnificence, like some vast hall of worship, but with an underlying tone of military power.

After a perhaps uncomfortably long period of time, a figure entered the hall. He was impossibly tall, standing at a bit over 3 meters. Mithias just about came to the man's nipples on tippy toe. More than his physical height, perhaps, it was the sheer aura of power around him that made him seem massive. When he walked into the room, the vast hall somehow almost seemed small by comparison, as if this figure's sheer presence had filled up every nook and cranny. When Mithias looked up at the figure's face, exposed above his light green and yellow power armour, he was greeted by jet-black skin and glowing red eyes, giving the figure a demonic appearance. This was counterbalanced by an almost kind smile, as the Primarch slowly and carefully sat down in front of Mithias.

Vulkan looked over the vampire, before reaching over and delicately grabbing a cookie from the platter. It was a feat of dexterity in and of itself to hold the cookie in the massive armoured gauntlets, each easily the size of Mithias' head, without shattering it. "You know, my father told me these used to be a common delicacy on ancient Terra. But the knowledge of how to make them, and the habit of doing so, was lost during the Unification Wars." He smiled, as he popped the cookie into his mouth. "For a while I wondered why it was this lost knowledge he chose to impart on us before he left us once more. Why he had not granted us the designs of the great Mars factories which could design a fleet of ships overnight, or the ancient Chapter Flagships once constructed as small fleets in and of themselves. Or perhaps the knowledge of how he created his sons in the first place. But instead, he chose some small Earth treat." He mused over this for a moment, holding another one of the cookies up to his face. "After a while I realized that some things lost in war are more precious than ancient technologies, and advanced war machines. A lesson perhaps the old Imperium had forgotten. In war it's the small things that go away, the little things that can never come back."

Sighing, Vulcan put down the cookie, before looking Mithias in the eye. He looked like a tired monarch, albeit one with black skin and glowing red eyes. Not the look one would have expected from the leader of the Imperium. "An ancient foe has awaken on this world. My men tell me you may have imporant information. Please, tell me everything."

@thewizardguy

"a psionically gifted human of some potence, i'm quite surprised. usually your species is ecstatic about being able to bend the odd spoon with their minds. my purpose for being in this system of space is one of scientific discovery. my home world as you might call it, the place where i was 'born' existed many... you can hardly hear me, fine" he starts, however the psychic shielding made his 'voice' muffled at best, plus it didn't help that his body added an intimidation factor which most likely was what was leading the humans before him to be on guard at best. Xel'rath seems to disappear in a burst of light, all accept for his core which is then rapidly shielded by a more uniform body, though he changes the placement of his core to somewhere hard to hit as well as rarely hit and while he did not appear completely human in that his face was little more than a scanner shielded by some plating with audio speakers on the sides of his head, his newly forged torso was vaguely humanoid and one could say he had human hands though his legs were digigrade as they tended to lend themselves to greater speeds should he wish to swap over to a more quadrapedal form.

"as i stated earlier, i was simply floating around, studying the various celestial bodies and wound up in this one's gravitational pull. i attempted to land somewhere close but not taken up by sentient creatures, though from what i gather from what that one says that the area i landed in was useless before hand, and therefore is no more useless now." Xel'rath states evenly, pointing over at the wool-covered humanoid that they'd come to detain. "though, if your purpose is data retrieval, why have you not simply disintegrated the ship? it is a much faster method of energy and data... oh wait, you're humans, i forget how primitive your species is" he says with a sigh as he makes a movement similar to pinching the bridge of one's nose. While high powered weaponry was pointed at him, acting intimidated by them would only cause them to realize a weakeness even if he was scared of them, it was always better to show an indifference to them.

@Tyki @thewizardguy
"If you disintegrate anything that is a part of my station, no amount of superiority will keep me from taking you apart. I want to make that clear." Martin says, moving past the wall of Marines that had formed between him, and the odd energy being. Such beings had also existed in his home universe, the plasma men, but this creature was no doubt on a whole different level. He had no containment suit like plasma-men did, and unlike a suit-less plasma-man, this creature was not breaking apart. Interesting.
"As well, while you didn't destroy anything housing the data they are here for, nor an actively useful thing, that is going to be annoying to repair...." Martin adds, grumbling. "....Also..what do you mean, primitive? Judging from my past experiences with energy based creatures, you seem nothing overly special...neither advanced, nor primitive. Simply, different. You'd think something acting so above normal would know the actual definitions of the words they spoke." Martin adds...before he shakes his head.
"Getting off track, sorry. Anywho, you act smart. Hopefully, you are smart. Because I need smart people, or something not even you could stop may appear on the planet, and destroy everything, including you. If you are as advanced as you say you are, maybe this can be averted like child's play....Which would be the best, as I don't wish to die any time soon." Martin says, finishing his back handed insults. He obviously had a dislike for authority, and those who acted smarter than him. After that statement, he turns around, and heads back to the Marines.
"..Sorry if that was to aggressive for you. I just dislike having to beat around a bush. I also dislike those who act like they are innately better..Human."
Human. Martin hated that word. Humanity was a train wreck, in so many aspects. Nanostream, the ruling body in his home universe, gave their AIs Asimov laws to protect themselves. However, anyone familiar with Asimov laws know that their wording states, Human. This was not unintentional. Other species were treated as second hand citizens...or slaves. If someone really wanted, it'd be easy to get one of the station running AIS to kill a xeno. Or to get security to do so. These humans, they reeked of that mentality in a sense. Mutant. Xenos. Terminology that made Martin sick. If the Liberian could read his mind, he could feel the old wounds fester, as Martin's began a trip down memory lane. "Follow me, everyone..I'll take you to the data..." Martin mutters, deep in thought, as he began to waltz to the dome lab.