[IC] Warhammer 40K: Imperium Broken

[Omega]

Synod Council Chambers, City of Connaissance
Varousia II, Varousia System

The eight members of the Synod Council as well as Archmagos Prime Harakonie surrounded the holo projector as they discussed the ongoing issues of their world. It would normally be strange for the leadership of a such a technology dependant organization to meet face to face but was required given that one of their number lacked any cybernetics and much technology. As a result this also forced the tech-priests to speak in High Gothic rather than the more common Techna-Lingua. It mattered little though as developments and new information was still scarce.

The closest any of them could truly come to a progress report was Genetor Prime Mathelouse as she continued her research into humanity and how to improve them. Released from the constraints of the Imperium and Adeptus Mechancus her progress had been fearsome to many. Already she claimed to nearly have how a human became a psyker figured out and held a mountain of evidence already. It was suspected she may very well be able to predict when a child would be born a psyker fully figured out within a year or two perhaps faster as technology across the board once more advanced.

At the same time though much the discussion thus far had been taken up by High Princeps Tarvanna and Skitarius Craise both of whom advocated assaulting nearby worlds. After revealing the existence of the Mechanicum. Tarvanna currently took up the holo-projector detaining out the ease with with a handful of titans could seize the nearby agri-world of Tarsus as well as expounding that the world had largely untapped mineral resources which could be more easily exploited than the mining program within the asteroid belt of the system. It was very well thought out, highly detailed, and only called for a small fleet force to escort the titan transports down to the planet and a small force of augmented soldiers to support the titans and act as garrison once the world was secured. As always it was opposed by Craise who instead believed they needed to secure the nearby system of Ultra Pontificus with it's hive world as the primary world of the system. He had yet to provide data during this meeting as Tarvanna continued her own reasonings for the necessary assault on the agri-world.

Suddenly the attention of almost everyone in the room changed from the holo-projector. Lord Baron Ollius Markariad had no embedded vox as the others did and sat for a moment confused before Logis Prime Sarvus turned to him and spoke, "The sensorium has detected a wide band distress signal from forge World Sigmus Prime. They are stating that they are under attack by orks, their naval defenses have been broken, and the ork numbers are of such magnitude that they are currently losing ground. They include a great deal of information including data that they have lost half their titans thus far before even mobilizing them. They fear the orks will soon repurpose them and put them into combat against them. Timetable is unknown but defeat seems likely based on their calculations. Support from any source is requested." As usual for the Logis hs statement was as cold and mechanical as his voice.

Ollius Markariad knodded gravely at the logis before addressing the group, "A victory there will mean a powerful Waagh will appear. If they are pressing on a forge world with success they no doubt are already of significant might. That world will be stripped and it's resources used to strike out in all directions and eventually they will show up here. It seems we have our target."

ArchMagos Prime Harakonie was unreadable naturally given his lack of face and did not respond as all eyes turned to him. After a few moments Forge Master Prime Vaellose spoke up, "ArchMagos, we must protect the technology of that world, they have valuable STCs that will be lost if they fall into ork hands. We also are not the only one to have heard that others will arrive and loot or destroy any technology on the world. It has battleship STCs, they can produce almost any class once utilized by the Imperium and have powerful super heavy STCs as well including such vehicles as the hellhammer. We cannot allow such technology to be destroyed."

Everyone sat their silent look to the Archmagos Prime for a few seconds, some appeared to want to say something but all waited until at last he spoke, "10 titans, 20 knights, 1 battleship, 6 cruisers, 20 escorts, 10 million skitarii and augmented soldiers and skitarii. Also, begin to reinterview the released PDF forces as well as a general call. We deemed the need of a large force for our defense unnecessary and soldiers below a certain degree to be unable to largely inflict combat on the scale we will now be facing but I have recalculated now. If we are to engage in offensive engagements we need increased manpower though we are not to sacrifice quality in this. Every soldier who volunteers shall undergo modifications to the current auxiliaries or skitarii. The Mechanicum makes no compromises if we engage in this we do so with a task force large enough to establish a beachhead and aid in the war. Prepare the planet for war."

[Templar Knight]

The Grandmaster of the Reliquary's Hall(Formerly the Lord Governor Subsector's Hall), Hive Medusa
Sagarius, Paracelsus System

Sorcerer-Lord Dionysos Xanthous walked through the former hall of the Lord Governor Subsector, a pair of Rubicon Marines following at his sides obediently and silently, the eyes of their helms glowing green with witch-light. The hall had been undoing successively greater and greater renovations since the uprising, at the behest of the new Grandmaster of the Reliquary of Metamorphisian Mysteries. Dionysos admired a couple of the Daemonic frescos and inscriptions of heretical prayers and designs scrawling out across the walls in mad configurations, whose artistic significance likely wasn't even fully known to their creators. Such was the nature of Tzeentch's minions, though. Their Father, Magnus had taught him and his brothers that much at least.

These particular minions had served The Lord of Change's designs quite well, of that there was no doubt. However, that did not mean Dionysos's opinion of them had changed much since he had arrived in the system via the portal they had created for him and his brothers. He felt that the humans served their purpose only to help him ascend to further power and know their place as being their loyal servants, if they obtained a little more power for themselves or sought other ambitions along the way, he didn't really care. Most of the time there wasn't an issue, but these Grandmasters, and he'd been through four of them now since he arrived, just proved to seem to have ambitions beyond their stations more often than most.

This latest one, Morpheus Malthian was more cunning than most, but he was just another maggot feeding off of the corpse that their Lord, and the saviours he had sent provided for them. Dionysos pushed that image out of his head abruptly, maggots made him think of Nurgle, the archenemy of Tzeentch, and he didn't want to attract the attention of him; despite the fact he highly doubted that any of the Gods would be paying attention to mortal concerns right now unless it was of the highest importance to the Great Game. The False-Emperor's ascension to the Godhood he sought saw to that.

No matter, Morpheus had his uses, and he could be made to serve Dionysos' purposes one way or another in the end. The Grandmaster himself was waiting in his office as Dionysos and his silent bodyguards finally reached it, two traitor guardsmen at either side snapping to attention and opening the rune-inscribed doors to ward off hostile psy-forces, competition for the position of Grandmaster was obviously still fierce. Inside the office, there was dust and candles everywhere, stacks of esoteric tomes littered the floor, and Morpheus himself was reading one at his desk. His dark robes draping over the chair he was sitting in and covering most of his body; Dionysos knew the robes were mostly to cover Morpheus' hideous skin mutations, the physical rewards Tzeentch had given him. Offering not much physical detriment or strengths, Morpheus simply covered it because he hated looking at himself in mirrors like that, for he looked more like a corpse than the powerful psyker and living repository of forbidden lore that he was.

Morpheus peered up from his book as the giant in blue and gold power armour and robes stood over him, he stood up and bowed in a small gesture of respect. Dionysos could tell it wasn't entirely sincere.

"My Lord Xanthous, how might I serve you?"

Dionysos loomed over Morpheus, his Rubic Marine Guards may have been statues with glowing eyes.

"I have come to inform you that Magos Athir has finished his inspections of the stolen capital ships and that we shall begin the next phase of our plans."

"Very good my Lord, what is my role in this?"

Dionysos smirked under his helmet.

"You shall remain here, Grandmaster, at least for now. In order to ensure that what we have claimed for Lord Tzeentch shall not crumble into ruin while I am gone. I shall, however, require the services of Seeker Carnelian, his services should serve us well in the near future."

Morpheus bristled beneath his cloak, the thought of the Thousand Sons leaving him behind to run things while they claimed the glory of fighting in Tzeentch's name was a deep wound to his pride. He kept his temper in check though, for he know that it was unwise to challenge the will of the Sorcerer-Lord of the Thousand Sons

"Fine then, I'll send for the Seeker to transfer himself and his men to your company, and then meet with Taskmaster Gorgos so that we'll start setting defensive and manufacturing priorities in order."

Morpheus arose and setting his book aside, he began to leave to carry out the instructions. Dionysos stopped him with a gauntlet on his shoulder before he made it past him.

"Just to make things clear, the only planet I care remotely about in this subsector is Sobebek. Do whatever is necessary to see to it that planet and its relics do not fall into the hands of the ignorant or unworthy, use every means at your disposal, sacrifice all of Sagarius and Lorian III and summon a warp storm to consume it if you must, anything but to let them have it. Understand, Grandmaster?

Nervous as Dionysos let go of him, Morpheus fought to stop himself from shaking in fear at the icy command. He simply nodded under his hood before storming off.

"Perfectly, Lord."

Dionysos followed him out several second later after glancing at what Morpheus was reading, a treatise on Daemonology. Vain fool, thinking that he'd ever have the strength to withstand the mutations, let alone the power which Tzeentch would give him if he succeeded in serving him well. It took all the skill and power the master sorcerer Ahriman to do that for him and their Legion so many millennia ago, and Morpheus, for all his might, was a speck of dust before their flame. Dionysos had no desire to inform the human of this knowledge, it would make his eventual death and feeling of betrayal all the more sweeter. Instead, Dionysos simply left the Grandmaster's office in search of transportation his freshly completed fleet waiting in orbit.

[gowia]

The Office of the Lord-General, The Imperial Palace, Eshunna XII

The Lord-General Titus Maxim looked at the faces that surrounded him. His right hand men during the coup were now his most trusted and powerful advisors. Each was responsible for a planet in the Initiative and they were bringing in the usual reports on the current on goings and any reasons for worry. The general feeling was that after years of hard work and investment the Terran Initiative was finally pulling itself out of the troubles that the coup had put them in. Public opinion was at normal levels, riots and protests were beginning to cease and areas that had been decimated in fighting were coming to the end of their repairs allowing for more money to be invested in public spending. After the usual reports, came the time for matters of urgency that required the Lord-General’s approval. The first order of business was the expansion of the Terran Initiative. Colonel Francois Taske had been tasked with ensuring that the Initiative continued to grow and become more powerful.

“Men of the Initiative, in recent weeks I have been conducting the deployment of small probes onto surrounding planets, in an attempt to find other planets with the natural resources to supply the growing industry of our worlds, as well as locations to begin furthering our research tasks. Recent findings have shown that there is a number of nearby planets perfect for such colonisation. Lord-General I require access to the TIAF to create an expeditionary force to explore said planets and find out whether or not they are worth our time or resources.”

There were a few murmurs around the table as the other men present commented on the proposal, most supported the idea. These were silenced as Titus Maxim nodded his head and signed a holographic page that had appeared. The paper work needed his signature before anything was done. The second man to speak was Fredrick Stom, the colonel in charge of Pireaus V. He spoke of the recent message from Sigmus Prime. Raising a hologram of the planet from the memory banks of the Initiative he highlighted key parts of the planet as he addressed the men.

“In the early hours of the morning, Eshunna time, I received word of an Ork assault on the forge world of Sigmus Prime. The message is short and has been sent Segmentum wide; we will not be the only ones to know of this by a long shot. Early reports indicate that we will not have nearly the man power required to have a hope at halting the advance and that whilst some of the foundries still hold a lot of the Titans and other war machines are already being salvaged by the green skins. My recommendation is that we send in strike teams to salvage what we can whilst the planet still holds out. In regards to tech of this level we are in our infancy and this is the perfect opportunity to grow. Lord-General I have tried to get into contact with the planet however my attempts have been fruitless as of yet. As far as I know there are a number of important targets that we should extract as soon as possible. If you wish I can bring up a list on the holo now?”

Again Titus only responded with a nod, he was a man of few words but it suited the fearsome sight he was. A few swift key strokes and a file opened revealing a number of profiles and lines pointing to different locations on the planet. Clicking through a number of messages a final message that the colonel was after arrived. The list was of a number of important tech priests and engineers as well as data banks, the location of still safe war machines and the position of STCs across the planet. The murmurs returned more ferociously now as the men came close to almost arguing with one another.

“Enough!” The Lord-General boomed. “The Terran Initiative will be intervening in this conflict. We have not the man power to fight a planet of Orks however any of the technology we can save and utilise will be a boon to all. I shall head this conflict myself and take a fleet into orbit of Sigmus Prime. This will be followed by tactical strikes into the planet to recover what we can, next we shall coordinate with planetary forces on what aid we can offer. If the situation looks to become hopeless then we will fall back, towing what resources we can back here, to the Initiative. Until I return then you will work as my council. There will be no further projects until this crisis has been dealt with, you must work to keep the status quo and keep the people of our worlds safe. I will be taking the Lance, Behemoth, Jackhammer, 2 Luna Class Cruisers, 1 Dauntless Class Cruiser and 5 Sword Frigates. What we lack on the ground we will make up with in space. With them I will bring all 500 regiments of the Terran’s Angels, 100 regiments of the Terran’s Eyes ad 250 regiments of Terran Guard. This will leave each planet with more than half of its garrison as well as the PDFs.”

With that the Lord-General stood, the colonels doing the same though they bowed first before standing to attention.

“Gentlemen, I shall return as soon as I can. Until I do prepare the people for a long fight, I need all factories outputting as much as they can as well as upping recruitment.”

[caliban22]

On board the Battle barge Vulkan's choosen High Lord Carolus Stands before the Heads of the Chapter and High ranking Guardsmen officers as they look at a holo of a near by system "High lord Carolus" one of the generals says as "Reports indicate A large Ork force has advanced onto the world... Reports state the defenders wont be able to hold out." he says as the holo shows the planet with Red and Grey shading for the orks and the defenders respectively. "I propose we send in two detachments. to do the following objectives" he says as he motions to the one controlling the holo device. the planet fades away to show various titan designs "There is reason to believe there are STC for Titan" he says "The first detachment code named broadsword is to locate and recover this data, with secondary objectives being claiming whatever they can for our forces and destroying what they can't" as he finishes the holo changes once more to several populated areas "second detachment code named Angel will be assigned to cover a general evacuation of the major settlements." As the general speaks the others look to the high lord "Very well general Prepare your force, I will deploy several squads of marines to help with both detachments...they will deploy as a last options in the case of the Regular army proves unable to do their duty."

[Honored Brother]

Nibullus II, the "Da Gul'yard,
Plains of Gallane


An Ork fighta-bommer, or what was left of it, nearly landed on Khran but neither did he notice or care. He was too busy aiming his twin-linked shootas augmented to his arm at some boyz who were foolish enough to have joined an enemy warboss. Besides him was his second in command, an armored nob wielding the same amount of dakka as Khran. At either side of them were three flash gitz creating a lot of noise with their snazzguns. In front of them were boyz carrying deffguns raining lead on the enemy. Further down in front was a horde of Ork shoota boyz shooting at their enemy who were only miles of each other. The front lines saw hundreds upon hundreds of Orks getting cut down by the wall of bullets. Nothing would be left but a few shredded bits here and there. The noise would had been unbearable for any other race and most other Ork clan. One could hear the battle drawing out from miles away.

Khran moved forward through the line to try and get a better vantage point of the situation. He's second in command, Zark, followed his closely.
"Mork and Gork dam' gitz! Dems' gettin' in deh way!" Khran shouted at Zark as they both kept firing.

"Yoo need dem' bitz over er' boss?" Zark asked, pointing at a looted Leman Russ the enemy Mek and his grots were trying to repair.

"Thos' and thos' fings' over er'! See em?" Khran pointed at a pile of scrap metal a few feet from the looted tank.

"Yoo need em' for wat boss?" Zark asked.

"Meks need more bitz to get ar' rockit workin' all good en' well again!" Khrans answered.

Khran looked around the battlefield and saw that the enemies left flank had almost withered off. He ordered his boyz to take the ground and maybe they could encircle the enemy. Nothing was going to stop Khran from getting what he wanted, Gork and Mork be judge of that. With that, he screamed "WAAAAGH" at the top of his lungs and so did his boyz soon after.

[Templar Knight]

Command Deck of Magnus' Fury
High Orbit above Sagarius, Paracelsus System

Sorcerer-Lord Dionysos strode out through the airlocks onto the Command Deck, his Rubic Marine followers gone as he approached the Throne of the ship. The Throne itself was empty, as the captain was busy making final preparations for leaving their anchor position. Off to the side of the Throne and standing by a holographic display of Ultima Segementum were Dionysos' two main confidants, Seer Uriel Gant and Magos Athir Orpheus.

Being the most powerful seer of the Cordivae Cult Dionysos had access to, Uriel had been a close friend and ally alongside him for centuries, helping guide his actions with clear insights from Tzeentch and his Daemonic Court. The False-Emperor's ascension and the ensuing shockwave of psychic energy backlash had especially wounded Uriel's mind, rendering him incapable of anything for nearly a year while he was tended to, making his efforts in aiding the uprising minimal. Though now physically recovered, he was still not receiving clear insights from his meditations. True enough, scrying the strands of fate and peering into the future was a misty endeavour, but the visions and images he saw lately were often of so little coherency that it was almost impossible to form any sense of meaning out of them. Dionysos also privately suspected, along with other lesser members of the Cordivae Cult in his band, that Tzeentch and his Lords of Change' attention being focused on dealing with the new arrival of another rival God didn't help the matter. Either way, things would eventually change for the better, or worse in terms of Uriel's sight. That was the way of things.

As for Magos Athir, Dionysos treated him with a modicum of respect due to his position. Magi of the Dark Mechanicus were not exactly the easiest persons to obtain by the Traitor Legions, and their attention were often jealously bartered or fought for, with good reason as they were the only ones who knew how to not only properly maintain and build the weapons and apparatuses which they used to wage war against the Imperium, but also how best to turn them to the service of Chaos, or Tzeentch in this case. Athir had served with many different bands and Legions over centuries, and Dionysos was just his latest master, persuaded to join the Sorcerer's band with the promise of esoteric knowledge and artifacts which only they could provide. Dionysos knew that his loyalty was assured, so long as upheld his end of the bargain, Athir would stay by his end. It was the Magos' expertise which had restored and converted this vessel, and the other two battleships in their fleet to their service, along with overseeing the construction of the rest of the lesser vessels and planetary defences, after all.

Both turned to face Dionysos as he stepped over to them. Uriel embraced his brother while Athir bowed his head in curtsey.

Dionysos addressed them: "So, my friends, have what possibilities have we pondered over while I dawdled on the Grandmaster?"

Uriel responded first: "My meditations have revealed little, as of late, my Lord. Though master Orpheus has found something that may be of interest over the long range comms."

Athir nodded, stepping up to the map. "I have detected a communication coming from the planet Sigmus Prime, it was uncoded and appeared to have been deliberately broadcast as far across the system as possible. It is a call for help from the Mechanicus forces stationed there to aid in its defence from an Ork invasion. The planet is a forge-world, and I can almost guarantee that my loyalist cousins have some valuable equipment there. I bring it to your attention as a possible course of action that we may perhaps intervene in this conflict."[b]

At the end of this, the Magos' mechanical eyes gleamed with malice, his lust for vengeance and chance to spoil and twist the pristine works of the Mechanicum obvious to Dionysos. The Lord-Sorcerer's mind was made up in a quick manner.

[b]"Your suggestion is noted, Magos. Though I will propose that we shall not proceed with it."

Magos Athir stepped back from the holographic projection, his mechanical features contorted in surprise. Footsteps approach from where Dionysos had come from, though they were infinitely lighter than the metallic thuds of power armour which members of the Thousand Sons usually made. Dionysos continued.

"Do not be so disturbed, Athir. You know as well as I that a host such as ours cannot hope to fight a protracted war at the moment, as that one will likely become if the signal truly did broadcast throughout the segmentum. If we heard it, so did all of the other systems between here and there, systems filled with Xenos, lackeys of the False-Emperor, and perhaps even rival Legions whom prosecute the Long War besides us in their own, albeit misguided, ways. And I for one do not intend to waste the opportunity Tzeentch gave us by struggling with these other powers for a Forge world we cannot hope to hold, against a host of enemies we cannot hope to succeed against alone at the moment. Only fools fight battles they know they cannot win."

Agitated, but silenced, Magos Athir folded his arms and eyed Dionysos darkly. Uriel took up the reply.

"Then what is your plan, Lord?"

Dionysos turns his head to his side as the source of the footsteps earlier approaches beside him. At half the height of the Sorcerer, the human was still imposing in his rune-marked carapace armour and blood stained cloak, his face covered by a mask with a respirator and an autogun slung over his back. He removed the mask and bowed out of respect, his face a grey pock-marked face with runes of Tzeentch traced onto it.

"This is Carnelian Borion, the Seeker of the Reliquary and a field commander with a talent for the unconventional and subterfuge. He shall lead an operation that shall secure our future in this segmentum, should Tzeentch prove favourable to our plans, and tomorrow he'll take a sizeable contingent of our mortal forces to try and achieve that goal.

Magos Athir clenched his control staff tighter, infuriated at this evasive and seemingly ridiculous course of action.

"That's good for him, what shall we do, Sorcerer-Lord?"

"We shall be making a brief trip into the past, Magos. One must look behind before looking ahead."

With these cryptic words, Dionysos began laying out his plans in full.

[Hunter of Shadows]

Onboard the newly reforged and rebuilt Battle-Barge and Flagship of the Eighth Legion Echo of Damnation in orbit over Pax Argentius

The demigod stood over the table that dominated the room, a hololith depicting a map of Ultima Segmentum, all about him were his brothers, all awaiting him to speak, and speak he did, Decimus, Prophet of the Eighth Legion began simply, he was a man much like his gene-predecessor, he spoke softly and without menace, a calm tone of voice that had gained the attention of his fellow Night Lords more then any shouting or threats had ever done.

He had gained their loyalty a bit at a time, slowly over a course of time, his foresight was powerful, but limited, it pertained only ever to the fates of his brothers and their Legion. Decimus had spoken to them simply, telling them that if they wanted to avert their bitter fates, they would listen to him, initially they had not.

When his foresight had been proven accurate again and again, gradually more and more of the leaders of the different warbands, began to come to him and listen to his advice, and over time they had begun to trust him more, and eventually, after oh so long a wait eventually...they had all come to Decimus, gazing at him in the same way they had looked at his predecessor, the Soul Hunter, or even their gene-father himself.

Eventually, he had united the Eighth Legion, the very thing Ulthwe had so feared, they had tried to prevent this from happening in slaying Talos Valcoren, who had also born his father's curse, but they had gotten their prophecy wrong, the Soul Hunter had not been the one destined to unite the Night Lords into a single force again.

It had been his gene-progeny's fate to do that, and done it he had, the Primarch had correctly predicted that many would try to bear his mantle, that many would claim to be his successor, and that many would try to unite his Legion, in the end after tens of thousands of years, only Decimus had succeeded, and the reasons were simple.

Firstly the gene-seed had taken to him nigh perfectly to his mortal form, and secondly the curse of his father settled on him with clarity to rival that of an Eldar Farseer's, and finally he had not attempted to claim their gene-father's throne, Decimus was not bloated full of pride and arrogance to believe he could do so, Decimus had merely earned their loyalty on his own merits.

However, nonetheless he knew many viewed him as the Primarch's successor and true heir, the fact was not hurt by one rested on his brow even now, a crown made from a dark adamantium that seemed to suck in the light, and a gemstone the color of blood resting in the center, a strange light coming off of it.

The Corona Nox, the crown of their gene-father, and said to hold psychic impressions from Konrad Curze, while Decimus would verify there was some truth to that, they were so faint that they only rarely came to him with any clarity. And it was unimportant, the crown could fit under his helm, which was convenient, but right now he did not wear it, facing his brothers with his own eyes, dark glittering orbs that betrayed nothing of what he was thinking.

Finally, at last he spoke, having delayed long enough.

"Brothers," He began softly, and watched with faint amusement as, all Legionaries as one stopped their quiet murmured conversations and what they were doing to turn their eyes with rapt attention, Decimus had seen the rot and corruption of the Legion, and had purged it, for that alone they gave their loyalty to him, he had given them purpose once again beyond mindless, pointless piracy and murder.

They could be proud of themselves, gone was the fratricide, no more did Night Lord murder his brother to no worthwhile cause, gone was the pointless slaughter of Imperials, for while it was pleasurable to bring terror and suffering to the Imperium's witless cattle, if it did not harm or bleed the Imperium, it served nothing.

As his gene-predecessor had said once, survival was not enough.

"We stand at a time of our Legion where we have been stronger then we have ever been before, a moment when our power and unified purpose will make those who have survived the fall of the Imperium, to quake and tremble with fear barely restrained, that will burst forth in a tide of unreasoning panic when we at last come for them, the moment we have waited for so long is finally here, the corpse Emperor lies dead, the mighty Imperium lies shattered, and now the Sons of Nostromo have come to reap our final vengeance."

Murmurs of assent and pleasure rippled through the room at this, a Chapter of loyalist scum, or perhaps one of the Legions or bands of more depraved traitors might have cheered, but not the more dignified, and noble Night Lords, they did not put forth any such disgusting shows of emotion.

Decimus continued, knowing they listened to his every word "Long ago, the Soul Hunter performed an inspired act of cruelty, you all remember it well, the Night of Screaming Shadows, this blow struck a devastating blow against the Imperium, and forced them to remember us...the lesson was not learned well enough my brothers!" He said the last with seething anger "Even now, the remnants of the Corpse-Emperor's followers do not seem to have recalled we exist, like a mortal desperately pretending they did not see the shadow out of the corner of their eyes, they battle with one another for power, forgetting that we are here, and we are coming for them!"

The Legion all nodded in grim agreement of his words, pleasure on their faces at Decimus voicing their thoughts so eloquently "Did they heed the distress calls of these worlds we took? Did they even respond to the need of a Chapter of their Emperor's own space marines? No! In the face of their own pathetic, petty disagreements and attempts to grab power, they did not even bother to try and aid those who once were their allies! A truer example of how craven and weak those who swear to the Emperor truly are my brothers!"

"And now! We shall come forth from the darkness, to come for them and make them weep and wail in fear and pain, and when we make an example of more of their worlds, and send forth to the others, captured video of what we have done to their inhabitants, they shall remember then the sons of Nostromo whom they scorned so, and then...they shall scream in fear, for too late shall they realize their peril when our claws close around their throats!"

With a swift gesture he pointed "We make for the territory of the New Macarthans! We shall harvest their souls, flay the skin from their bodies and bring them unswift death! My brothers, make for the ships! Ave Dominus Nox!"

As one, his brothers slammed fists to chests and shouted in unison in response "Ave Dominus Nox!" There was no need to discuss strategy, such things were worthless, if a Night Lord was in a situation where strategy began to come into play, they had already lost, they remembered their Primarch's lesson.

Fear is a blade that grows sharper with every use, a venom that seeps through even the most invincible enemies heart, and makes them weak, there was no need for strategy when your enemy is too terrified to make a plan, and so would prove true with the frail mortals making up their enemies armies.

The Legion began moving en masse to their fleet, herding slaves and slave soldiers aboard, and all the weapons they would need to wage their war, the Mechanicum had been working hard to bring the Legion ammunition, weapons, new forms of warfare and more, and they were ready, as Decimus marched to the bridge, at his side was Variel the Flayer, his brother from Badab turned Eighth Legionary, his trusted adviser, and chief apothecary of the Night Lords.

His cold, unblinking eyes stared ahead as he marched alongside the Prophet, he said nothing, for there was nothing to say and Variel was not a man given to speaking when it served no purpose, Decimus glanced over to him briefly, and nodded in greetings to his brother, but otherwise said nothing. Soon at his other side was Lucoryphus, the leader of the Bleeding Eyes who loped alongside the Prophet, his jetpack waddling from side to side in an ungainly fashion, nonetheless the raptor managed to lend a surprising amount of grace to the movement, but it was when he was in the sky that he proved his worth.

"Prophet," He said, his voice a vox-growl "What have you seen pertaining to the upcoming war?" Decimus responded "What I have seen is uncertain, unfortunately for a conflict of this scale my vision wavers and falters, even against weakling mortals this will not be easy, and we must strike them with swift vengeance and fury, and leave them too terrified to form a proper counterattack."

The raptor grunted in response at that, before stating "Good, if our victory was assured it would be boring anyways." Decimus merely smiled in response at that as he felt the engines of the Echo begin to activate, it was time for the war to begin...

Within another few hours, the fleet took off, and engaged warp engines, heading their way to remind the remnants of the Imperium that the Night Lords were still here.

Death was nothing before vindication.

[caliban22]

On board the battle barge Vulkan's Chosen,The Hall of the fallen.

High Lord Carolus Walks through a Dimly lit Hall filled with columns of marble pillars, each pillar inscribed with the name of a Fallen Salamander and Black scorpion fallen in the great crusade and the defection from the Imperium. At intervals torches are set up providing the only light in the hall and besides them stands a Black scorpion honor guard making sure the pillar's are in good repair. As Carolus walks he stops from time to time to looks at the names. "brothers..how far we have fallen..." he mutters as he thinks back to the Crusade "Once we were proud...We ruled this Galaxy... We were unstoppable..look at the imperium now...everything you fought and died for....fruitless." he mutters Slowly his mind fades back to the first arrival of his chapter to the planet Jericho after their return from the warp. To find the planet worshiping the emperor as some sort of a god, The marine with fanatical zeal to fight the "tratiors" as the returning marines had been called. Accused of heresy by the chapter master of the marines,this idea sickened him "We stood together on terra so many years ago...young Legio Astartes of the XVIII legion...we were there when The Primarch saved us during the Taras Division campaign...all the battles we fought...all the planets recaptured in the name of humanity." he says as he reads one of the names "Caius what would you think now seeing the state of the empire we helped forge and you died for? religion,civil war, to see the corruption of our once noble empire.." he says as he looks the carpet.

At the end stands Marinus, Like himself an ancient Terran, from before the finding of their primarch. Marinus unlike the other marines of the chapter was a chaplain. during the great crusade he was but a normal marine,who always helped the new marines cope with the trials of vulkan and even now acts as over seer to the recruits trials. "Brother it is now time to over see the trails for the neophytes"

[Alpharius]

Command Deck of Fury Reborn. Currently orbiting Baal.
Baal, Baal System.

The room was cold and dark, even with all the people inside it. All were silent as they sat and waited for the last member to arrive. The highest leaders of the Blood Angels had all been summoned to discuss the course the now empowered chapter should take. The assembly itself consisted of Commander Hadrian, Chapter master of the Blood Angels and the man who had called the meeting. He had been very quiet, very strange considering how jovial he usually was.
Then there was the High Sanguinary priest Corbulo, sitting quietly with an expressionless face as he contemplated how the emperors death would affect the Red thirst and black rage.
Next to him sat Sepharam, the Exalted herald of Sanguinius, leader of the sanguinary guard. His face was stern as he sat quietly, noone knowing what he was thinking.
Astorath on the other hand was sitting next to him, his mind saddened as he thought about how many would die from his hands in the following times, radiating an aura of darkness around him.
Mephiston sat opposite of Astorath, mumbling to himself as he contemplated several different matters, including the possibilities of the warp now that the emeperor presided inside it.
And then lastly, the Keeper of the Heavengate and Maste of the blade both sitting speechless and expressionless. If you didn’t know anybetter you might have thought them unconcious or dead.
The silence was interupted as the ship started making loud sounds that spread discomfort among the crew. The Fury Reborn had recently been constructed on Mars itself by command of the emperor. It had taken them ten thousand years to complete it, but rightfully so. The ship itslef had been built out of the remnants of the Red Tear, the flagship of Sanguinius during the great crusade. It was now the shining jewel of the Blood Angels chapter and they would use it to defend the imperium from the horrors that awaited them in the future.

Another large rumbling was heard, although this time not from the ship. Their final member approached. Giant footsteps could be heard as the monstrous man approached the Command Deck. The door opened as a large dreadnought forced it’s way in. It was Dante, summoned by Hadrian to provide them with advice for how to act.

Hadrian Stood up, raising his voice as he finally spoke. ‘’Brothers! You have been summoned here to discuss how to approach the matter at hand. No doubt the countless xenos out there are plotting at this moment on how to ruin our imperium. Not only that but traitorous scum throughout the imperium are plotting with heretics on how to take some for themselves. I can only assume that the other chapters will do such as us and reinforce their forces before acting.’’ Suddenly, Dante spoke with his cold, metallic voice. ‘’Do not doubt our brethren, Hadrian. Every loyal man in the imperium will do whatever they can to defend it. On the topic of xenos however, They will be as busy fighting eachother as they will us. We can use this to our advantage. As you all know the enemy outnumbers us in the millions but that won’t matter one bit if they die fighting eachother rather than us. ‘’

Before anyone else could talk a new figure entered the room, buzzing with mechanical life and bionics as he sat down at the table.
It was Engelbert Kappa, the leader of the titan legion that had been bestowed upon the blood angels. He introduced himself as so before continuing with ‘’We have come here to aid you, do not take it for granted. We expect you will hold your part of the bargan and defend our systems aswell as our suppliers. Without them we will be useless.’’. Everyone nodded in accord as Hadrian stood up ‘’Of course. We will do our best to uphold our bargain and we are grateful for your assistance. With the assistance of the Titan legion, I believe we have what we need to get to work. Is all agreed?’’ All noded again. ‘’ Good, then let us get to work.’’ They all stood up and bowed as they went about their specific duties.

[Hunter of Shadows]

All about was the stench of blood and gore, and human fear, the Night Lords had struck the New Macarthans without warning, without mercy, and with the excessive brutality their Legion was known for, dropping out of the Warp abruptly, they had unleashed an invention of tech-priest Deltrian...the Shriek, overloading all vox channels, all machinery with an unholy blend of what sounded like tortured souls...and screaming machinery, garbled machine code overwhelming and bogging down the machine spirits of the humans equipment.

In effect, almost the entirety of the Macarthans fleet, and their groundbased defenses were completely blinded, communication impossible, this gave the Eighth Legion more then ample time, to launch drop pods at the surface of the planet Thresha Secondus, before the enemy even realized it, the enemy was among them, with that the Eighth Legion jumped back into the warp, while the Claws worked their malevolent work.

The Shriek gone, the Night Lords proceeded to demoralize all of the Macarthans, by setting up equipment for the purpose of broadcasting everything going on in the planet to every single soldier, ship, planet, man, woman, and child, able to watch the horrific torture going on in eye-splitting detail.

First they defeated the ground based forces, for the Eighth Legion had launched at least two hundred Astartes, over thirty Claws, and thus the Guardsman were overwhelmed by the sheer speed, and surprise of the attack, it is one thing to fight off Space Marines if you know they're coming...quite another to fight them off when they use tactics of a sort many Chapters of Loyalists, or even traitor Legions would call cowardly, the Alpha Legion of course would have praised the Sons of Nostromo for the sheer speed, cunning and brutality of the attack, the Night Lords did not give the enemy even time to realize what was going on before they began killing.

When it was done, they gathered up the civilians, and then rounded up the women and children...and forced them men to watch as they brutally tortured and murdered them, when that was done nearly half of them gave up on life, offering up no fight as they were butchered, but the swift-acting venom of fear spread far worse through the rest of the Macarthans forces, having witnessed the whole thing.

The ground based forces disabled, the Eighth Legion's fleet dropped back into realspace, and attacked the severely demoralized forces of the enemy fleet.

Within two days, Thresha Secondus went dark, with only a single message being sent to the rest of the Macarthans, in a grim, vox growl.

"Weep and cry out for salvation that will never come, your Emperor is dead...and we come for you!"

Perhaps, had their hearts remained stout, and full of vigor, the Macarthans would have put up a better fight, but the previous atrocities, and the ones after that, continued to break their spirits, as Konrad Curze had once said, "Fear is a blade that never dulls, but grows sharper with each use, the element of surprise is lost quickly...but contaminate the heart with fear, and even the most invincible foe shall crack."

His words were proven correct, as the Night Lords reached the final planet remaining, Thresha Tertiary, though the population was much smaller, it mattered not as the Night Lords set up machinery for one purpose, to the rest of the factions that had served the Corpse Emperor...they sent a broadcast, showing the most horrifying, and ruthless atrocities yet, and a single message, audio only.

"The remnants of the Imperium have forgotten the Eighth Legion, and so here is a message to you why you should remember us, your god is dead, and now we come to finish what others have failed, the vengeful Sons of Nostromo are coming for you, and you shall remember why we made worlds surrender at the mere mention of our name...Ave Dominus Nox!"