Prologue
It was a beautiful day. Est had adjusted the planets rotation a few months ago so the planet was warmer and now the sea was at the perfect temperature but that was months ago before the imperial fleet came. They had come peacefully. A large fleet of warships and Mechanicum vessels and at the center a huge golden craft. No shots had been fired and no battle was needed because the moment the fleet came into the Estrellan system they had been broadcasting a request for communication with Estrella`s leader. Alistravia had with the councils agreement answered. The man who appeared to her was suited in golden armor and was sat on a throne smiling. His face was familiar and Alistravia couldn't understand why but then she thought of her own Estrellan father and her whole time with him and her mother flashed before her in a tapestry of her early life.
She remembered being in a dark tube crying from the awful sound of the water as the pod carrying her shot down into the ocean worlds endless sea.
She remembered the scary shadows outside and the noise of something being attached.
She remembered the pod door opening and a tall man bending down as if to grab her, out of fear she had recoiled but the man didn't do anything. He just knelt down and smiled.
"Hey there" He said "are you injured... do you hurt anywhere?"
She remembered shaking her head and as the lights brightened so she could see the man and then she saw his round shaven face and felt safe.
"Are you hungry?" was his next question and he had pulled a bar of something out of his pocket and offered it to her.
She remembered taking it and swallowing the sweet whole. The man had laughed and then offered her his hand.
"Its ok I won't hurt you"
She remembered his voice so loving and warm.
"What's your name honey?" he asked
"I don't have one" She had responded instinctively some how aware of her situation
"Well why don't you come with me and we can make sure your ok" He had responded
She took his hand then he lifted her out of the pod and carried her back through the umbilical to the submarine.
She remembered meeting her soon to be mother as she examined her for injuries and the strange conversation they had had.
"Miles look at her genetic structure it's been modified" The woman had said while Alistravia was sat at a table eating after she had asked for more food.
They had scanned her for infections and deformities but found something very different.
"Oh my" The man had replied "If this is right her her IQ will be through the roof and is that... what is that"
She remembered them hypothesizing about the strange organs in her body.
"These organs seam to be feeding parts of the body providing growth hormones and this chemical looks like it's coating her bones in some kind of hardening solution" the man had said before looking further over the scans and noticing more organs "And then there's these three that don't appear to have activated yet"
"Look at the muscle structure it's almost ten thousand times stronger than any normal human. I don't think she's Estrellan Miles" the woman had said as she looked over the scans
"Do you think she she's a Kappa experiment Judith?" he had responded as he looked over at the girl they would take as their daughter and name Alistravia.
"Who or whatever she is she needs a home" The woman said as she took the mans hand
She remembered the adoption, her mother could not have children. Later she would understand this was a result of the Kappa trying to control the growth of the human population.
The memories flashed past quicker.
She remembered the day she built her teleporter.
"Daddy come look" She had shouted as her Father came into the house from work
"Ok Alis" he had responded and followed her into her room
"Watch dilly" she said as she placed the little sea mouse on a pad and keyed in a sequence of runes. With a flash the mouse was teleported across the room and into his cage.
"That's amazing" he said
Her mind moved forward again with the images to her mother arguing with one of the strange people from the temple. Alistravia didn't like them, they made her feel unsafe. Her mother told her how an alien race was trying to change their world and she and her father was part of a group trying to stand against it.
Then the images moved forward again.
She remembered coming home from exploring the ocean but no one was there. The house was turned up side down and her fathers pistol had been fired.
She remembered her neighbor telling her the Kappa had come and taken them and then she remembered the feeling of hate wash over her and a rage so strong with it she punched through the solid stone walls that made up her house. Her neighbor had run off slightly alarmed at seeing a human girl only sixteen punch through a wall that was inches thick and designed to withstand earthquakes. Alistravia was stunned by her action but it was as if a lock had been lifted from her mind and now she recognized her true power. She saw her hand heal it's self right in front of her. The cuts disappearing leaving no scars. She had discovered early on she was stronger than the other children but she never imagined this. As the rage started to subside she looked upon the alien temple in the distance. A plan ran through her head and she smiled.
Yes that was why the golden armored man seemed so familiar. He had a warm voice and a gentle face like her father had.
She was surprised when the man agreed to everything she asked. Surprised he agreed that only his golden vessel would be allowed into orbit and the rest of his fleet to remain on the edge of the system watched by her own warships. They had of course detected the other fleet that tried to hide it's self in the nebula just beyond the systems edge and a stealth vessel was sent to shadow the ships with the strange mark of a sword between two wings.
She was surprised when he agreed to only two guards and only asked if he could bring his adviser, a man named Malcador with him which she agreed to.
So it was beautiful day as a craft landed on the surface pad and was lowered down in a sealed bubble. Alistravia stood with the council to one side and her personal guard to another. Kyros had been nervous about her decision to speak to the emperor and his adviser alone but she assured him it would be fine.
The pad landed at the end of the white walkway that led to the palisade. People further in the city had stood and watched but as the surface pad came to rest they went back about their lives. She thought about Carin for a moment. She had just got him to sleep before the signal came through that the emperor was coming. He was in his room right now watched over by an auto-matron nanny that would feed and change him if he awoke while she was out of her quarters.
The landing ramp to the ornate shuttle opened up and the man in golden amour strode forth with a smaller figure carrying a staff by his side and behind them two guards with pole arms also in golden armor followed. They strode slowly and the man who was the emperor looked around at the city as he went. When he saw Alistravia at the end waiting for him he smiled at her and once again that feeling that she some how knew him washed over her.
When he reached her he bowed.
"You have a beautiful city" he said as he looked upon the palisade
Alistravia bowed back as did the council and her guard
"Thank you" She responded "Atlantis is one of many great cities on Estrella and we work hard to look after them"
The man stared at her for a moment like he was lost in a memory and again that feeling of familiarity washed over her.
"While your council is present I must apologize for the actions taken by the Mechanicum against your colony. It was not of my sanction" He said
"We appreciate and accept the apology but let us not dwell on the past, let us look to the future and what we may accomplish together" It was a response layered with diplomacy something Alistravia was not accustomed to but yet she found it easy to find the words.
"You are as wise as you are beautiful" he said and Alistravia blushed a little
She held her hand out indicating the entrance into the palisade.
"Well let us talk shall we"
The emperor followed her up to her quarters which were guarded by two powerful auto-matron constructs and he stopped to examine them for a moment before entering into her room. Sunlight poured in through the open window at the end of the lounge. Atlantis was close to the surface like most of the other Estrellan city's and the clear blue surface waters allowed the suns rays to pass through into a device where it was then reflected inward for day and outward for night. Her multiple seats and sofas all decorated in the finest of materials felt warm to the touch as they bathed in the suns rays. The older man with the cane took a seat as the emperor looked out the window. The pod Alistravia had arrived on Estrella in was stood aside the window next to a picture of her Estrellan mother and father. The emperor examined the remains of the pod before picking up the picture.
"Your parents?" he asked
"Yes" Alistravia answered
"Where are they?" From the way he asked Alistravia felt he already knew the answer
"They were killed by a species that attempted to take over Estrella with a cult... or religion depending on your prospective"
"I am sorry to hear that. They look like good people, I am glad it was them who found you and not these xenos" The emperor said and Alistravia felt a twinge of confusion but before she could speak he continued "You were not born of this world were you?"
"No. that pod is all that remains of where I came from. It has never given me any insights but Estrella is where I grew up so it has become my home" Alistravia said as she placed a bottle of wine on the table by the emperors adviser
"So you don't remember anything from before crash landing here?" He asked as he examined the pod again
"My first memory is of being trapped inside the pod and then being rescued by my father and mother" Alistravia responded as she watched the old adviser pour some wine and take a sip
"My goodness that's delicious" he exclaimed as he poured another glass
Alistravia tuned to him.
"Thank you. It's been fermented for years in the bowls of a whale before being extracted... without killing or hurting the animal of course"
Malcador stopped mid drink and slowly lowered the glass
"So this wine is..."
"A waste byproduct of a species of whale" Alistravia said finishing his sentence
Malcador put the glass down as the emperor laughed.
"Next time ask where it comes from before you drink it old friend" the emperor said as he come over to Alistravia and looked down upon her with a sigh "Would you believe me if I told you I was your father and I have been searching for you and your brothers"
Alistravia looked him up and down. He was so large and didn't think it possible but then that feeling of familiarity washed over her yet again. She shook the confusion away before speaking.
"I would require some proof and an explanation"
"What proof do you need, ask and I will provide it" He asked looking down upon her with a smile
"Simple. Est" she said and the AI appeared next to her
"What can I do for you Arch-Invetress?" he asked as the emperor looked him over
"Est scan the emperor and myself and see if we are related" Alistravia said
"Of course Alis but it will take several minutes as I will need to re-calibrate the sensors"
"Understood" Alistravia said in response and the AI's avatar disappeared
"He calls you Alis why?" the emperor asked
"Alistravia in old Estrellan means princess but it is a rather long name so as a child my friends called me Alis and those closest to me still do today" she responded as the sound of a baby crying came from the other room "Excuse me a moment"
Alistravia exited the room and picked up Carin from his crib before she dismissed the auto-matron nanny.
As she brought him back out into the lounge she noticed the looks on both the faces of her guests. Malcador's was one of amusement and surprise but the emperors was pure shock.
"You have a baby?" he asked his face moving from shock to confusion
"I do" she said cradling the crying Carin "I would of let the auto-matron nanny deal with him but if he can hear my voice and I don't attended to him he gets cranky"
"Who is the father?" Malcador asked
"Oh there is no father" She responded "The Kappa. That's the alien species that tried to take over. They needed to control human population growth so they put something in certain water supplies that sterilized many women but with the help of the bio-medical branch of the science guilds I was able to reverse it"
"But why did you have a child?" The emperor asked
"I saw how happy it made the Estrellan mothers. To be a mother and devote your life to something as my mother did with me and I wanted to experience it" she looked down upon Carin "It's been trying but I would not want the feelings of joy he gives me to ever end"
Est appeared next to them
"Alis I have finished my re-calibration and scanned both you and the emperor. There is a 99.8 percent chance that he is your father"
There was silence and Est disappeared as he recognized even as an AI this moment was personal one. The silence was broken by Carin's crying and the emperor took a step forward.
"May I" he said holding out his hands
Alistravia nodded and passed Carin to him who immediately stopped crying.
"Interesting. Normally he doesn't like new people" Alistravia said now nervous about the man holding her son
"I know you have questions so ask" the emperor responded as he cradled Carin
Alistravia asked the most prominent one in her mind and it was the one she had sworn her self to ask if she ever met her real parents.
"Why was I abandoned here?"
"You were not abandoned" The emperor said as he slowly rocked Carin "Your incubation pods were lost during an accident in my lab and scattered across the galaxy"
Alistravia watched him closely carrying Carin.
"I had always suspected I was not birthed. The genetic changes and strange organs are not a natural development of evolution but when you say scattered. What do you mean by that?" Alistravia said trying to get her head around the idea
"You and your brothers were pulled into a portal and then flung across the galaxy in the same realm of space our ships travel" he looked out the window as Carin slept in his arms "Your brother who I found before you was deposited on a forest world but you were deposited here. I do not know the reason but it does not matter anymore" Alistravia could hear the half truth as he spoke and it was something she would look into later
"Why do you use that realm to travel it's dangerous?" she asked and the adviser snapped his head towards her
"And what do you know about it's dangers?" Malcador asked narrowing his eyes
"I know I lost two ships and a lot of good people before I could close the opening. I know the aliens that reside in that layer of subspace are made of energy and not matter and I know that I developed wormhole travel based on the research of an old Estrellan scientist so I never had to go there again" She responded to the menacing look of the adviser
"A wise decision" The emperor said "But I must ask you never to tell your brothers or anyone who is not informed about what you saw. It would scare them to think the realm they use to travel was not safe"
"I can understand that" Alistravia said in response "So how many brothers do I have?"
"Nineteen" The emperor said "They were created to be generals to command my armies to help us reunite humanity and claim it's rightful place in the galaxy"
"And me?" Alistravia asked
"You I made to be the olive branch. To go ahead of your brothers with your legion and look for peace with the worlds still lost to us" he said
"My legion? I already have an army" Alistravia said
"And they will join your legion as astartes. Powerful warriors designed to fight the xenos monsters that live in the galaxy. Right now your legion is aboard my fleet and they will want to meet you" The emperor said as he handed her back the sleeping Carin.
"Ok" She said "Tell me more"
Path of exile part 3
Getting this plan, along with the others already in progress, together in such quick succession was easier than expected. Of course there were the usual careful footsteps. She had to make sure each person she chose to bring into the circle would be willing to follow the whole plan from beginning to end and in this case she had chosen well. She had expected the lure of the campaign and her attendance to come together and provide the bait for her trap the moment all the fleets formed up and it had, but the sanatorium... that find was unexpected and things had to be re-organized to accommodate for that addendum. She also had to make sure each plan was carefully orchestrated so that when they did intertwine she could manage each part carefully so it did not disrupt another.
As she walked away from the conference room the corridor ahead was black. This section of the ship hadn't been touched by the damage of the battle but Xarelto along with the tech-marines in engineering had made sure to report a surge of power blowing out the lumens systems and then carefully disabled the lighting so it appeared destroyed. Of course in reality had this of happened drones would of repaired the damage by now but careful misinformation about the capability of her technology over many years had been used to her advantage. She hadn't expected the assassination attempt on EX178. She mourned the loss of her sons and because of it she had accelerated her plans so that her sons wouldn't have to die for her again... at least not like that.
A noise behind her made her smile and she turned to face a skull faced assassin. He had most likely been aboard Fulgrim`s fleet but had not had chance to get to her before the emperor called them away. It was even possible he had been aboard the Ahab's rage since leaving Fulgrim`s fleet behind and was simply waiting for her to be vulnerable but they had not detected him until Fulgrim`s fleet rejoined them outside the barrier and that's when she knew a plan to deal with this problem could be formulated and executed. The assassin seamed confused at her smile and went for his weapon but before he could reach it a jagged blade burst through his chest. Blood poured from the wound and he fell to the floor as the lights in the corridor came back on as if waiting for the assassins death.
"Well done claw master and an excellent performance in the conference chamber if I do say so" Alistravia said to Hayguard the hunched claw master who had waited in the dark until the assassin showed himself
"Bah" he said cleaning his blade "I overplayed it"
"Nonsense" Konrad said coming round the corner "Your contribution to this operation will not be forgotten"
"Heh, I almost expected that wolf Andre to actually attack me" he said laughing while Alistravia downloaded the assassins information from his data slate
"Shocker. He's been hired by the Mechanicum" Alistravia said as she looked over the information on her own data slate "Right let's go deliver the good news to father"
Yvette had never met the emperor before and was not enjoying the experience as she hoped she would. After watching Alistravia leave she had been escorted by a custodian to a smaller conference room where the emperor had set up his throne to command from. The only thing that made the last part of her human brain feel some pleasure as the emperor questioned her was the thought that Alistravia was dead by now or at least wounded enough that another assassin could deal with her later.
"Well" the emperor said breaking her thought train "I am waiting for an explanation"
She was about to speak when the door to the room slid open and Konrad Curze walked in. This is it she thought. He is here to tell the emperor Alistravia is dead but then she noticed he was dragging a body and he swung it around so it landed beside her. Then another figure walked up and stood next to her on the other side to the body.
"Surprised to see me alive ambassador?" Alistravia said as Claw master Hayguard walked up behind her and placed his bolter against the back of her head
"What is going on here" the emperor asked looking at Alistravia
"This father" she said stepping forward and handing him a data slate
Yvette watched as the emperor flicked through the information on the data slate. His eyes showed no emotion or maybe they did it was hard to tell sometimes with humans.
He rose from his throne and threw the data slate at Yvette's feet.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked her as stepped closer
Yvette's logic circuits kicked in, there was no need to hide her allegiance anymore.
"You beasts have sullied mars with your touch and yet you refuse to accept the Omnissiah and revel in this imperial cult but we of the neo Mechanicum will restore the cult of mars as the rightful rulers" She spat multiple curse words in binary "And allowing this one into your ranks was truly offensive" She said indicating Alistravia "She is an a front to the Omnissiah and should be destroyed!" She drew her weapon hoping to get a shot at Alistravia before anyone could react but the Claw master behind her blew her head apart before she could even aim the weapon.
"So the rumors of an internal faction were true" the emperor said picking up the data slate "everyone except Alistravia and Konrad get out"
The emperor didn't need to shout or make the order again. The custodians and claw master Hayguard simply bowed and left.
After the door slid shut the emperor spoke.
"What do you know about them?"
"Not much" Konrad said kicking the remains of the ambassador "But they likely have agents in every fleet"
The emperor stood in thought. Alistravia didn't look in his direction but could feel his gaze upon her.
"We will route out this Neo Mechanicum after we are done here. Konrad go finish assembling your strike team with Leaman while I speak to your sister in private"
Konrad bowed and left. There was silence for a few moments before the emperor spoke.
"Did I do something to make you distrust me daughter?" He asked "What made you think keeping this from me was a wise idea?"
"I had to make sure the assassin and the Mechanicum did not suspect a trap. And I wanted to have solid evidence before I came to you" She responded as he walked over to her
"Your a scientist so I can understand that you need proof of something. You were wrong to keep it from me but I understand. However that only answers the second question" The emperor responded
The truth was there was no distrust just a recognition of reality since the events on the XI home world but Alistravia did want to relive it. In fact she had gone to great extremes to avoid any memory of that day but it was the truth. It had been the moment she realized the imperium had as much capacity for evil as the xenos races it exterminated and that Magnus all those years ago was right when he said she didn't belong. Her last contact with Magnus had awoken her to everything the future held and she knew she could no longer be a part of the imperium and as she watched her father she got the feeling he felt the same.
"In my quarters there is a chest. It is sealed and only Kyros and Sankara can open it" She said as he stared at her "Inside it is the rifle you gave me"
"The Neptune's eye. Why?" he asked
"Because the last time I fired that weapon was to execute my brother" She said surprising herself at the sound of sorrow in her voice
The emperor looked shocked and confused.
"Leaman killed..."
"No he didn't" Alistravia said "he only told you he did to protect me. Like they always do. They protect me"
"Protect you from what?" he asked his face changing from shock to compassion
"From myself..." She sighed "You were not there. You didn't see the things he did to those people. Men. Women. Children. No one should die like they did. Twisted, tortured and mutilated" Alistravia suddenly found herself pacing the room "There were entire underground vaults of serfs dedicated to pushing his perverted idea of human evolution and we helped him. You provided technology and I gave him resources so the blood of those people... is on our hands too"
The emperor looked down at his own hands. Again lost in thought for a moment.
"You are right. Mistakes were made and we must hold our hands up to our errors but Alis it was you who once told me we should not dwell on the past but look to the future" The emperor said as he looked over the data slate once more "Perhaps it's time we both stopped dwelling on the past"
For a moment Alistravia saw an expression appear on his face that could of almost been the anguish of a conflicted man but it passed too quickly for her to find out.
"I am going to tell you something and I will hear no arguments because it is an order is that clear" he said sternly as the emperor although Alistravia could hear the compassion of her father in his voice
"From now until this campaign is over I will have two of my custodians watch over you in case of anymore attempts on your life and Carin will come straight back to Terra with me. I am sure you agree he will be safer there"
"I understand" she said "May I suggest I return with my fleet to Estrella after this. It will be safer than attaching myself to a brothers fleet and risking an assassin getting on board"
She should of know then that he knew, maybe not all of it but he knew. In years to come she would sometimes think back to this day and wonder why he didn't stop her there when he had the chance. Was it out of fatherly love and his need to see her be happy or did he like Magnus see the coming storm and he let her go to protect her.
"I Agree" He said and Alistravia turned to exit but as the door slid open he spoke again "But actions have consequences daughter"
In hindsight she should of known then to change he plans to protect her legion but instead she carried on unaware.
Estrella: Arch-Invetress quarters.
The council meeting with the emperor had gone very well and the council had unanimously agreed that joining the imperium would be beneficial for Estrella and her people as it would provide trade and protection. The emperor said that as a legion home world it would be well defended and well supplied however Alistravia and the council had stressed their concern about Mechanicum interference with Estrellan science projects and the emperor said he would think on the issue and come up with a workable plan.
Alistravia had stood down the fleet and recalled the stealth frigate which confirmed her brothers ships were now moving towards Estrella but were not in an attacking formation. The emperor had offered her ships, hundreds of them but she found herself laughing at their design and inelegance.
"I am sorry father" she said still unused to the word "But my own fleet is superior and I do not wish to travel in vessels that use the warp to get around" she had started calling it that after seeing some of her fathers vessels be sent away and the way the subspace appeared to warp their ships as it pulled them in. Her father assured her that with the Geller fields she would be safe but she shook her head and said no and he accepted this to her surprise. She had kept hidden the fact that Estrella was really a ship however the emperor was curious as to why the planet had no limit on natural resources but Alistravia came up with a half truth to explain it.
"We use a form of replication technology where ore is found that provides an endless supply but there are of course some elements and metals that we have to mine from asteroids or other planets in order to get everything we need and many of those are not replicable"
He had looked at her curiously and she expected him to probe deeper but instead he just accepted the explanation although Alistravia suspected he knew she wasn't giving him the full story.
She had just put Carin to bed when the knock came at her door. She was expecting her guest but had hoped Carin would have been settled for longer first.
"Come in" She said walking back into the main room
An astartes walked in. Polished silver armor with gold trims covered his body except his head and the marine carried his helm in his hands. On his left pauldron was the II symbol stating he belonged to the second legion and on his right was the emblem of a fist holding a scroll. He had quite the gallant face and a rounded chin and angled jaw with lips that were big and flat. His eyes were a bright orange like the sun up close with a head of bright yellow hair almost golden like Kyros. He got down on one knee and bowed his head.
"It is an honor to meet you finally" he said not looking at her
"You can stand" She said and the marine stood up
Her father had told her of the genetic changes he had made to make his astartes but she did not realize how big they would be. Most of her genetic alterations to her army were small things simply to improve their ability in combat like heightened vision and hearing. She never thought about increasing their over all size as she worried it may make them more frighting to civilians but she looked upon this man and realized how much of an advantage he must have over even her best lancer regiment and yet he was still as human as everyone else in so many ways. Even his voice was pleasant.
"What is your name?" she asked as she walked around him examining his armor and it's design.
For something crafted by the Mechanicum it wasn't half bad although she was sure she could improve upon it after she had time to study its design.
"I am captain Velar Breton of your emissaries, first company" he said in a very formal way
"My emissaries?" Alistravia said continuing to look him over
"Yes mother we are yours to command"
"Mother!" she said shocked at the casual use of the word
"Yes, we bare your imprint and were designed for you" Velar said as she looked up at him
"Why do they call your... my legion the emissaries?" She already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from him
"We carry the enlightenment of the emperor and the imperial truth to reunite all humans by acting as ambassadors of a sort to lost human colonies and where necessary we bring them to heel with our cousins in the other legions" He responded again in a very formal and neat way. Something Alistravia was not used too. He continued "With you mother we will bring more worlds into compliance and free them from their misguided ideals and non existent gods"
The last part made Alistravia smile. She hated religion or any form of cult so the idea of waking people to the truth and clarity that science offered appealed to her but she had told her father that was not what she wanted to be she did not want to be just an ambassador. No. If her brothers got to fight then she should too and he had conceded stating that she had proven herself capable of being a general and an ambassador.
"Would you like a drink captain?" she asked taking the wine bottle left unfinished from her conversation with the emperor and Malcador.
She poured some of it into two glasses and handed one to the captain who took it with out question.
"Thank you" he said before taking a sip
"First things first Velar don't be so formal. I appreciate the gestures but I was raised by a man who used to just put on whatever he pulled first out of his closet. I lost count at the amount of times my mother had to tell him to change so do not overexert yourself on being so diplomatic" She said and the captain seamed to relax little "We also need to discus some changes to the legion like for a start I need to arrange moving you all to my fleet"
"I understand that there are things you may wish to change and we will accept whatever you say" He replied as he finished the wine
"Good. Well as I am sure you know many of my own will be converted to astartes and I have need to of them to be my leaders as I know them well but I need you as part of that command team as you are more familiar with imperial ideals and I will need someone to help me and the others acclimatize to these new ways" Alistravia watched carefully as he nodded "I also need to know I can trust you"
"That would never be in any doubt. We will never disobey you" He said as if offended by the suggestion
"You misunderstand captain. I know I can trust you to obey my orders but there are things about Estrella that must be kept secret for it's protection. Even in the imperium there are people who would use it for their own evil desires and it's my duty to prevent that, do you understand" She said glancing over at the pistol she kept hidden by the fireplace
"Does the emperor know of these secrets?" he asked
"He knows that there are things I do not wish to share because of the previous incident with the Mechanicum and he has respectfully not pushed any further on those subjects" Alistravia responded
"If you tell me something and order me not to divulge it then I will accept that as will my brothers" Velar responded "But if you wish not to reveal all at first I will accept that also"
Alistravia felt some relief. She was concerned that the Terran born marines would see the idea of hiding Estrella`s true function differently and then it would be harder to shift them to her way of thinking.
"May I ask a question?" He asked as he placed the empty glass down on the nearest table
Alistravia filled the glass back up and handed him it back.
"Please do"
"Why do you dislike the Mechanicum so much. Is it because of their attack on the colony?" He asked taking a long sip of the wine
"Well that is a good reason to dislike them but it is not the main one" She said taking a sip of her own glass of wine "Have you read about the history of this world?"
"Not yet mother but I am aware that you battled an invasion of sorts" Velar said
"Well the Kappa tried to forcibly remove our humanity from us and failed. The Mechanicum willingly give theirs up and remove their humanity one piece at a time. That is a horrifying thought do you not think? To replace ones limb when injured with a cybernetic replacement is understandable but to replace your whole mind is just wrong" Alistravia said before she finished her drink
"I see and I understand. To remove ones whole mind and body is to remove who you are" Velar said as Carin started crying and Alistravia went to retrieve him
Velar was surprised just as her previous guests had been.
"I didn't mean to walk away captain but I have another son who needs a bit more attention than you" Alistravia said as she rocked Carin gently then sat down on the couch
"How do you protect him when your not around?" Velar asked
Alistravia looked puzzled.
"Well there are the two auto-matron out front and the auto-nanny in his room is capable of combat plus normally I have a guard on duty in here but he has recently lost a family member so he is away at the moment"
"That is not good enough he should be protected by one of his brothers and I volunteer" Velar said looking down on Carin "I hope that will allow you to see we can be trusted as much as your homegrown sons can be"
Alistravia was surprised at the suggestion but found herself liking the idea and he was right. If he could be trusted to protect Carin at all times then he could be trusted with other information.
"Very well then as my first official act I make you Carin's guardian your duties being to protect him at all costs even if that means your life"
"It will be my honor mother" Velar said
There was another knock at the door and one of her staff came in.
"Mam there's a problem"
"What?" Alistravia asked a little annoyed at being disturbed
"Several Mechanicum vessels are attempting to land Terra forming machines" The staffer said
"Tell Kyros I am on my way" she said handing Carin to Velar before muttering under her breath "Should of never let them get into orbit"
Ahab's Rage hanger deck
Sylph was not surprised when he was chosen for this mission. He had experience working with alien technology and long range teleportation. He would of preferred his brothers accompany him but Alistravia`s plan required that his company be elsewhere. The night Lords were mulling about keeping themselves separate from the space wolves who were stood silently waiting for lord Russ to Finnish his conversation with his mother and Lord Kurze.
"The ship should auto pilot it's self but a control console has been fitted should you need to make any emergency flight adjustments" Alistravia said glancing at the custodians who had backed off slightly with her brothers being present
"What about it's weapons. Can we defend ourselves if the need arises?" Leaman asked as the sounds of a shuttle taking off echoed through the hanger
"You have Las cannons and a few torpedoes but I doubt you will need them" Alistravia responded "As soon as the recall signal is unblocked the system will asses the ship and determine it needs repair then once it reaches the gen ship and docks you will be able to begin your assault"
"You are sure your device will work sister" Konrad said watching the human crew go back and forth
"Why Konrad I am hurt, you know my technology never fails" Alistravia said looking slightly offended "I do not doubt your technology but it's speed as there are new...factors to consider" Kurze said looking over a Leaman
"What new factors?" Alistravia asked suspiciously
Leaman moved a step closer and lowered his voice a little.
"Father sent some of my best after these Neo Mechanicum agents, because of that I have had to bring others who are... less familiar with the mission"
"Blast! I should of known he wouldn't wait" Alistravia said taking a quick glance at the Custodians "We can't change anything now just do your best to keep them occupied"
Kurze and Leaman nodded
"Good hunting brothers"
The ship was packed tight even on the bridge and Sylph had to ask several Night Lords to create space so he could monitor their progression on the bridge. The jamming signal was still in place as the umbilical from the Ahab's rage was retracted. The grand cruiser had towed the alien drone ship to the front of the fleet so it was not obstructed by other vessels. The ship being a drone had no viewing screen or window of any kind so a viewing screen had been set up so they could see the ships progression beyond the barrier. Beyond the barrier they would have to keep radio silence and engineering crews had spent several hours installing signal dampeners so that the life signs of the astartes on board were undetectable which mattered not for the Night Lords as they were masters of stealth but the space wolves life signs needed to be masked.
"Sylph" Came his mothers voice other the vox "We are about to unblock the signal"
"Affirmative" he responded
The ship slowly came to life as the signal was un-jammed and the ship lurched forward gaining speed as it's engines hit full power. A space wolves tech-marine was watching the engines to make sure no problems arose.
As they approached the barrier a machine that was dormant sprung to life and began emitting a high pitch then the craft accelerated directly at the barrier...
Secret Neo Mechanicum base
The lab was full of discarded experiments in replicating the technology developed by Alistravia and Klandour, fabricator general of the Neo Mechanicum spat binary as the latest attempt failed. Fabricator general of the Neo Mechanicum. He should be fabricator general of the whole Mechanicum he thought to himself and in time once certain people were out of his way he would be.
The door to his lab opened and Menkar strode in, his cybernetic six legged body creating the clack sound of metal on stone as he moved.
"My Lord we have reports back from our agents. The assassin has failed and Yvette is dead"
"Her death is of little consequence and there are other assassins in the fleet" Klandour said throwing a cogitator part aside
"My Lord the emperor knows of our existence now and two of his custodians guard the Primarch at all times. It will be almost impossible to get at her now" Menkar kept his distance knowing the next part might enrage his Lord "Also the wolves hunt our agents"
Klandour screeched and smashed his bench apart sending parts of broken experiments everywhere.
"How is it we are bested at every turn when we are advised by the machine God himself!"
He threw a device against a wall with one of his four robotic tentacles and it shattered.
"I must seek advice from the Omnissiah" he said as he regained his composure
"I will await your orders my Lord" Menkar said exiting the room
Klandour opened a secret door within his lab and strode down the long hallway into a room where the wall was emboldened with the image of a large skull, half cybernetic. He remembered finding the skull after being guided by voices. He remembered it speaking to him for the first time and the pressure he felt in the last organic part of his brain.
"Omnissiah I beseech thee. Speak with me my master"
The pressure returned and the skull spoke.
"My servant why do you summon me" It asked and for a moment Klandour could hear hundreds of voices but put it down to the interference from the base's scattering field used to prevent detection.
"Omnissiah our assassins have failed and Alistravia still lives. I seek your advice" He responded
"Do not despair Klandour, everything is going as I planned" the voice echoed
"The emperor also knows now of our existence, he will come to destroy us soon and you tell me not to despair"
"You dare question my plan" The voice said shaking the room "You Klandour will take the fight to her. Gather as many ships as you can and attack without remorse"
"But right now she is with her brothers and their legions it will be impossible to fight them all and win" Klandour said expecting anger again
"Worry not my servant. Soon she will be alone again and then you will strike and end her offense to me"
Klandour nodded and bowed leaving the room hastily.
The thing behind the skull would of smiled if it had form. Weaving the fate of these mortals was far too easy. Soon Klandour would be dead and the danger to his masters gone. Then they could turn their focus elsewhere.
Drone ship approaching xenos generation ship
It had been a long journey, longer than Sylph expected. The moment the ship had accelerated and passed through the barrier they had gone radio silent. When the time came to respond it would be relayed through the probe hidden behind one of the moons. The Night Lords were quiet and reserved, it was easy to tell they were used to waiting for the right time to strike unlike the Space Wolves that paced about where there was space to do so. On the viewing screen the alien vessel loomed closer as they reached the final stages of their journey.
"My Lords we they are initiating docking procedures" Sylph said
"Very good" Lord Russ said before turning to Lord Kurze and claw master Sevatarion "I will take my warriors out first and clear a path for you to escort Sylph"
"Agreed" Lord Curze said as the ship was latched onto by a docking arm
"My sons to me" Lord Russ shouted "Let us show our cousins how we cause the enemy fear"
Roars of pride and arrogance came from the space wolves as they charged down the corridor. After a moment the sound of them blowing the sealed door to gain access to the station came and the sounds of fighting began.
"Sevatarion pick three squads and they will escort myself and Sylph to the central core the rest of the strike team is to disrupt enemy reinforcements" Lord Kurze said as the Night Lords began forming up into squads
They stepped out into the enemy stronghold. The wolves had massacred the enemy engineers who had been moving to repair the ship. A few xenos soldiers bodies were scattered about but they had been unprepared for a hundred astartes and their liege lord. Many Night Lords ran ahead jumping up into the cabling that ran along the roof. In the distance bolter fire and other noises of battle could be heard as the wolves reeked havoc. Sylph remembered the battle against the orks they had fought with the world eaters when that fool Kharn charged along with four entire companies without any regard to their safely or tactical discipline. At least the Night Lords had some common sense and he enjoyed the six year war he had fought alongside the Luna Wolves and their father. No. The Space Wolves were not as undisciplined as the World Eaters but you wouldn't believe it right now.
Lord Kurze speaking snapped him out of his memories.
"Follow me" He said as they moved up towards a way out of the hanger bay "This route should bypass security"
It was a small narrow corridor and Sylph understood why Lord Curze had not brought his Atramentar as they would not of fit through such a narrow space that even for a standard space marine was extremely tight yet somehow Lord Curze fit.
They had to go single file and Sevatarion led the way as they moved slowly. Eventually the reached a dead end and the crow prince halted them.
"Sylph" He said over the vox and the tech-marine nodded
Using one of his servo limbs he pulled out a scanning device and ran it along the wall.
"One xenos" He voxed back
Then the night lords just seamed to vanish into the darkness. Sylph looked at his scanner and even that couldn't find them. Suddenly there was the sound of a body hitting the floor and then the panel beside him opened allowing him to pass from the service corridor into the main walkway.
The xenos had been carefully killed and Sylph was surprised he had even heard the body drop. A look at the Avian told sylph he was an engineer of sorts and he had been repairing something before he had been eliminated by the Night Lords.
"Konrad" came Lord Russ's voice "We have drawn a good amount of the xenos to us and are about to destroy the drone facilities whats your status"
"We are close to the core and have avoided confrontation thus far" Lord Curze responded
"Understood, I will join you at the core when were done and let the rest of my force continue to draw the enemy away" Lord Russ said
They made their way down several more corridors with no xenos around until they came to a large set of doors guarded by several drone gun platforms and a few xenos guards.
"Wait here" Lord Curze said and once again the Night Lords seamed to instantly disappear into the darkness of the low lit ceiling
There was the sound of a scuffle and then nothing for a minute before Lord Curze reappeared.
"It's clear" he said
The xenos around the security gate had been killed without any resistance by the looks of it and the guns had been smashed.
"I will get the door open" Sylph said as the Night Lords watched the corridor
Sylph was surprised the xenos had not locked down their access codes more securely since the ship was under attack but given it was unlikely they ever expected a direct assault on their home it made some sense.
The door opened and an internal door followed shortly revealing the immense core within.
"You three secure the room" The prince of crows said indicating several members from one of the squads "two squads remain here the rest come with us"
They moved inside slowly with a few of the Night Lords jumping up into the darkness of the ceiling. Sylph looked over the core. It was a large sphere covered in a gyroscopic metal that ran around it's edge and shifted as it distributed power. He accessed one of the consoles and a panel close to the main core opened up. A long monolith like container uncloaked it's self next to Sylph and he began unpacking it's contents.
"Where is the element Alistravia requires" Lord Curze said looking over the core
"Inside the sphere holding the black hole in place" Sylph said as he began slowly assembling the equipment "You might want to get comfortable my Lord, this could take some time"
Estrella council room
As the emperor came into the room and sat down at the head of the table where Alistravia usual was seated it reminded her of the days when she was leading the revolt against the Kappa when members of the council were still so brainwashed by the kappa that they refused to vote against them. She remembered the Kappa leader who had been voted arch-inventor (A part of history that was now used as a reminder about the evils of religion) and how he had even then tried to play the victim and that his species needed help. Alistravia had enjoyed killing him more than she would of liked but she did not feel sorry for it. He and his entire race were but a memory and one that was growing ever more distant. She sat on one side of the table with Kyros and several members of the council who had voted to let Alistravia speak believing she would be able to deal with the Mechanicum as she had the Kappa but this time there was the hope that it would not mean war thanks to the emperors interference.
He had come just in time stopping the Mechanicum from landing their Terra forming vessels. Had he not interceded Est would of opened fire and destroyed every Mechanicum vessel in orbit and then it would have been war, maybe even with the imperium but it hadn't happened and he had ordered the Mechanicum to withdraw, which they had under threat of expulsion.
The magos on the other side starred at her with his cybernetic red eyes and his many limbs sat dormant at his side. His name was Klandour and that was all she knew about him but he had taken it upon himself to order the drop onto Estrella in defiance of his own arch-magos who sat next to him. The arch-magos was more human and still had some emotion to him.
"Firstly let me say thank you to both sides for not allowing this to get out of hand" The emperor said as he took his seat "Since my arrival I have been thinking on how best to merge the Mechanicum with the Estrellan culture and their advanced technology and it has been a difficult task made more difficult by recent events. Originally I was hoping to propose something that would allow you to co-exist and work together but now I find myself in the position of having to allow Alistravia and her council make decisions on their relationship with the Mechanicum"
"My Lord" The arch-magos said "It was an order given by mistake. As you know we are used to operating in a particular way and we do apologies for our misguided actions"
Alistravia could hear the lie seeping through the cracks in his words as he spoke but her father ever the diplomat continued on despite the fact he must of known it was a lie also.
"I am sure the Estrellan`s appreciate your apology but you have given them the advantage here in these negotiations so you will have to listen and accept what is said" The emperor said in response and the arch-magos sat down "Alistravia make your demands"
"Thank you. I have discussed things with the council and we agree that we can not allow any Mechanicum personal or machine on Estrella, her colony's and ships. This is not a polite request this is a statement of actuality"
"That is unacceptable" Klandour said "we are the givers of technology in the imperium and not you. You who consort with artificial inelegance and ignore the offenses made against the Omnissiah"
"I will not worship a machine god or any other non existent religious figure" Alistravia said in quick response and the tension in the room rose.
"The Omnissiah is real" Klandour yelled
"Then bring him to me so I can cut him down" Alistravia yelled back
"How dare you!" he said spitting binary "I will kill you for your insolence"
"Your welcome to try" Alistravia said in response
"ENOUGH!" The emperor shouted before looking in Klandour's direction "You have already gotten on my bad side once magos. Do not make the mistake of getting on it again or I might allow Alistravia to kill you"
The magos fell silent shrinking under the gaze of the emperor.
"How will we bring worlds into compliance if we can not assist the lady's legion?" The arch-magos asked
"After talking with Alistravia she has agreed to allow a small fleet to assist her legion in that regard. She will allow you to do your duty if her demands are met" The emperor said and the arch-magos nodded
"Very well. I am sure this can be mutually beneficial in the long run"
And that was how the meeting ended. Alistravia was hoping for more arguments so that should could demand more and remove the Mechanicum from having anything to do with her legion whatsoever.
When she returned to her room there were two of her sons, her sons, she laughed at the thought of an entire group of warriors bred for her. She would of laughed out loud if it hadn't been really happening but it was and two of her sons were stood outside her room in a larger armor piece than before and each carried a spear which cracked with power. Velar had called it terminator armor and again for something made by the Mechanicum it was not half bad although as soon as she had chance Alistravia would take a closer look and most likely improve on the design. They saluted as she approached and she stopped noticing her door was slightly ajar.
"Who is in my quarters" She knew Velar would be in their. He had not left since she gave him the order to guard Carin and had been surprised when she had come back at one point and found him stood outside Carin's room like an ever present sentinel.
"The Lion insisted he wait inside for you" one of her son's said
Her brother as it had been explained to her had been given the name by his parental figure just as she had been given hers.
He was stood by the window watching the people of the city go back and forth. Jet black Armour, a well cut beard and a scruffy head of hair. He had called his legion the dark angels which seamed like an odd name for a legion who came from a forest world.
"I do that" She said "It's nice to see them happy, the people"
He chuckled
"I keep looking at the ocean beyond the shield. I keep expecting it to fail and for the ocean to reclaim this place"
"The shield that protects the city from the waters can't be breached from the outside by any known weapon" she said before looking over at the wine rack "Would you like a drink?"
The lion turned around rubbed his chin.
"Malcador said you offered him whale piss"
"A misunderstanding. There is a species of whale that ferments it's waste like you would any drink and a way was found to safely remove it. Then combined with a few spices and left to mature it produces one of the best wines on Estrella so who cares where it comes from" Alistravia said opening up a bottle "This will be the second I've gone through in the past two days"
"How are you finding it all, overwhelming isn't it?" the Lion asked allowing her time to pour the drinks before responding "you don't have a serf or an assistant to do that?"
"Perhaps it is different on your world but here we don't use human servants. We have auto-matron for doing certain tasks leaving us to focus on science and as for overwhelming" She said looking at the numerous data slates about the imperium and it's history and operating methods that were sitting on her dining table and she had still yet to read "It's different. I always thought meeting my father would be less extravagant" She laughed "I had this belief that as a child that I was abandoned here because I wasn't wanted and my mother would tell me that she couldn't imagine anyone not wanting me"
"She sounds like a wise woman" the lion responded taking a sip from his glass "this is excellent. The sweet taste makes you forgot it's whale piss"
They both laughed.
"You know I always wanted a brother" Alistravia said putting more wine in the lions glass
"Why?" the lion said quizzically
"To play pranks on of course" she said with a smile
The lion burst out laughing and finished his wine.
"I have a good feeling about you sister" he said and his infectious laughter swept Alistravia up and she laughed along with him.
Generational ship core
"How much longer?" Lord Curze asked
"I have finished decoupling the power core from it's harness now we just need to open a wormhole but doing so on such a small scale and over such a distance requires careful calculations" Sylph answered a little annoyed at the night haunters impatience
"So you actually could of worm holed the fleet past the barrier?" Sevatarion said watching the door
A few minutes earlier several squads of xenos creatures attempted to retake the core and they made a good effort except they were not prepared for the Night Lords who had no trouble tearing them apart.
"No my mother was telling the truth but as the wormhole forms it will rip the core from it's connections and into slip space. By the time this end closes the barrier will be gone"
"Good because I am getting tired of waiting" One of the other night lords said
"My mother would tell you patience is a virtue" Sylph said as he began channeling tachyon's below the core
"What a foolish notion" the night lord said as the doors opened
"Don't ever let her hear you say that" lord Russ said as he strode in with several of the wolves "She would likely kill you"
One of the wolves moved around the core and walked past Sylph glancing at the core and the console he was stood at.
"Traitor" he said raising his weapon "I've seen your wormhole technology in action before, you are trying to teleport the core"
"You are mistaken cousin" Sylph said as he watched Sevatarion draw his sword
"Father look at the console you know I am right" The sergeant said drawing looks from the night lords and other space wolves in the room
Leaman walked over to the console and looked at the display and then at sylph who just nodded.
"Konrad" he said
In the split second it took Konrad to kill him the sergeant must of realized what was really going on.
It had all been per-ordained by Alistravia. All those years of working with her brothers. The night Lords had helped her on the matriarchal world of Velantorim and there she had built up an understanding with Lord Kurze and battling the XI had brought her closer to Lord Russ hence his willingness to assist her in other matters. Of course it wasn't just them. The Khan. Mortarion. Fulgrim. Guililliman. Angron. Magnus. The Lion and Horus Lupercal were all willing to help her even if it was from a distance. In fact only Ferrus Manus whose legion chose to actively replace their humanity with the cold soulless ideals of a machine and Rogal Dorn who was fiercely loyal to the emperor and was considered by Alistravia to be unreachable even though they had on many occasions fought alongside the Iron hands and the Imperial fists. The blood angels and iron warriors had only been with them for short campaigns and Alistravia had not been able to spend enough time with their primarchs to get their support.
The wormhole under the core began to form and there was a creaking as it was ripped from it's last connection and pulled into the opening of the wormhole. For a moment the lights went out and everyone stood still. Then with a flicker the power came back on as one of the redundant backup systems kicked in.
"The barrier will start to dissipate now" Sylph said as they heard the sound of alert sirens down the corridor and the wolf lord smiled
"Good now we just have to wait for rescue"
"Report" Alistravia said walking onto the bridge followed by the custodians and maidens shield
"The barrier is fading my lady and the dark angels fleet is moving away on course for planet 51" The admiral said as the emperor entered the bridge from the other lift
"Are we all loaded and ready" Alistravia asked as she took the command throne
"Confirmed all ships ready to deploy boarding torpedoes when we are in range" Xarelto said in response
"All ahead full" She said as the engines of the mass fleet lit up in a burst of speed
The emperor watched from the front of the bridge.
"Alistravia when we are in range teleport me aboard the station as well" he said
"Yes father"
The whole fleet surged forward with scouts and picket ships shooting ahead to knock out xenos patrols. Alistravia watched from the throne taking in every ship position and trajectory.
"Tell the space wolves forward ships this is not a race" she said as a few of their vessels tried to pull away from the fleet
"They are likely anxious to join their brothers in battle" Sankara said
"I don't care, this is my fleet and I will not have it's formation compromised. Even the world eaters aren't this impatient" Alistravia said as orders were relayed and the space wolves vessels slowed
Ahead the huge xenos generational ship was growing closer. Their fleet was in the process of leaving with some ships staying behind for defense but the majority were already in transit.
"All boarding torpedoes on all ships report ready to fire" Xarelto reported as the entered range of the ship
"Good we will loop around and shoot them off while the smaller ships hold them in place" She said as she watched the next part of the charge unfold.
The reason why Alistravia had not wanted the space wolves vessels to charge forward ahead of the main fleet was simple. In order to get the majority of their forces aboard the xenos ship they needed time and to be not harassed by enemy ships. In order to do this Alistravia arranged for the fleet to break into two shortly before engaging. Any earlier would risk detection of the move by the xenos and could result in the loss of astartes. So as they closed in and the xenos fleet began to position it's self to defend. Ships faster and smaller shot off ahead of the main fleet along with thousands of fighter craft. A light show erupted as they clashed. The imperial ships were fewer and would be un-supported while the larger vessels deployed their boarders but that was the only way this would work.
"Father get on the pad and I will send you over" Alistravia said
The emperor nodded.
"Put me as close to your brothers as you can" He said as the pad charged
Sylph tore two of the creatures apart with his servo arms before blasting a third through the face with his bolter. Their position in the docking area had been over run despite two primarchs being with them. It had happened gradually as more of the station became aware of their presence more of the xenos descended upon them and Lord Russ made the assessment that all of their species must be trained to fight. Sevatarion and Lord Kurze were ripping the xenos apart but stronger more well trained xenos soldiers had now started to appear and they were not as easy to put down as their low ranking counterparts. The space wolves were enjoying the close engagement and again they reminded Sylph of the World eaters or even the blood angels. Then he smelt it. That copper singe in the air that signaled the instant flash of teleportation. It was blinding and everyone stopped Xenos and Astarte's alike but when it faded it left in it's wake a golden warrior with four golden escorts. The emperor had arrived and Lord Russ roared.
"For the emperor!"
The astartes echoed their own shouts and that was all it took to turn the fight around as the Xenos still stunned by the flash had no time to react as the Lord of mankind charged with his son's and the strike force into the overwhelming mass of xenos.
Thousands of boarding torpedoes had been fired into the huge Xenos ship. Guns on it's surface fired at the torpedoes hoping to destroy them but the steep angle they had been fired at made it difficult for them to be hit as the majority smashed into the surface of the xenos vessel, some burrowing deep with in it's structure others landing in the outer hull but nearly all hitting home.
This time Gerik did have something to hit as he charged out of the torpedo that had smashed it's way close to the center of the vessel. He cut down several of the xenos creatures as they recovered from the shock of the torpedo smashing down the wall behind them. Others charged, bigger and stronger than the smaller avian beasts. These monsters were more like birds that hunted than the smaller buzzard like creatures they had seen in the intelligence files and were harder to deal with as they came at the sea devils weapons drawn. Gerik shoulder charged one as it raised it's staff at him knocking it backwards over the debris but another swung it's staff tipped with spikes and Gerik was forced to make a forward roll to avoid it's touch. He got back to his feet and parried a blow from one of the creatures turning it so it impacted it's companion. The confusion bought him enough time to stab his power sword through the chest of the first xenos while the second still recovering from being hit by it's ally was lifted up by Kelsi and thrown against the wall.
The tremors of another torpedo smashing it's way through shook the ground as they fought and more shouts and screams came as which ever legion was aboard the torpedo piled out into the fight deeper in the structure.
It was incredibly close quarters and every astartes had had to switch to their sword or combat knife as bolters were not going to be efficient in such a small space. Gerik took a glance around the room as he raped his sword down the back of an unsuspecting xenos. It appeared to be some kind of control center with the technology similar to that he saw on the drone and dead xenos non combatants were scattered about dead or dying from the astartes fighting.
The last of the xenos was killed and Gerik regrouped the company before opening the vox.
"This is captain Gerik of the sea devils 6th is anyone receiving me?"
"Gerik you lazy git bout time you showed up" A voice responded
"Saul where are you?" Gerik asked as the company took a moment to gather their strength
"At the edge of a city and no I didn't suffer a blow to the head when we penetrated there is literally a city in here and a hell of a lot more Xenos than we thought"
Gerik pulled up the map he had. It was only partially complete as Mothers scanners had been for some unknown reason unable to scan the center of the Xenos craft. Where his torpedo had entered they were on a disc like platform that seamed to house control centers for the surface guns and it seamed like that many of these discs was the place where most of the torpedoes had reached with a few falling slightly short of that mark. Saul's signal was coming from beyond the map and Gerik and the company followed the signal towards captain tavitz position but as they moved past the rooms killing the xenos as they went it became clear Saul was on and entirely different level to them. They broke out from the complicated maze of rooms and into a wide open space where they found the edge of the disc and an awe inspiring sight. They were on the hollow inside of a nest like structure with the surface of the inside being hundreds of thousands of these discs cascading downwards and in the center was a huge city almost as large as the biggest hive city in the imperium.
Gerik looked over the edge and could see several torpedoes had broke through onto the ground closer to the city's edge but large numbers of xenos were converging on them.
"Saul I think I see you but we are still on one of the upper floors. I will get down to you as quickly as I can"
"Make it fast Gerik" He shouted over the heavy bolter fire
"My lady I am getting reports of a large city inside the structure" The admiral said as the Ahab's rage cut a xenos ship apart with it's Las fire
"Can we still get no scans from the interior?" Alistravia said as she watched Xenos ships returning from their pursuit of the dark angels fleet.
That plan up until this point had gone smoothly. The alien fleet was as predictable as expected. Unable to choose weather to support their troops attacking P51 or defend the generational ship they split their forces and since they had no drone reinforcements they struggled to handle an assault taking place on four battle grounds. The two space battles, the assault on their home ship and the reinforcing of P51 had them in disarray but Alistravia knew that things could go wrong quickly and at anytime and this discovery of a city structure inside the alien ship was something to keep an eye on.
"I've managed to get some information but the very center is cloaked from scans somehow" Xarelto said looking over his holographic interface "I might be..."
The station fired a blast at them and all power was suddenly drained from the ship.
"What was that?" The admiral asked
"Unknown sir some kind of EMP weapon but it only affected us" one of the other officers shouted from the operations deck
"I think they have figured out were the flag ship" Xarelto said as several of the Xenos vessels converged on them just as power started to come back online
Then with multiple flashes groups of Xenos appeared around the bridge and fire erupted as the maidens shield, the custodians and other astartes around the bridge charged forward moving to protect the bridge crew many of whom were being targeted by the xenos. A large xenos covered in feathered armor with a large blade jumped up onto the command platform right in front of Alistravia. It raised it's weapon to strike but she pushed forward and tacked it off the command platform causing both of them land a midst the fighting on the main bridge platform bellow. Alistravia`s armor automatically cushioned the impact of the fall and it snapped shut her helm over her head as she and the creature both got up. Moving faster than she expected the creature swung it's blade around and she was forced to move back out of the way as it lunged forward trying to get at her. Instinctively she drew her pistols firing at the xenos but it seamed to endure the hits and barreled into her knocking her over. It attempted to bring it's giant blade down upon her but she rolled out of the way jumping up and grabbing a sword one of her sons threw towards her. She wasn't adept with swords. Not at all and poorly parried the creatures blade aside. Her harpoon was still secure in it's lock down position by the throne but might be difficult to get as the fighting on the bridge was heavy and this xenos commander was quite adamant in killing her and unlike before she couldn't just pull the harpoon to her. When the power had gone out and the xenos had boarded the bridge it had locked it's self down so it could not be used against her and she could only unlock it at the throne it's self but an opportunity did present it's self when when the creature leaped forward to close the distance. She rolled back to some space and waited for the creature to jump. She parried it's blade as it jumped forward and despite her protective armor being made from the scales of a rock fish, one of the toughest creatures on Estrella, the tip of it's blade made it through causing her to wince as she felt it slide across her waist. Right now her own healing ability would be kicking in and the armors auto medicare system would be pumping pain suppressors and stimulants into her blood stream to help. The creature jumped forward in pursuit and she took her chance running and sliding under it's jump then running up to the throne. She unlocked the harpoon and activated it as the creature jumped up to strike, it's blade held high above it's head.
"Get off my ship" she said and then she threw the harpoon.
It caught the creature dead center as intended and impaled him on the wall above the main view screen.
The rest of the xenos were disposed of and the damage was assessed. The admiral jumped down and took the helm as it's officer had been killed. Several other stations had lost crew members as well and several of her sons took over their operation. Xarelto walked over to her holding arm where he had steamed the blood with a piece of his own uniform. He took his station as more astartes came onto the bridge followed by Nev who came to Alistravia`s aid but she she urged him to check on the human crew and wounded astartes first. He refused and scanned her.
"Your lucky your not a normal human or your guts would be hanging out right now" he said as he used his medicare gauntlet to inject her with more healing factor
He would always say that on the rare occasions she was actually injured before he moved on to the injured crew.
"Mam reports from other incursions throughout the ship say the xenos have been slain" Xarelto said as Nev injected him with something "Our escorts took care of the xenos attack ships and full power has been restored"
"Good now find out what's happening aboard that generational ship"
Neva had thought her first time off the ship would be exciting but that would be an understatement she thought as she burrowed the sword the lion had given her through the chest of one of the xenos that dared to challenge her to a duel. Lucius the young captain in the emperors children had taught her a few things while they had waited for the operation to begin and she was putting the skills to good use as she spun her sword around her removing limbs and killing xenos.
Her company's torpedo had come out one level above the lowest and she could hear Saul tavitz over the vox talking with Gerik who was making his way down to their besieged cousin. She had started to push her company towards the same goal of reliving the emperors children forces but had run into a choke point set up by the xenos defenders and were struggling to push through. That was until Saul's own gene sire showed up at the xenos rear guard and ripped them apart. He had ordered her to follow him and she had obeyed as she would any of the primarchs.
Eventually they broke out onto the level that seamed to be dotted with trees and hills in an attempt replicate their ideal living conditions maybe but that didn't matter because it was where Saul was besieged and they had to reinforce him before he became overrun. Lord Fulgrim gutted hundreds of the foul xenos as Neva and her company cut into the xenos reinforcements that tried attack them from a flanked position using small transports. She cut through bone and flesh as the tide of the creatures didn't seam to end. That was until Gerik, Rebus, a company of night lords and space wolves turned up then the monsters for some unknown reason simply retreated back into the edge of the city.
Fulgrim called all the captains to him as they erected a small command post out of the wreckage of a large xenos transport.
"Gerik and Rebus take your sea devils and move along this flank and cover Saul's advance. Neva first captain Kyros has broke through on the eastern side and is going to push in so your going to cut through this area and..."
"Father" a sergeant said coming into the post "something is happening"
Fulgrim stormed outside followed by the company captains. A horn blasted from the center of the city then a shield covering the city materialized surrounding it with a similar barrier to the one that had engulfed the whole system. Then the sound of jets firing came and hundreds of rockets flew into the sky.
"Everyone get down!" Gerik yelled as the missiles smashed into the ground
"Spread out" lord Fulgrim shouted diving behind a smashed alien transport where Neva was taking cover "Well this complicates things"
"Fulgrim stop yelling" Alistravia said as numerous reports came from legion companies "Xar what can you tell me about that shield?"
"It is similar but of a lower power strength than the system barrier. I believe we can wormhole through it" he said as the ships drones disintegrated the body Alistravia had pinned to the wall
"Good" she said watching her harpoon fly back to her hand "Int hat case..."
Don't do what your thinking of doing
The message from Sankara was like a hot needle in her brain.
It had taken her many years to learn how to speak back to him using telepathy and even now it was difficult to express certain words so messages had to be kept simple.
I know you want to go in there but don't. Find another way Sankara said
Ok she responded knowing he was right hence why he was her equerry
The telepathic conversation had taken only seconds but Xarelto still looked puzzled at the wait on her response.