Here it is, the first chapter of my new story. Enjoy!
"Such is the woe cast upon the Domains of the God-Emperor of Mankind in these times that in their wisdom and beneficence, the High Lords of Terra have this day issued this decree: Let there be a Founding of the Adeptus Astartes, and let the foes of the Emperor know that this galaxy belongs to Him, now and forever."
These words echoed briefly across the room holding the 349th Congress of the Imperium from the mouth of High Lord Tagus, Convener of the Congress. There was a mixed reaction to this; many were eager to see the creation of new Space Marine Chapters, others felt it a waste of Imperial resources, as there were already around a thousand Chapters located in the Galaxy, and though many were under strength, it was still enough to safeguard the Imperium, which was why that number of Chapters had remained relatively consistent over the last 10 millenia since the end of the Horus Heresy when the 9 remaining Loyalist Space Marine Legions were divided into Chapters, with each of the 23 subsequent Foundings since the Second replacing the numbers of Chapters that had been wiped out or reduced to cripplingly low numbers. However, most of the people at the Congress agreed that in the face of the many threats posed to the Imperium, such as the newly discovered Necrons, as well as the rapidly growing Tau Empire and the rampage of countless Ork Waaagh!'s, a new host of Space Marine Chapters was vital to the survival of Humanity.
And thus, the 26th Founding began, in the early months of 736 M41. After that, the plans for half a dozen new Space Marine Chapters were made, names including the Mentors and the Storm Giants and the White Panthers. The Adeptus Mechanicus undertook the massive task set before them, and across dozens of Forge Worlds, serfs and workers toiled away, constructing the Power Armour, weaponry, vehicles and other equipment needs of the new Chapters. Men of the Adeptus Mechanicus pored over lists of worlds marked for possible homes to a Chapter's Fortress Monestary, looking for the ideal worlds among the list, worlds with access to both a large quantity of recruits, as well as tough cultures and easily defendable locations to build Fortress Monestary.
One such location that was selected for being the home of a chapter was a system in the Eastern Fringe known as the Isphyda System. This syste was located near the border of the Tau Empire, and as such, was in constant danger of invasion if the Tau were to begin another expansion. The system itself was relatively well placed strategically. There was a noticable lack of Space Marine chapters in that area of space, with the nearest chapter being the Ultramarines, who's home in the Realm of Ultramar was over 3000 lightyears away. Thus, the six worlds of the Ishpyda systm were slected to be the recruiting grounds for one of the new space marine Chapters, with the Fortress Monestary to be built on Isphyda I.
A few days after the declaration of the 26th founding, the Adeptus Mechanicus set about examining gene seed stock from various first founding Chapters, and altering them slightly for uniqueness among Chapters. Afterwards, zygotes of the various donor chapters were placed inside the bodies of lobotomised human test subjects. After a time, the various zygotes developed into Progenoid glands, which were then extracted. The genetic material within the Progenoids were extracted and placed within two new human slaves. Over the course of the next 50 or so years, with constant culturing and extracting and implantation, the Adeptus Mechanicus had 1,000 sets of each chapter gene seed for each new Chapter. The gene seed was then transported to the various systems assigned to them, where the Fortress Monestary's that would contain the chapters and the gene seed were just receiving the final touch-ups on their construction.
With the gene seed ready, the first recruitment processes were enacted, and new, young recruits were gathered from the recruitment worlds. In the Isphyda System, the chapter was to be called the Power Marines chapter, with their armour being painted jet black, the trim being the colour reresenting their company. Diverging from the Codex Astartes slightly, each company was given a different name reflecting upon their assigned specialty, and the battle companies were each assigned to have an extra squad in it, the squad's type varying between the four companies. For example, the Second Company, named Prometheus Company, would specialise in Ork and Tyranid infestation, burning out the massed hordes of enemies with flamer and plasma, along with their spores, and as such, they were assigned to receive an extra Assault Marine squad armed with flamers and plasma pistol for the sergeant. However, at the moment, the Chapter had no Initiates and no leaders, and so, veterans of the Ultramarines Chapter, the progenitors of the Power Marines, were taken from their home chapter and assigned to lead the new Chapter while it got on its feet. Approximatel 100 Ultramarines, mostly sergeants, were assigned to lead the Power Marines in the first 100 years of their life, after which those still alive would return to the Ultramarines with honour.
Among the initital wave of recruits for the Power Marines, 1,000 managed to pass all three of the trials, though this was more due to the sheer number of recruits taken as opposed to actual worthiness to join the chapter. About half of these 1,000 died over the next few years, their bodies rejecting the gene seed implanted into them. After this, the remaining 500 Neophytes were trained in combat, having to memorise the Codex Astartes and being experts with sword, gun and tactics. They then over time advanced in the ranks of the Space Marines, most moving onto the rank of Devastator marine. While the Power Marines filled out their ranks and had no tactical squads, they avoided combat in any form, leaving any and all issue within the system's Imperial Guard regiments. It was then determined that every 10 years, the veterans of the 10th company would undertake a 50 day period in which they would travel around the Isphyda system, taking all potential recruits and making them partake in a series of three trials, the first and third of which were the same regardless of the origin of the recruit, though the second varid depending on what world the recruit came from. After 50 years, with the 26th founding having ended long ago, the chapter had taken on four more waves of recruits, with all of their companies having troops, and the Power Marines were almost ready to go to war properly, as their numbers reached almost 1,000, not including support staff, Librarians, Chaplains and Techmarines. As the veterans of the 10th company went around the Isphyda system on their 6th recruitment movement, travelling in succession to each world and making the recruits participate in the Challenge Trial. 100 standard years after the beginnin of the 26th Founding, the 10th company veterans arrived on Isphyda I, having determined those who passed the Challenge Trial on Isphyda I and II.
Isphyda III, Ganda Desert
The beast was a large one. It was long in the leg, with soft, padded paws at the end of the four limbs, and a long, sleek tail. It's head was wedge shaped, with small, beady eyes and slits for nostrils above its large, flat-toothed mouth. The dark, rust coloured fur on this creature made it blend in well with the sands of the desert, though the unusual black pattern on its back, uncommon in its kind, ruined the camoflague somewhat.
As the creature pawed the ground, trying to find a patch of vegetation under the sand, it was ignorant to the sounds around it. It lowered its muzzle to the ground and sniffed. After detecting moisture, it arched its back in excitement, and a set of large, thick, sharp claws extended from its front paws. It began clawing dust off the top of the moisture, and after a few minutes, a small, moist root grew in the ground. The beast closed its teeth around the root and began chewing, attempting to gnaw the root out of the ground. After a few moments, it began tugging. Eventually, it ripped the root free, and gleefully began chewing on its prize. It relished the juices sliding down its throat, and then swallowed the whole root. As it began searching again, it heard a sound. A foreign sound. Immediately, the beast was on the alert, its musces tense. There was silence. Eventually, the beast decided it was insignificant, and continued searching for food, though some 6th sense told him danger was near. It continued foraging for more of the delicious, nourishing roots it had just eaten, before suddenly, it heard a new, loud noise.
"The sky warriors are here! The sky warriors are here! Orion, Yariel, Crau, come quick!" The sound was. The beast growled, and began bounding off.
Yariel cursed, and ran after the beast. After a moment, he tossed his spear after it, but missed. The 13 year old stomped his foot on the ground and turned around.
"Damn it, Nakta!" he swore. "I almost had that Forager!" Crau nodded and looked at Nakta, his sandy hair obscuring his blue eyes. Orion, Crau and Yariel had been out hunting. Each of the 13 year old boys had discovered the tracks of the Forager thirty minutes ago, and had been tracking it ever since. Each one was covered in rust coloured paint and wore loincloths only, and carried a wooden spear. Nakta, on the other hand, was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and running through the plains.
"Nakta, did you run all the way from the village to come here and tell us some nonsense about warriors being here?" Orion asked. "The village is over an hour away!" He said. The dark-skinned, black-haired 12 year old nodded vigorously, his hazel eyes shining.
"Not just any warriors, Orion! The Sky Warriors! The ones that grandma-wise and all our parents told us about! The ones that fight evils in the name of the emp-rah!" Nakta said. Orion eyed him skeptically.
"The Sky Warriors came to our village? And why would they do that?" He asked.
"Orion, go easy on him. Grandma-wise always said that the Sky Warriors come every ten years to collect our best young warriors to recruit, and that it's been 10 years since they last came." Crau said, the tanned boy pointed out. Nakta nodded.
Yariel pouted. "Sky Warriors or not, I almost had that Forager. Pa would have been so proud of me..." He said. Nakta looked at him.
"Your pa doesn't matter! The Sky Warriors might recruit us! That's why I came!" Nakta said. Yariel, Orion and Crau all stared at Nakta for a moment.
"Recruit us? To become Sky Warriors?" Crau asked, a wicked gleam in his eye. "Really?" Nakta nodded.
"Yes! They asked if all of the male children were in the village, and I told them that you three were out hunting, so they sent me to get you." He said. Crau grinned.
"Then let's go!" He said.
"But the Sky Warriors might not even be at our village! For all we know, Nakta could be playing a practical joke on us." Orion said. Yariel glanced at him.
"Look at Nakta for a moment. Does he look like he's lying?" Yariel said. Orion studied the younger boy, then nodded, conceding the point.
"Alright, I suppose he might be telling the truth. We'd better get back to the village." Orion said.
With that, the four boys set off for their home, cleaning off the camoflague paint on the way. After an hour, they arrived in the collection of tents and huts that made up their village. At the end of the village was the mineshaft, where all of the adults worked. However, more important, along the road that cut the village in two, stood all of the boys in the village between the ages of 12 and 15. And, standing by the boys, were four incredibly tall men in armour, with knives strapped to their thighs, and massive rifles slung over their shoulders. Yariel gaped at them. The Sky Warriors had come to their village, and they would be recruiting them to join the Sky Warriors. The oldest of them looked at the four boys.
"Ah, the latecomers arrive. Good timing, we were just about to forget waiting for you and commence the Trials. Don't take as much time in future." He said, turning to the boys. They were all speechless. The Sky Warrior waited a few moments, then gave a soft smile. "Well, get in line. The Challenge Trial is about to begin." He said.