Stormbreaker
It is the dawn of the 40th millennium, and among the Imperium of Man, there is only war.
But, in a far corner of the galaxy, one bastion of light and nobility burns brighter than a thousand suns.
This is the Remnants of the Earth Coalition, and as their name suggests, they are all that remains of the federation that once bound Earth and all her colonies. A gleaming beacon of stability in the perilous sea that is the Milky Way Galaxy.
When the Age of Strife was just beginning, a Perpetual known as "The Ancient of the Celts", an entity older than the Imperium of Man, or even the Emperor himself, cordoned off the Victory Sector, with two-hundred civilized planets and counting, in a massive, but stable, warpstorm. For five-thousand years, the Ancient held the warpstorm in its place, wary of the outside dangers. At the outset of the 30th millennium, the warpstorm was briefly lifted, and scouts were sent out to gauge the status of the galaxy and the rest of humanity. Appalled at the slaughter brought about by the "Imperium of Man", the citizenry of Victory Sector begged the Ancient to replace the warpstorm. When the Ancient did this, a handful of Eldar Exodite worlds that had sprung up in the two centuries that the storm was lifted were also cut off from the rest of the galaxy, along with the errant Craftworld of Biel-Tan.
A short and brutal war broke out. The Coalition fought a defensive battle, refusing to directly engage the Eldar. The Ancient grew tired of the conflict and sent a psychic message across Victory Sector.
"IN MY 75 MILLENIA OF LIFE, I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH IDIOCY AMONG ANY OF THE CIVILIZED CREATURES IN THIS GALAXY. YOU WILL STOP ATTACKING MY WARDS, OR YOU WILL FACE MY WRATH. I WILL NOT WARN YOU TWICE."
The Eldar, shocked at the raw power behind the message, withdrew from combat. This allowed the Ancient to slip aboard Biel-Tan and offer the Autarch an ultimatum:
"I have locked us into this sector, that is true. But had you not decided to attempt to turn the Exodites of Victory Sector to your cause, a more foolish endeavor I have never seen, you and yours would not be stuck here. I do not intend to lift the storm until such a time when I think that my wards are ready to face the horrors of the galaxy and stand against that Fool's 'Imperium of Man.' If you have any sense, boy, you will find a planet to colonize and prepare. But I swear upon my people's graves back on Earth; if you continue this ridiculous war, I will consign all your souls to oblivion. You will not have to fear what She Who Thirsts will do to you. You must fear what I will do to you. I assure you, you will beg for me to send you to that...abomination."
And the war stopped. The Coalition and Biel-Tan formed a tenuous cease-fire. Two centuries later, the cease-fire became a peace treaty. When the Farseer Eldrad Ulthran and his retinue made contact with Gaia, the Coalition capitol, (after wandering the Victory Sector for two and a half centuries), he was taken aback by the manner of the Coalition and its Guardian, the Ancient. When he and his retinue landed, they were personally greeted by the Ancient. The Coalition sent medical personnel to examine the long isolated Eldar, as the Ancient was concerned for their health. Eldrad had rarely seen compassion from from humanity, even to other humans. The Ancient smiled when the Ulthwé Farseer voiced his question.
"You attempted to warn the Fool, and though I despise him for what he has done to humanity in the name of 'saving' it, you have my thanks. No more than that drives me," the Ancient of the Celts smiled wanly, "Though, having you as a potential ally is not an unwelcome boon. Now, I believe the good doctor would like to ensure that you are in good health."
They refused. Politely. The Ancient shrugged.
Since then, Eldrad had become a driving force among the Eldar of the Victory Sector. He and his retinue had joined Biel-Tan's military forces, and quickly gained favor with its people. He had voiced his support for an alliance with the Coalition, as had other Seers. While he admitted that the humans of Victory Sector were still only "Mon-Keigh," he argued that they were enlightened Mon-Keigh, not their ignorant cousins. They did not actively seek war and sought only peaceful coexistence. It helped that they were not fanatically xenophobic.
It took another two centuries, but Biel-Tan finally accepted an alliance with the Coalition. Eldrad was appointed ambassador to the Coalition, at which point the Autarch suggested that he maintain a permanent residence on Gaia.
Gaia, it should be noted, is not a Hive World. That was something the Coalition took careful and painstaking steps to avoid. Populations did not exceed six billion on any Coalition planet, and therefore could maintain smaller Ground Cities while leaving entire tracts of land free for farming or just free of any kind of habitation. Eldrad had chosen a rather isolated area for himself, just outside the capitol of Gaia, Aegean. The Coalition bequeathed the land to Biel-Tan, and Biel-Tan to Eldrad. With the help of a Bonesinger by the name of Nalia Indri, he erected a home of large, though still moderate, size. The home was simple, but beautiful, a testament to Nalia's skill.
Farseer Eldrad Ulthran was confused by the Coalition's people. They showed him respect when he was present in Agean, but did not treat him as Imperials had; something to be feared. And while he was a force to reckoned with, as they understood, he did not actively seek to cause them harm. The leader of the Coalition at the time, President Samuel Relic, was a man of deep complexity, but was quick of thought and peaceful of mind. He often enjoyed a game called chess, one Eldrad had also become fond of, and invited Eldrad to a game when they were both free. Sometimes Eldrad won. Sometimes he lost. But he never grew bored. And thus, he became friends with the leader of the Coalition.
He could hardly believe it at the time that he considered a Mon-Keigh his "friend." Looking back on his time in the Victory Sector, he simply accepted that the humans were not as dim as his people had thought.
The Ancient, however, puzzled him even further. Most human females were fragile when compared to the males, but she just seemed all the more dangerous. And, a small part of his mind admitted, she was quite beautiful. For a Mon-Keigh. She was easily as tall as most of the males of her species, but still looked lithe and slender. Her skin was not light, but he could not call it dark, either. She was soft of feature, but always stern of expression. Her hair was straight and dark, the color of that human sweet called "chocolate," and went clear down to her knees. Her eyes were of the deepest green he had ever seen. But what surprised him more was the fire that raged behind those eyes, and the weight that seemed to rest upon her soul. She felt guilty, of what he did not know, and it seemed to fuel the fire in her soul, a drive to atone in some way. Perhaps her defense of the Victory Sector was her atonement?
He had voiced this to Nalia, now his partner in life, and she had said that a being of flesh that old was entitled to a few secrets.
That was almost eight thousand years ago. Now Eldrad was not only the ambassador, but also a member of the Alliance Council. He was one of fifty Eldar that made up the one hundred strong council. Members were gathered from all the Paths that the Eldar Walked, and while the humans did not have an equivalent to the Paths, they had attempted to do the same by sending various members from all "walks of life," as they termed it. It had been a slow process, but they had managed to form a cooperative council that decided what they would do when the warpstorm was lifted. The Ancient had cautioned her wards that any action taken would undoubtedly end in conflict, be it with the savage Orks, or their own misguided kin. The Eldar Councilors had suggested reestablishing contact with the other Craftworlds, to which the Human Councilors had consented. The Humans also suggested that they attempt to avoid the Imperium if at all possible, wishing to avoid conflict and simply infiltrate the Imperium first, to gain a sense of it.
Thus the Victory Sector Incursion was planned.
The Ancient smiled at the armed forces of the Coalition as they trained on their Fortress World. They were well trained, well equipped, and well fed. After all, what use was an army that was ill fed? She had taught Caesar that little gem, and history had attributed it to him. Such was her fate for the majority of her life. Heard, but never seen. But she did not mind. She enjoyed being Humanity's Muse.
There was one thing she could openly take credit for: the Rangers. They were her pride and joy, and even after so many millenia, they had survived in one way or another. From their birth in the United States Army, to their current form in the Remnants of the Earth Coalition Army. It was her brainchild, and the soldiers wore this knowledge with pride.
But one unit stood out above all others; the 75th Ranger Regiment. They were clever, cunning, efficient, and above all, lethal. When the rare Ork WAAAGH! appeared on one of the Exodite Worlds, or the Outer Worlds, they were used as the tip of the spear, living up to their motto of "Rangers Lead the Way!" She had been extremely proud of them that day.
Even they were outclassed by one force she had never figured out the origin of; Delta Force. Held secret beyond all reason, they were the best of the best, only matched by the Navy SEALs. Both were commandos of the highest order, and even the Eldar respected them. Members of Delta Force had joined the retinue of Eldrad's daughters, Macha and Taldeer.
She suspected at Eldrad's behest.
She smiled even more at the thought of those two. Macha's blood-red hair, similarly red cheek marks and green eyes, contrasted by Taldeer's black as night hair and blue eyes. She remembered when they were young and would call her "Auntie." She had damn near spoiled them rotten, much to Eldrad's and Nalia's dismay.
Then there was Ronahn. He was their older brother, ten years their senior, and an Eldar Ranger if she ever saw one. He liked solitude in the way they typically did, but an oddity was that he loved the company of his family. He was fiercely defensive of his sisters and tolerated no disrespect. She liked the boy. He had fire. So she had offered him a position as an Eldar Sniper in the 75th. He excepted.
She remembered when they had started walking the Paths. After serving in the Guardians, Taldeer had started as a Bonesinger, like her mother, and Macha became a Howling Banshee. They had moved from one Path to another, and found themselves on the Path of the Seer. She had at first been skeptical, but when she saw their aptitude for it, she pushed those thoughts aside.
Now they were splendid leaders and extremely talented military strategists.
Now, four years after the storm had been lifted, both had left the Victory sector to pursue their visions. Macha's was of a planet that imprisoned a deamon, beset by Orks and the wretched forces of Chaos, as a force from the Blood Ravens, a most curious variety of Astartes(she refused outright to call them "Space Marines"), set about routing the Orks, unaware of the Chaos threat. The 75th accompanied her through the Webway, eager to prove themselves.
Taldeer's was more disturbing. Chaos, of an unknown patron Eldritch Abomination (she also refused to call them "gods"), was attempting to recover a Titan, the Imperial Guard 412th Cadian rushing to beat them to it. She was followed by a large group of Delta Force squads, ready to sow havoc and discord in the ranks of both sides, if need be.
But on both sides her Wards were confronting the Ruinous Powers. They were resistant to the Warp, or even flat-out immune, due to their atheistic view of things, refusal to call the Abominations gods, and prevalence of the "Blank" Gene. They were strong, but she hoped that they were ready for this.
A/N: And so begins the Alternate tale of the Warhammer Universe. Not as GrimDark, but not quite NobleBright. A balance, perhaps. But a new tale, nonetheless. Cookie for whoever can guess where Macha and Taldeer being sisters and the daughters of Eldrad came from.