The path to exile: Prologue (reboot)
"Why?"
The question hung in the air for several seconds as the emperors voice echoed across the throne room
through the silence left by his only daughters bold request.
More silence came as he waited for a response, only himself, Alistravia, Malcador the first lord of Terra and a few custodians occupied the vast chamber. Alistravia stood before her father who sat on his grand throne flanked at one side by Malcador who eyed her carefully.
"You know why... I do not belong in your imperium father... I must forge my own path"
Malcador shifted in his seat and looked up at the master of mankind who did not return the glance though Alistravia knew they were communicating in their own way. It was the first lord who eventually spoke.
"Alis you are vital to the future of this empire, I realize your role is different to that of your brothers but you are still needed... this crusade has barley begun and you talk of leaving... no one has ever left the imperium... such a thing is unthinkable"
"Malcador... we may not speak it but we have always had a great respect for each other so please understand this choice is for the good of the imperium..."
"In what way" the first lord responded "you talk of going into exile like it will secure the future of humanity but when I try to imagine a future with out you I see only darkness"
There was silence again after the first lords statement. The throne room seamed to shudder at the very words he spoke and the emperor seamed to tighten his grip on the arms of his throne. Then he spoke after what seamed like an age.
"I will not grant this request"
Alistravia opened her mouth to speak but the emperor raised his hand to stop her response.
"Alis this is a decision that effects the entire imperium, many worlds would wish to leave and become independent if I allow this for you and the imperium would fall apart... however I understand why you make this request so I will make you a proposal... I will call a counsel which all your brothers will attend along with the Lords of Terra as well as myself and Malcador... you must bring them all into understanding... then if your brothers vote to allow it... exile will be granted... but there will be consequences" The emperor stood from his throne and walked towards Alistravia as he continued "If however they deny your request you must accept it and remain as part of the imperium... do you agree with to this decision?"
Alistravia was silent for a few moments as her father stopped several paces away and looked down upon her.
"A vote?" she started "One might think your turning this empire into a democracy" she saw Malcador smile just a little at the thought.
She took a few steps towards her father.
"What are these consequences if the vote goes in my favor?"
"I will make that decision on the day" the emperor said in response
"Fair enough... I accept these terms but where will this counsel take place?"
The emperor took a deep breath.
"Estrella it's self should be the host" he replied "Malcador will arrange everything... I trust you will arrange planet security"
"I will.." Alistravia turned and began to walk from the hall but stopped as she reached the door turning around to face her father once more "father... Thank you"
The emperor nodded to her and then she left.
It had taken several months to plan everything, Estella was positioned at one of the furthest points away from Terra and the core systems on the edge of known space. Only the Estrellan's themselves had explored beyond the point past past what they knew as the Starburst nebula. It took it's name from the constantly forming and collapsing miniature stars that turned space from black to a bright orange for for the span of thousands of light years. Imperial ships had attempted to cross it but most had been so heavily damaged they had to be rescued by Estrellan ships that could easily move through the gravitational anomaly's. Beyond the nebula lay an entire arm of the milky way, mostly unexplored except for what little the Estrellan science vessels had scanned. The only access was through the nebula or a more dangerous route would be to cross the void between the galaxies arms but no one had attempted that. Even the Estrellan's were cautious about what might lay in the space between space.
Because of the distance some of her brothers would have to travel, Estrellan ships had been sent to rendezvous with their flagship and bring them to Estrella as they were faster using a method of creating a wormhole from one point in space to another that allowed them to move much quicker than imperial vessels even when they were traveling through the warp. A few of her brothers were close enough to come under their own power and arrived in the Estrellan system in vast fleets. The first to arrive was the Khan. He arrived accompanied by hundreds of white scars ships that anchored a distance away from the planet.
The Khan was a favorite of Alistravia, he had always been supportive of her increasing technological prowess and they had fought many campaigns together. He bowed to her as he walked up the grand stairs to the entrance to tower of the Arch-Invetress.
Like all her brothers he was almost twice her size, from a distance despite Alistravia being over 7ft next to the Khan and her other brothers who in some cases were almost 3ft bigger, she looked like a normal human female.
"It is good to see you again sister"
"it is good to see you Jaghaiti, I hope your journey here was without issue"
"it was but I must ask... why am I here?"
"All will be explained when everyone has arrived... Gigas will escort you to your quarters" She said nodding towards her son in the new legion colors of gold and white
The Khan nodded in understanding and continued past her following Gigas.
The khan would likely vote against her leaving. He like Horus saw Alistravia's technology as the future of the imperium, it would be hard to convince them exile was for the best.
The next to arrive was Mortarion who had to come aboard an Estrellan ship, he was accompanied by his first captain, Typhus who bowed when Mortarion didn't. She didn't dislike Mortarion, he mostly kept to himself but they had fought campaigns together and despite her dislike of his methods she knew he could be relied upon in a fight but when it came to vote she did not know what the death lord would choose.
Angron came next, he had been dragged from the battlefield by the emperors orders to be here and was clearly not happy.
"I hope this is all worth my time sister... I should be killing... not listening to politics"
"It will be brother I assure you" She said as Kyros escorted him into the tower
Angron would vote against her and that was a fact, he would never admit it but he adored her... he had almost torn down an entire city after her transport was shot down by orks during a campaign. He would want her to stay so he could protect her and it was the same with her next arrival Perturabo. He also bore a soft spot for her, going so far as to refuse to allow her to even step foot on a planet until he had made it safe.
"perhaps when this is done sister you will allow me to build you a new more extravagant tower to hold such grand meetings in"
"Perhaps I will" She said smiling at him as he bowed
Rogal Dorn arrived next and bowed as stood before her. The two of them were not always in agreement and in the past had heated arguments about certain experiments and technologies Alistravia was running but Dorn was respectful and she believed he would vote in her favor.
"You seam to have more gray hairs brother... perhaps you should take a vacation here and relax a while" She said jokingly to him knowing he would never stop
"when the galaxy is ours sister but not before" he responded
Magnus arrived next and grabbed her by the shoulders in delight.
"It's been too long since our last meeting Alis, we should do this more often"
The joy of seeing her had brought the biggest smile to the crimson kings face she had ever seen. He would vote against her, he did not hide his fondness for her and would not let her just vanish without a trace.
Roboute Guiliman was next, he was a politician who looked at both the the practical and theoretical. In order to sway his vote Alistravia would need to provide more than just theory. They had worked together on many occasions and had a great respect for each other. It would be hard to tell which way his vote would go knowing that politically for the future of the imperium he would want her to stay but he had never hidden his desire to see her achieve her own goals despite what other brothers may have thought.
"I hope I can take some more wine back to macragge when we are done"
"take as much as you like brother" she said in response
The night haunter came next, Konrad had fought along side her on many occasions and the two legions had great respect for each others battle doctrine. He would likely vote against her simply because she did not treat him with the ire most of her brothers did.
"Why did you change your legion name and colors sister?"
He was the first to ask the question out loud.
"It was time for a change Konrad" She replied
After the night haunter came Sanguinius. At one point the two had not spoken for years after an incident on Baal had caused the two legions to almost descend into war against one another but after the rebel Mechanicum had tried to assassinate her tensions had cooled some what.
"This city is quite a sight to behold" the angel said bowing to her
"I suggest you spread your wings and have a fly around to truly appreciate it" Alistravia said in response and the angel nodded
Next came Horus who had been to Estrella before after they had fought a six year war against a xenos-human empire together. They had always been a great level of respect between the two legions and their primarchs.
"it's nice to see this city and it's people again sister"
"I think of all my brothers they were most looking forward to seeing you Horus" she replied smiling at him.
Her newest brother was next. Lorgar strode up the stairs paying more attention to the city than his sister. They had met once before on Terra when he was first found but since then apart from a few passing communications they had not talked. Alistravia didn't like him and she never had, from the first moment she met him she felt unsafe around him, something about how he venerated her father almost like a God disturbed her but he bowed to her and smiled.
"Good health to you sister, you have a beautiful city"
"Thank you Lorgar, I hope you find your quarters to your liking"
She was unsure how he would vote as they barley knew each other.
Fulgrim was sharing a laugh and a joke with one of his captains as he approached.
"Alis it is good to see you again" he said patting her on the shoulder "do you know what this counsel is for?"
"I do brother but that will be explained tomorrow, Carin was hoping to see you. I think he would like a training session when you have time"
"for your son I will make time" he responded patting her on the shoulder again.
Fulgrim could likely vote against her, but then again he did not treat her like Angron or Perturabo did and maybe willing to let her go.
The Lion came shortly after and said little except to show his disdain at being taken from the battlefield like Angron. He would vote against her though unless she could convince him of the danger of her staying.
Ferrus strolled up the stairs and bowed to her casually, like Rogal he did not always agree with her advancements and on occasions would have something to say to her but they never let that prevent them from working together when needed. His vote could go either way.
Lastly came Leaman Russ who would be tough to convince to vote in her favor, they had had fought many battles together but one incident had forged a bond between them no others shared and she hoped that using that would help her convince him that she had to be allowed to go.
It was early evening when Sankara qualm welcomed his guest. They had laughed and joked then settled down to play a game of mezhemit, A three dimensional holographic strategy game that required absolute discipline to play. He was looking out over his private gardens as his guest studied the board.
"Your thinking too hard about it Ahzek" he said as he watched a little lizard hunt a small insect
"Now that is where your wrong" the thousand sons captain said in response
Sankara turned and looked over where Ahzek Ahriman sat. They were on the balcony just outside Sankara's quarters and the vast librarious it adjoined to.
"You see" Ahzek continued "I am not thinking about it at all, I am simply luring you into a false sense of security"
Several of Ahzek's holo tanks moved up to block Sankara's forces.
"An interesting move, very bold but..." A knock at the door interrupted him and a neophyte member of the librarious entered
"My Lord there is a word bearer here who has asked to see you"
Ahzek looked at Sankara who gave him a curious look back
"what does he want?"
"he did not say my Lord, only that he was hoping to speak with you"
Sankara looked over at Ahzek who simply shrugged.
"very well, let him in"
The neophyte opened the door fully and a bald headed word bearer stepped onto the balcony giving a curt bow to the psyker.
"Thank you for allowing me to see you, my name is Erebus...I was hoping to..." Erebus stopped when he saw Ahzek "My apologies I did not realize you had a guest... I can return another time?"
Sankara shook his head.
"no need cousin, Ahzek and I are simply catching up as old friends do... you are welcome to join us, take a seat and pour yourself some wine"
"thank you" Erebus said taking a seat at the table and pouring some of the wine from the pitcher
"So cousin how are you liking Estrellan hospitality" Ahzek said watching Sankara study the holo board
"I am surprised at how casual the legion is with humans whether they are military or not"
"My mother does not believe rank or stature should be used to lord ones self over others" Sankara said making his move and wiping out all of Ahzek's forces in one attack "told you, you were thinking too hard about it"
"Bah …. just reset the board" Ahzek said downing the wine in his glass
Sankara sat down and used the holo control mechanism to reset the image on the emitter before turning to Erebus.
"So cousin what did you want to talk to me about?"
"I was hoping to access some material in your library" Erebus responded taking a sip of the wine
"The library is open to all members of any legion, only the Mechanicum are refused entry"
"Actually I was referring to your other librarious, the one that Lord Magnus entered"
Sankara shook his head
"I am afraid I can not allow you access cousin, after Magnus exited that librarious he told me to restrict entrance to three people, himself, me and Captain Ahriman here"
"Oh!" Erebus exclaimed looking at both Ahzek and Sankara "May I ask why"
Ahzek and Sankara exchanged glances at least that's how it appeared to Erebus but really they were communicating psychically exchanging their concerns about Erebus.
"an alarming request, why would he want access and for what knowledge"
"A greater question Ahzek is how he knows about the librarious"
"I shall ask him then"
Ahzek straightened himself up and leaned forward a little.
"How did you find out about Sankara's private librarious, only the highest ranking members of the legion are privy to the knowledge of it's existence"
"Forgiveness cousin. I overheard yourself and your father discussing it earlier"
"One should not eves drop on other peoples conversations cousin" Sankara said "tell me, what information do you seek in those tomes?"
"My father and I seek information on the emperor and his rise to power... for historical purposes"
"Your lying" Ahzek responded bluntly
"Reading my mind without permission is not a very nice act" The word bearer said
Sankara was already lowering his hand to his bolter and at a glance he could see Ahzek was doing the same.
"I did not need to read your mind cousin, the lie was obvious. The information contained within that librarious is dangerous and should not be accessed by those without the wisdom to understand it"
"would it make any difference if my father were to make this request?"
"none at all cousin" Sankara responded
"I am sure your mother would listen to him"
"My mother has no power to grant that request and I doubt approaching Lord Magnus would do you any good either"
Erebus stood up from the table clearly angry, both Sankara and Ahzek tightened the grip on their bolters but then Erebus attitude changed and he smiled.
"well then I shall bid you a good evening"
The word bearer turned and left as quickly as he had come.
"Lorgar concerns me, he has beliefs that do not fit in with imperial edicts" Ahzek said letting go of his weapon
"My mother would agree with you, his train of thought is dangerous and this seeking of knowledge on the emperor is just as great a concern"
"I suggest we inform my father and your mother, maybe Gigas as well"
"Agreed" Sankara responded
Gigas was sat organizing his notes on his latest upgrades to the two massive power fists connected to his armor. It was difficult because his huge size made tasks with small items more awkward and Alistravia had built drones to help him with his work but he refused to let them organize his notes, he had a system and would not change it. A buzz in his ear indicated a Comm line opening.
"Gigas" Sankara's voice echoed "Ahzek and I have just had a rather interesting meeting with a word bearer who did not like taking no for an answer, I recommend you keep an eye on them brother"
"understood" he responded uploading the last of his notes to the database and powering down the holo console.
He stood up, the shellfish terminator armor he wore was unique to the legion but his like Sankara's and Kyros was custom made. When he had gone for accession to become astartes the gene enhancement his mother had made in the centuries before when they battled the Kappa reacted in an unpredictable fashion and his size had be almost quadrupled. Kyros reaction had been different, it had expanded his intelligence and speed and with Sankara it had increased his psychic abilities almost tenfold. Alistravia had had to build new armor ignoring the Mechanicum and it's pathetic designs. She improved even the basic weapon designs and setups cutting the Mechanicum completely out of the legion to make sure to keep the technological advantage.
Gigas enjoyed his new size and strength, it allowed hims to protect Alistravia in ways he could never of imagined before, the scar on his face from an ork's power claw proved that. He was still the twin of Kyros, only his size and the scar on his face made him different, Horus and Russ called him the little primarch as he was as tall as they were.
Another buzz went of in his ear but this time is was a sergeant from the ninth.
"Master Gigas, you are needed on the research level there has been a breech and...it is the word bearers primarch, he refuses to leave"
"establish a perimeter, inform mother and the first captain. Do nothing else until I arrive"
"affirmative"
The research level was accessed from the primary lift but only the knights of Estrella had access, Gigas imagined Lorgar had somehow tricked his way in or found a way to trick the lift into believing he was a Knight. It didn't matter, the research going on was sensitive and was not ready to be seen by anyone outside the legion.
Gigas rode the lift down, it opened on the sergeant who had voxed him before.
"Master we have done as you said, he is currently sealed in the reception hall... he is not happy at his confinement"
"No doubt" Gigas responded "I will go speak to him"
Large doors had been shut down over the entrance and exits to the main reception, it was designed as an area for the researchers to pass through for clearance scans before being allowed into the main labs. The auto security system had shut Lorgar in when it detected his intrusion.
"We offered to let him out but he refuses until he see's the main labs" The sergeant said as he approached the security door
Through the security door he could see the primarch randomly poking at controls in an attempt to override the system but without understanding of Estrellan holo runes he would never be able to do anything except grow more frustrated.
"open the door"
The sergeant complied and the door slid open. Lorgar expecting to turn and see normal astartes was surprised when he found himself looking up at Gigas who was a head taller than him. Gigas approached him carefully.
"My Lord this floor is off limits, please accompany me back to the habitation floors"
"Noting is off limits to a son of the emperor" Lorgar stated
"this is not Terra it is Estrella and somethings are off limits, even to a primarch"
"Who are you?" the primarch demanded
"I am Gigas pel, captain of my mothers personal guard and overall security"
"Well you have no authority over me captain" Lorgar stated "now allow me access to the labs or try and make me leave, but I would not recommend that"
Gigas powered up his fists and a furious energy surrounded them.
"I have every authority and I will use force if necessary"
"You threaten me captain?"
"you have illegally entered this area and thus must leave voluntarily or be removed by force, you may take that as a threat if you wish but either way you must leave!" Gigas responded getting annoyed at the primarch
Gigas stared down at the primarch who simply shrugged the stare off and went back to poking at the holo runes.
Gigas had had enough and pushed the primarch away from the controls. Lorgar threw a punch clearly expecting Gigas to be bowled over but the massive astartes was not moved despite his armor registering hits power as high as most of the emperors sons.
"what are you?" Lorgar exclaimed raising his mace to strike but a shot came from the side shattering the weapon.
Alistravia stood with Kyros and a dozen terminators with weapons charged, her pistol raised still smoking slightly from firing.
"saving your son sister"
"no saving my labs, you might defeat Gigas but not before you trash this floor and destroy years of research. You need to leave Lorgar"
"what is behind these walls sister, what is so secret you keep it from your brothers"
"nothing that is relevant to you or your legion now leave or I may have to call on one of our brothers to remove you" Alistravia starred at Lorgar as he stared back.
The terminators and Kyros moved away, if the idea of Gigas and Lorgar fighting could destroy the whole floor then two primarchs could destroy a lot more. The tension was thick and the sound of Gigas's power fists was the only thing that could be heard.
"this is not worth my time" Lorgar said storming out pushing past Alistravia and the terminator retinue.
There was quiet for a moment until the lift could be heard moving. Then Alistravia turned to Kyros and Gigas who powered down his fists.
"Lock-down the labs until the counsel is over and find out how he got down here, report to me in an hour"
"yes mother" the twins replied
An hour later they had gathered in Alistravia's reception room. Gigas was stood behind an old stately chair in which Kyros was sat. Sankara stood with Ahzek who had also been summoned due to the encounter with Erebus. A few others had joined them, first was Nev thou chief apothecary. The second via a holo link was admiral marten and lastly was Velar Breton a warrior of Terran origin who watched over Alistravia's son Carin but he was also very knowledgeable and studied other legions cultures intently.
Alistravia entered followed by two terminators of the maidens shield, her elite guard.
"So would anyone like to tell me how Lorgar managed to get into the lab entrance?"
"It appears he fooled the system somehow, according to the logs an unknown but authentic code was used" Kyros responded
"how can it be authentic if it's unknown?" Nev asked
"I wish I knew brother but that code according to the computers both exists and doesn't"
"From now on I want every word bearer watched no matter what they are doing, use the intrusion program and track their suits. Velar what do we know of their culture, anything that can help us?" Alistravia said moving to stand in the middle of the room
"Much of it is shrouded in mystery but I found vague references to old religious worship and dark rituals, but according to imperial records these practices were abandoned when the legion was formed"
"It sounds like you don't believe that cousin" Ahzek responded
"No I do not, it speaks volumes when one of there kind wishes to access a sealed off librarious"
"Velar is correct, we know for a fact Lorgar almost worships the emperor like a god" Sankara said looking at the old Terran warrior.
"that kind of thinking is dangerous... and yet my father lets him carry on"
"mother" started Gigas "I know you don't want to hear this but maybe we should consider delaying our exile request, Lorgar could become a threat as the eleventh did"
Alistravia sighed and looked out the window, beyond the dome bright neon fish were moving past and with night upon them they created a spectacular light show.
"right now we are assuming Lorgar will do something stupid before my father can stop him, while a possibility we have to accept we played only a small role with the eleventh and it was the wolves who truly deserve the credit"
"You delivered the killing blow mother" Kyros said looking over at Sankara who nodded "it is time we stopped hiding that fact"
"I agree with Kyros, in fact given the events it may be wise to deal with Lorgar sooner rather than later, the fact that his future is so clouded concerns me"
"are you suggesting I unseal the Neptune's eye and assassinate another of my siblings?" Alistravia asked without turning away from the window
"I would advise against that" Ahzek said as if speaking out loud a train of thought he meant to keep to himself "the eleventh were removed for good reason but we can not make assumptions about a legion we hardly know"
"I agree with Ahzek" Nev said "without truly knowing them we can not just condemn them but we should not put off exile. The emperor is capable of dealing with Lorgar if it becomes necessary, we should focus on our path"
"Admiral what is the status of the word bearers fleet?" Alistravia said approaching the hologram of the middle aged fleet commander
"They have made no formation changes or moves that would suggest any aggression towards our ships, they have been quite good guests. Given that they are between the Khan's and Lord Lurpercal's fleets I doubt they would be stupid enough to do anything untoward"
"I agree" Alistravia said "But keep an eye on every ship just in case"
"So where do we go from here?" Sankara asked
"We stay the course" Alistravia responded "we can't be distracted by other concerns"
"And what would they be" a voice said that made every astartes and even Alistravia drop to one knee
The emperor stood at the door with two custodians and looked around the room examining each person like a any ruler would.
"I would like a few moments alone with Alistravia please"
One by one each warrior stood and left including the custodians until only the emperor and Alistravia occupied the room.
"Do you remember when we first met" The emperor said as the door shut behind him
"I do... you came knowing one of us was here" Alistravia responded
"I didn't expect it to be you. I thought wherever you were found it would be a peaceful world and you would not know war"
Alistravia smiled.
"there's an old Estrellan saying, You can't always get what you want but if you try sometimes you might get what you need"
"So am I to take that you don't want exile but..."
"right now it's what I and the Estrellan people need" Alistravia said completing his sentence
"If you don't want exile then why do it?"
"I don't know but my gut says I must go"
"Your gut... and here I was thinking you were a scientist and didn't work on gut reactions. I understand why you would ask I told you that back on Terra but still to work on a gut reaction is not like you""
Alistravia laughed.
"I know... I've been spending too much time with Angron"
"your brothers care for you a great deal, I never expected them to have such a reaction with you. They may not let you go" The emperor said moving to the window
"perhaps" Alistravia said following him "if I am still part of the imperium in two days time then so be it, but I would be more foolish not to try"
The emperor turned to her and smiled.
"If you go, will you come back one day?"
"I might, but the imperium will be very different by then. At least I imagine it will"
"It will be a great empire and you would be welcome back with open arms" The emperor said
Alistravia looked out into the ocean and remembered the storm the Eldar Farseer had told her of as she crushed the life out of the xenos.
"A storm is coming, they will draw each others blood. The imperium will bleed like a wounded animal and the galaxy will burn"
Initially she had thought nothing of it. A dying prophecy from a race unable to accept mankind's dominance but then as time had moved on and she had seen more of the galaxy and met more of her brothers she had seen how truly divided they were. Lorgar had not been the final piece of the puzzle but combined with her own rivalry with Sanguinius and a few of the others it had been enough. She could not see the future directly but bother her heart heart and head told her to protect herself, her sons and the Estrellan people she had to leave. To wait out the storm. The imperium would change but what it would look like when she returned she could not foresee only that the great empire her father predicted would not exist, at least not how he wanted it too.
"I will arrange a way for you to contact me should the vote go my way"
"Good, now what has happened with Lorgar"
"he breached my security in the labs, I am concerned about him he reminds me of..." she stopped and looked at her father
"Lorgar is different but he is not him, however do not think me oblivious to his veneration. If I have to I will bring him into check"
The amphitheater that was being used for the counsel was vast and construction drones had been hard at work breaking down and redesigning the interior. Each primarch had a seat constructed specifically for them and designed to represent their legion. The legion and other banners for that primarch would hang above them and they were set in a semi circle around a central podium. Behind them were seats for their son's and the Lords of Terra. It had all been decorated in the white and gold of Estrella with the giant windows looking out upon the ocean beyond the dome. The emperor's chair was set behind the podium high up to look down on proceedings along with Malcador.
Perturabo had come to see the design, it was still early morning and a few last drones were crafting detail into the last of the great walls.
"can I help you my lord?" A lone captain with gray skin asked him
"just admiring Estrellan architecture" the primarch responded "Who made the designs for this amphitheater, Alis?"
The captain smiled and shook his head.
"mother knows how to design star ships and weapons well enough but she does not have an eye for this detail, I came up with plans"
"It is impressive captain...?"
"Gregory Haran, captain of the tenth my lord, Architecture is a hobby of mine"
"the tenth? You are of the drowned then?"
"yes my Lord" Gregory responded "that is why my skin appears gray, we spend our lives harvesting coral which hardens our skin. A side effect of living under the ocean"
"When this counsel is done I may ask Alistravia to loan you to me for a while. There is much I could teach you"
A couple of hours later and the amphitheater was full. The Lords of Terra had entered first, taking their seats flanked by guards and served by drones who passed out drinks. Different members of each legion had filed in next. Only a few most senior officers both human and astartes had been invited and each one had been kept in the dark until today. Many were asking each other questions as the first few primarchs filed in, they all wanted to know what was going on. Their were rumors of course, some of the sillier ones involved the breaking up of the imperium into smaller states or the arrival of a new child of the emperor. A few others spoke a new xenos threat too big for the imperium to deal with and the counsel was to decide how to respond, negotiate, surrender or fight. The prevailing theory however was that the emperor had finally decided remove the Mechanicum and navigator houses allowing Estrellan technology and method of travel to replace them and the counsel was the announcement of that move. As the last of the primarchs entered a gone rang and from an entrance high up the emperor appeared in his golden armor. Everyone was on one knee the instant the gong had sounded and they remained their until he had taken his seat.
"You may all be seated" The master of mankind said his voice filling the grand space
As people sat the emperor continued.
"I have called this counsel to decide a matter of utmost importance to the imperium, this counsel will last for one month then there will be a vote to decide on the issue by my sons, no one is allowed to abstain. That decision will be final and there will be no going back... for anyone"
"father" Horus's voice said in response "What is this issue we are to vote on?"
The emperor looked down to Alistravia.
"your sister will explain everything"
Alistravia waited till the echo of the emperors words had finished reverberating around the room before she stood, she could feel the eyes of her brothers and all those present follow her as she stepped down from her seat and walked to the central platform.
The main podium in the center was built around an old Estrellan design a short stand with a slanted plinth with a built in holo panel for control. The space between that plinth and Alistravia's seat was not great but as she stepped up and looked upon the great counsel she realized it had felt like a vast distance.
"Brothers, my lords...Father. I have spent much time thinking of how to do this, it has pained me greatly knowing what I ask will change everything you know but I ask because the future of the imperium is reliant upon it"
There were a few coughs and a bit of shuffling as she paused for a moment.
"you know of my technology, right now it is over a hundred years ahead of where the imperium and Mechanicum are and continues to improve with each passing month so I am asking for your understanding and to allow me to leave the imperium pass into voluntary exile"
Silence for a second then murmuring then the rage and shouting. Lords were debating each other while some of her brothers shouted at each other blaming or accusing them of being the catalyst.
"This is your doing gorgon" Angron raged "you and your closed minded ideals"
Perturabo shouted at Dorn and Curze blamed Sanguinius. Roboute debated Horus, the only person who stood silent was Magnus who starred at her intently. A knocking broke the arguments from the arbiter.
"Silence" the arbiters voice filled the room.
They had chosen a Governor who had never met any of the legion commanders, it made sense so that he would be unbiased.
Her brothers started to settle down and silence fell back over the hall.
"I know this is unusual" Alistravia continued "As father said at then there will be a vote to decide this issue but it is my job to make you all understand. My technology is a hundred years ahead now so imagine where I will be in ten years or twenty or a thousand... or ten thousand"
Each primarch had been given a signal rune they could press to indicate they had the floor. Ferrus pressed his without hesitation.
"We are all aware of your growing technology Alistravia, I may not agree with all you do but I would not see you leave simply because you are more advanced"
"Ferrus the more I advance the more you will all be left behind"
"is that a threat sister?" The lion said, his podium lighting up.
"No brother, a fact. You have all seen my new flagship, The Pequad. Soon all my ships will be upgraded to that standard and beyond"
Leaman's podium lit up and he stood.
"Alis, I feel there is more at work here than just advancing technology. I suggest you start from the beginning, where has this come from, I am sure we would all like to understand your desire"
"I agree" said the Lion
"And I" said Rogal
Then they all joined in each brother asking the same question, why.
The arbiter banged his hammer again silencing the room.
"honored arbiter" Russ said "I will not vote until a full explanation is given, I believe my brothers would agree with me on that stance"
The others all nodded and looked to Alistravia who was slightly annoyed. This wasn't how she expected it to go but maybe this would work to her benefit.
"Alistravia do you agree to this request?" The arbiter said
"If this is the desire of my brothers I do"
"so then Alis" Leaman said "start at the beginning"
Alistravia looked at all of them and sighed.
"The beginning? I suppose that's a question remembrances will try to answer in centuries to come. I could start from many places, when my pod pierced the oceans of Estrella, when I wiped out the last of the Kappa. When father came or perhaps when I first saw Terra" Alistravia looked at Leaman who stared back at her along with all her siblings "But I suppose the best place to start would be with us brother, because in many ways it truly began on that planet of storms..."
To be continued in part 1: A perfect storm