Warhammer 40,000 belongs to Games Workshop, Super Smash Bros. belongs to Nintendo. I own nothing.
Now thats out of the way, greetings. I'm Flame Falcon, this is my first fanfiction that I am publishing on this site. I would appreciate constructive criticism of any kind. So without further delay, let the story begin.
What effect does one person have? One person, in a sea of millions, what difference can they make in the Imperium?
Can one man truly make a difference in the Galaxy? The High Lords of Terra take the Imperium and holds it in their hands, capable of toppling it with nothing but a nod. The OfficioAssassinorum has ended several would be Black Crusades, heresies, and coups with one bullet, and Space Marines such as the Blood Ravens can save an entire Sub-sector with two under-strength battle companies.
So what difference does one person make in the Imperium? If all depends on who he is, that is all that needs to be explained. It is not the world he is born on that makes his fate, but it is the will that person holds.
It only matters how far someone is willing to go to do what they believe in.
The planet Alexandria is a planet on the Eastern Fringe, a backwater world, only noted to the Imperium for their rich veins of uncommon metals and hearty people. What hope does one person have in making a difference to an empire of untold numbers of worlds from a world such as this?
Alexandria is prime recruiting grounds for several Space Marine Chapters, mainly the fleet based chapters. Five Space Marine Chapters, the Warlords, Sons of the Blade, Guardians of the Aquila, the Blood of Dorn, and the Knights of Corax, have signed the Pact of Alexandria. They agree on recruiting from certain continents of the world, occurring once every two decades, to keep a population ready for feature recruitment. It also contains oaths to defend one another in times of crusade when possible, and it is considered the Emperors blessing if five Space Marine Chapters fight side by side.
The time of recruitment is known as the Age of Fate. Young sons and brothers are taken from their families to be considered for ascension to their chapters. To be considered for recruitment is an honor all in its own, even those who don't make it in to the Chapters go off to severalSchola Progenium across the world for training. Some of the greatest commissars in the history of the Imperium have come from Alexandria.
On the north most continent of Vanguard, the Knights of Corax claim recruitment. They are true sons of Corax, experts in guerrilla warfare and sabotage. They rely off the cold wasteland to provide the heartiest of Initiates. Where there is a Crusade or battleground, the Knights are always there or en route. "Knights of Corax, Sons of the Raven, to war in His name!"
From the Lost Isles in the Oceans of Malcontent, the Sons of the Blade turn tribal humans into Battle Brothers. Known for their unchallenged mettle with melee combat, they are perhaps the most foreign Chapter to the Codex. They are known for their blood lust, bedrock faith in the God Emperor, and constant suicide charges into enemy lines. Their Battle Brothers are comprised of solely of what could be considered Tactical and Assault Squads. "The sword is strong, but Faith guides it."
The bustling city nation of Reach sees the Warlords Chapter taking recruits. They have deep connections with the Aduptus Mechanicus, second only to the Steel Confessors. Their Chapter Master is also the Master of the Forge, as a requirement for ascension to the position. The Gene-Seed is that of the Iron Hands, and model their Chapter after them . "The machine is the weapon."
The deserts of Tahalla are brutal but so are the people. As such, the Blood of Dorn shelter these people, and build a fine Chapter that could make their Primarch proud. Experts in open-ground warfare, they alone held back a massive Ork WAAAGH! with only two Devastator squads, one Tactical squad, and one Assault squad. They have gained a reputation so grand and so powerful, that pilgrims come here from beyond the planet to have a chance to be accepted as a son of Dorn. "In the name of the Emperor, Dorn, and His people, CHARGE!"
And from the central continent, and capital of the world, the Guardians of the Aquila claim their recruitment. They are of a knightly order, following the Codex but adopting their own code of morals that exemplify the Ancient Terra Knight. They value an innocent life above theirs, and will lay down their life to protect the defenseless. Truly, there is no greater gift in the Imperium of Man then a Guardian of the Aquila fighting for your life. "On the wing of the Holy Aquila, WE FLY!"
But for now, Alexandria will take part in a great fate, as one soul will change the fate of two worlds.
For on Alexandria, a young mother has been murdered this night.
"Do you think Captain Varian will accept this new batch of recruits? He has been most hesitant on coming to this world." Brother –Librarian Rowan said as he walked down the cobblestone streets of the capital, Sterling. He was flanked by his retinue, Scout Sergeant Booth and Apothecary Hannibal. His solid blue armor, signifying his psyker powers, stood out from the stainless steel colored armor of the Scout sergeant and the dove white armor to the Apothecary. The street lights cast an ominous glow down the streets while the sounds of work whistles sang softly in the background, echoing the change of shifts
The three had just come back from the docks, loading the three hundred potential recruits on to their 4th Company's ship, the Wings of the Aquila. Captain Varian had to stay behind as his augmented hand needed to be fixed. It troubled the Captain much, as he had always oversaw the recruitment personally. He was also unfamiliar with this world, therefore not ready to come to this world, unsure of its habitants.
The three had spent the entire day gathering recruits from the capital, where all of the recruits come for the Time of Fate. While they came in the thousands, only three hundred were deemed acceptable for the trials of the Guardians of the Aquila. Those who weren't accepted were sent off to the schools in the capital, or back to their homes. All were given a brand to show that they were considered for ascension, which would get them far on the world.
Disregarding the barbaric Blood Trial, where the youth are placed against each other, the Guardians prefer duels against the combatants. It was a stylized first blood drawn duel, where each combatant is given a combat knife, and fights each other. That was on top of extreme conditioning, to see who was capable of what.
Booth waved a care-free hand, "He will accept them. The Guardians accept all who are willing to take the chance to serve for something greater then themselves." He said, quoting their chapter's dogma. Booth assisted Rowan in selection the applicants today, as a scout sergeant, he would see what the finer points they had. He had seen a lot of possible Assault Marines, but there were also a large amount of possible Tactical Marines. The Guardians followed the Codex, but not as closely or blindly as the Ultramarines or the Red Scorpions would.
The Apothecary chuckled slightly then became somber, "That we do, that we do. The initiates will survive, and we need them to. A thirteenth Black Crusade could take out two or maybe three battle companies, should we deploy towards the Gate. While I don't expect all of them to survive, I feel that we will gain about a company out of the survivors. The chapter is also in need of serfs, they are essential to our chapter, as even the largest mountain has humble rock supporting it. "
The Librarian nodded, "But still, one has to wonder if-" he was cut off mid-sentence; a massive ripple in the warp caused him to stop and grasp his head, yelping in pain. The other two members suddenly stop as well, all getting the feeling that something wasn't right. Booth didn't live so long in the Guardians by luck alone; he had to listen to his guts and instinct. Right now, everything was screaming at him. Something or something wasn't right. Hannibal breathed in the clear air, but his senses picked up something. The air hung with the irony taste of life fluids, and being an Apothecary, he knew that taste in the air better than anyone else. It was covering the air freely and in great quantities.
Speak to me, waves of creation, what has caused such an imbalance? The Psyker asked the great ocean, hoping for an answer, the one he got forced him to draw his Force Mace and plasma pistol. "This way! Murder has struck this city!" The other two needed no further prompting and followed the Librarian.
The three Space Marines ran the servos in their armor audibly whirred as their forms dashed across the cobblestone streets, kicking up fragments of brick and mortar. They reached their destination in a matter of seconds, seconds too late. Rowan shook his head as he slammed his weapons back into their sheaths. The woman lying in front of them was barely out of her teens, she had coal hair, and lightly tanned skin now covered with her own crimson life source.
The librarian knelt before the corpse, murmuring the Rites of Rest. He took a good look at her, and questions and assumptions ran through his head. It was obvious that she came from off world simply by the way she was clothed. She wore a simple, yet elegant dress. The people of Alexandria, particularly those of Sterling, dressed practically for their work, taking little care in elegance. Her silken glove bore a stylized H, and was clenched in a death grip.
Rowan reached out his hand to see what was in the hand, but stopped as the corpse moved. He then slowly rolled the corpse over and saw an infant, still alive. He wasn't more than a month old; yet he was in a state of absolute calm. He was covered in his mother's blood, and from what the Librarian saw, none of his own. As Rowan touched the child, it began to stir and give out a muffled cry. "Shh, little one." He whispered as he picked up the infant and stood to full height.
"Hannibal, I have witnessed a hundred years of war, seen thousands of dead. But that feeling you have when you see the dead, it never leaves" Booth spoke up.
The Apothecary gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "I know, and it is not wrong to feel this. To see a defenseless woman slain in such a way… it never leaves you." Hannibal bowed his head in respect. Rowan dipped a finger in the blood on the infant and placed it to his tongue, and let the vision take him.
The woman ran down the alley, her breathing heavy and tired. In her arms she carried her son, already growing a crop of hair, black, like hers. If she left him behind, the one who was trying to kill her would have surely killed her. Him. She knew what he would have done, and while she may have set his plan back for a decade or two, he would have to be stopped permanently. She saw what she was dabbling in and what plot he was planning, it was only by the grace of the Goddess that she escaped.
She searches everywhere, trying to find those Angels of Death the Court Mages spoke of. They may be able to help her, but the reach of the council is long. And not even a portal to a different world has stopped the assassins after her. She didn't care, she knew what had happened, and if she had to die to reach the Angels, so be it.
She turns around another corner and runs into three tall figures. She gasps and tries to back track, but bumps into another one. She feels something puncture her skin, causing her to scream out in pain. A short sword ruptured her lung and was withdrawn as soon as it came
She topples to the ground, but she reaches and grabs the necklace of one of her killers, braking of a portion of it and taking it down with her. The assassins laugh at her fall, and plunge their daggers into her, her child missing all of those blows. It is clear that the assassins are after her and her alone.
As her life fades from her eyes, she is happy that she doesn't have to witness the death of her son.
Rowan spat the blood out on a nearby wall, his spare hand gripped tightly in rage. "This woman died trying to find us." He breathed those words, seething with rage and anger.
Booth stooped down to the woman and picked her up, and noticed her clenched fist. He pried the fist open, which revealed a small, very stylized golden triangle. He removed it and placed it in the infant's hand, who was now fast asleep. "We need to get him to one of the orphanages."
Rowan nodded, and Hannibal agreed. There was one not too far from here. It was where he would find propose in life in duty to the Emperor. The three Marines gave him the name Alexander Aquila, named after the planet he was found on, and the holy symbol that would guide him. The Canoness of the orphanage accepted him, and the Guardians left, but the Librarian stayed behind, taking off his own Aquila and fusing the triangle to the place between the two heads with warp energy from his fingertips, then handing it off to the young child.
"Know this little one. Our paths will cross again, it may be a decade or a century from now, but I know we will meet again." He whispered as he place him down in a cradle and then turned to leave. He gently smiled to himself as he left, he would meet that young child once more. He knew it.
Alexander Aquila slept through the night without complaint, unaware of his future.
The Smash Mansion was unusually loud for once. It was the start of a new season, and that meant new parings. The new brackets have been chosen and divided, and everyone was gathered around to see who would be fighting whom. But the most buzzing question was WHO they would be fighting with.
Ike held to the back of the line, he was in no hurry to figure out the bracket. It would come to him in its own time. A mercenaries' life was spent waiting, waiting to see what would be worth fighting for. He looked over to his friend, Marth, who was constantly jumping up and down, trying to catch a glimpse of the bracket.
"Calm down Marth. Jumping up and down won't make the line go any faster." Ike spoke after a while.
"Easy for you to say." The Prince murmured under his breath, but he stopped acting like a fool and waited like Ike. Eventually the line grew thin and the two, along with the more "vertically challenged" brawlers moved up.
Ike gazed over the list, seeing who would be fighting who. "You do you have for your first match?" He asked Marth, who was holding the pink vacuum known as Kirby in his hands
"Let's see… it would appear that I am fighting… Bowser and Mario..." he then cocked an eyebrow, "it also seems I am teamed up with Kirby." Ike couldn't help but chuckle. The resident of the Stars did his little happy dance once he saw the bracket.
Ike continued to look over the lists to try to find his name, he then came across his name and his heart gave a thud. He was paired with Zelda.
Marth also came across the name and it was his turn to laugh. "You are lucky Ike. Look like you have another excuse to see her." Ike would have glared daggers to anyone else who threw a comment like that, but he let it fly. He placed those thoughts to the back of his head and looked on to see whom he would be facing. 'Terrific, Falcon and Gannon.´
He spun on his heels and left, heading back to his dorm room. He rubbed his eyes and smiled slightly to himself. He reached his dorm room, laid his sword down and threw himself on the bed. He closed his eyes and let the sleep take him. Tomorrow the Brawls would start, and he and Zelda were the first to start of the round. Nothing could happen that would change his mood, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.
He would regret thinking that in the morning.