I abandon my hopes of the coming dawn, I forget my fears of the eternal night.
I accept death as my fate.
I pledge myself to the Shadows and War; I am the Will of the Council, and it's instrument.
The Vows of the Shadow Guard

His footsteps clicked softly against the marble floor, as he walked the halls of the Council chambers. Pausing only to extend his thumb into a biometric verification checkpoint, he continued onward, marveling at the rich beauty of Terra.

It's vast expanses filled with both life, civilization and nature, it wasn't the first time councillor Bacarus had come up here, to the highest peak on Terra, to gaze in awe at the wonders of his home planet.

Below him, amongst the many structures of Hive Primaris, millions continued about their lives, whilst out in the wilderness, beyond the hive's walls, the song trees whispered their tunes into the wind.

But today, he was not up here for sightseeing the landmarks of the Garden world; he was here on Council business, and disturbing business at that.

Pushing the two ornate doors aside, Bacarus entered the Dome; the heart of communications within Council space. A massive, hollow structure, dozens of council beings scrambled about, extracting data from fleets, bringing reports of good and ill news.

'Avarkus,' he greeted one of the beings, who turned about, his long cloak still embracing his body. The two had known one another for a long time, but today, there was little to discuss on private matters.

'Bacarus,' his friend replied, moving into a polite bow before he continued, 'the Great Father guide you.'

'And you too.' The council member replied, as he repaid the courtesy with his own, but he moved on, neglecting further formalities, 'Has the message been deciphered yet?'

'Unfortunately, no.' the reply came, 'It has been of much interest to us, but the full message may never be uncovered, thanks to the xenos.'

'Damn them,' Bacarus spat, remembering the horrors he'd seen when he'd been sent to represent the council on the field, and he'd seen what was usually censored from the council's eyes; the blood and fury of a battle. 'May the Lone Protector and her crew meet the Great Father with grace.'

'Indeed, it is a shame that they encountered a xeno fleet just prior to intercepting the message. I'm afraid they did not succeed in fully broadcasting their findings. What they found, we may never know.'

'Show me what their sacrifice was worth,' Bacarus instructed. His friend responded by waving over an ensign, who leapt to a seat, pulling the incomplete audio files received by the Dome just a day before; the last message of the Lone Protector.

Intercepted vital transmission...under attack...cannot hold...attempting to send message now.

Outcast 07-01-03...under attack...no longer capable...last message...whole system...madness...entire systems could fall. Please; only the Council, and the Shadow Guard can deliver us... ensign Ordias...signing off.

'That's all?' Bacarus asked, frustrated with the lack of specifics in the data, though he was able to prevent any emotion reaching his words, in honor of those who died to deliver the transmission.

Avarkus nodded. 'Anything else was lost with the Lone Protector when she was destroyed.'

'Damnit, did the xenos escape?'

'It's a significant incursion, my lord,' the Master of Voices responded, 'four fleet elements have been retasked with their destruction.'

'But who does that leave to take care of this? Planet 07-01-03, I seem to recall, is Earth; homeworld of humanity.'

'A correctly recalled fact,' Avarkus noted, though it was a well known world, after the events that took place three millennia ago.

'I think I'd recall any homeworld of a race that tried to build an intergalactic empire that stood over the ashes of any who were in their path,' Bacarus responded humorlessly.

'Indeed.' Avarkus eyed the council member with some wariness now, as now his options were severely limited to one that would already be asking for trouble.

'What forces are available to investigate the situation, Master of Voices?'

Here it came.

'With most of our forces engaging xenos in the Sigma and Theta systems, we're only left with forces dedicated to defending Terra.'

Bacarus glared at Avarkus, sensing deceit.

'That, with all respect, my friend, is rat shit. I saw a Shadow Guard regiment dock back in three days ago. Their ships are still docked; they are a valid option, are they not?'

'They would be if they weren't the 23rd, my lord.'

As quickly as it arose, Bacarus' anger subsided, as he realized why his friend had omitted the 23rd regiment from his options.

The remnants of a species nearly exterminated by mankind, during their prior days of conquest and destruction, they harboured a long feud against their mortal enemies, one which had recently been reignited in two encounters in the recent years, one of which only just two years past.

And one had ended with a dead Guard Battlemaster, and the other had damned their race to a slow extinction.

Still though, there wasn't any other choice. While Bacarus would have understood the 23rd's hatred, after spending much time with the late Battlemaster Corinthus, the Council, it's members more concerned with their own damn safety, would never sanction one of the many dedicated defense regiments of Terra to be reassigned away from Council space for protracted periods of time.

That effectively summed up to never.

'I'll present the options to the Council, Avarkus.' the council member said as he turned to leave.

'In the meantime, find Battlemaster Aurelius. I know he isn't going to appreciate it, but right now, with the council paranoid, I'm sure the two of us can already guess the decision.'

As the two friends parted, neither saw a cloaked figure, wrapped in darkness, slip away into shadow.


'If you're looking for the Battlemaster, he's not here.' The Guardsman stood a foot over Avarkus with ease, and he was fully armored, as all Guardsmen were at all times. If he weren't the Master of Voices, he knew that the trooper in front of him would gladly kick him out of sight of the Armageddon without a second thought. Still though, it would be better for Aurelius to find his next distasteful assignment sooner rather than later. He tried again.

'Council member Bacarus wishes me to pass a message to Battlemaster Aurelius, Guardsman. You will therefore let me aboard this ship to convey his message...'

'Why don't you give the message to me, citizen, and I'll give it to the Battlemaster?'

Avarkus ignored the insult. It was common place in the Guard that anyone who wasn't worthy of donning the colors of the Guard was a person to be protected when hell came for them.

Ordinarily, he might try to express his authority over the Guardsman, but this one, he recognised from the crushed skull insignia on the Guardsman's chest, was Korventhor; Master of Ordnance of the 23rd, and once it's Master of Purge. And no one, he knew, could reign this Guardsman back with the exception of Aurelius.

And he was nowhere to be seen.

'If you really must know, the Battlemaster is in the memorium right now. Message please.'

That was enough for Avarkus. If a Battlemaster was honoring his fallen, the first person to disturb him would most likely end up amongst the names that filled the memorium's walls.

'It is unconfirmed as of now, but it is likely that the 23rd will be reassigned to investigate a development on Earth.'

'What development?' the question was sour; bitter with hatred. The fact emotions could have come through the helmet, which usually kept dialogue amongst the Guard monotonous to say the least, spoke volumes.

'Again, it is unconfirmed, but contact with the Outcast facility over the planet has been lost.'

The Guardsman mulled over the information, before he realized the Master of Voices was still in front of him.

'Alright, I'll get him the message. Hop off now before I make you.'

Half walking, half pedaling away to ensure that the Guardsman didn't make good on his threat, Avarkus scuttled off into the dense streets of the Hive. When he was gone from sight, Korventhor opened up a comm link.

'Leandros, get your arse down here now. I'm going to find Aurelius. And it's not good news.'

He shut the link before his fellow Guardsman could argue with the prospect of guard duty before he plunged into the streets, the setting sun casting enough shadows for him to move unseen.


The figure sat at the far corner of the drinking house, cloak wrapped around himself, hood up. In his hand, he played about with a single metal chip the size of a matchbox, with a dimly lit blue screen that flashed four words again and again

Maximilium Corinthus, Battlemaster, Deceased.

He clenched his hand around the identification tag, before he relocked it back to his tactical belt. At the same time, the Guardsman took another deep sip of the rich draught on the table ahead of him.

'You know, I'm not entirely surprised I found you in a place like this again, friend.'

The figure didn't turn to the words at his back, simply opting to take another sip of the tempting draught.

'What are you doing down here, Korventhor? Last I saw, you were holding down the Armageddon.'

'Got bored. And Leandros is watching it now, so don't sweat. The Master of Voices was looking for you, Aurelius. Something bad is going down.'

'Has it got something to do with a certain species we can owe all our curses to?'

Korventhor was taken aback by Aurelius' knowledge on the matter, but it wasn't too surprising, considering the Battlemaster's joint position as a Stormcaller. Able to walk their minds through the other realm, they were the most dangerous of the 23rd, until the events on Exelon, just five years past, had seen all but one of their number fall to mankind.

'Outcast 07-01-03 fell off the grid. We're probably going to have a look, once the council decides.'

'They've already decided, in all probability,' the Battlemaster replied, finishing his draught, 'and I'm left wondering who, if any, of us are going to return.'

'You know, I told Avarkus that you were in the memorium. Guess I wasn't too far off the bat; whenever you're remembering the fallen, you're either in there, or in some hole like this.'

Aurelius just responded by pulling Corinthus' tags from his belt again, turning it over in his hands, despite it's size.

'I just wonder how much longer we have left,' he said, planting the tags on the table, 'until we're all gone. Excelon saw to that.'

Korventhor didn't have much of a reply to that. With the battle of Exelon, the 23rd had lost their only hope of enduring for an eternity. Death would come for them eventually, in the realm of combat. That was the curse of the Guard, he knew. While their augmentations made them immortal to aging, it also meant they'd keep fighting until their death, watching every brother fall to some horror spawned by the abyss of space, until it was their turn to fall. Fortunately though, another Guardsman's arrival averted the inevitable philosophical conversation with his Battlemaster. Like a demonic apparition, the Guardsman suddenly emerged from seemingly empty space, though Korventhor had known his friend too long to know he was the work of demons. Caius was just simply very good at remaining hidden when he wanted to.

'It's confirmed, Aurelius,' the new comer said as he sat down opposite Aurelius. 'We're to depart as soon as possible. The council is impatient given the circumstances.'

'Wait, he knows as well?' Korventhor asked, though he guessed he should have known. Aurelius never liked surprises, so Caius was always one step ahead, chasing down rumors, and confirming or denying their existence.

'How do you think I knew? I used the Storm? Believe me Korventhor, if I did, you might as well shoot me here and now for stupidity. The Storm is something we shouldn't trifle with, even if we have the means.'

'So what? You sent Caius?'

'Sorry if the decision offended you, Korventhor,' Caius put in, grinning under the helmet, 'but you need to be subtle when staying ahead of the council. You can't just barge into the Dome and the council's chamber, demanding answers. Listening in though, you can glean a lot.'

'And what did I do? You stuck me on guard duty?'

Aurelius just sighed at his friend's pigheaded nature.

'We need someone with muscles rather than brains to stop people coming aboard the Armageddon.'

Caius let out a bark of laughter at that, before the friends rose from the table, leaving a pair of silver coins behind, and an empty glass.

As they departed the bar, as Caius and Korventhor continued to argue with one another in good nature over the matter of who should do what in the future, Aurelius tucked Corinthus' tags back into the small pouch on his tac belt's right side, where it clicked softly as it fell against the dozens of his closest fallen brothers and sisters, before Aurelius closed the pouch once more.


Back aboard the Armageddon's bridge, Aurelius seated himself back into the command chair of the ship. Around him, both Guardsmen and auxiliaries ran final system checks on for the ship. After the fleet action above Braxen IV, the ship was still in need of repairs, but with only non essential decks damaged now, they were clear to proceed into the depths of space once they were fully sealed off.

A council member had come earlier, officially giving him his mission details, which amounted to nothing, apart from the fact a situation had developed over Earth. But the 23rd had been on shore leave for a few days now; they'd be ready to kill something again.

The green acknowledgement light winked at him from the transparent holo screen, before Aurelius nodded to Caius.

'Armageddon is clear for launch. Leaving council space now.'

'All weapons are reporting in green, Battlemaster.'

'Shields are green, Battlemaster.'

The reports giving him enough confidence that the Armageddon could make it to Earth, Aurelius broadcasted the command to the rest of the Retributor fleet.

There were four ships in total, each a monster capable of destroying enemies many times their number. The Apocalypse, the Guardian, and the Foresight Ubound. Each primed and ready to take the fight to whatever hell had been spawned by humanity.

'Order is given; Ahead full.'Four lighting tears in space appeared before the ships, before they powered through, leaving council space and the safety of peace behind once more.


Let me know what you guys think - first story to be posted on . Hope you enjoyed it; first chapter just to introduce the 23rd. Familiar faces will be met later in the story