The Valean Guard Volume 1:Cadia's Children Chapter 4: Setting up shop, a Warhammer + RWBY Crossover fanfic

"Upon being surrounded by Abaddon the Despoiler's forces, we made the sacrifice that bought time for the few other Regiments to evacuate, hopefully, throwing ourselves and some Chaos bastards into the Warp... And finally, it was this twist that sent us here..." Sighed Adrian, looking at the dog tags of three of the young ones they'd lost on Cadia. He sighed, then looked up toward Ozpin, to see the man's eyes wide in absolute respect, admiration, shock and terror. The story the boy had just told, the galaxy they hail from, the war they've fought in and the billions of losses sustained during campaigns, including his own 1500 Children of the Storm were an awing tale... Even the Space Marines he spoke of. The Ultramarines, the Blood Angels, the Blood Ravens, so on and so forth. And this entire 10,000 year old conflict Humanity in that galaxy lived through...

Miss Goodwitch was forced to sit down by the horrible revelations of the ten-thousand year old conflict that was ongoing in the Milky Way. She prayed in whisper that the continuous War would not find them there and Amber herself was sobbing, covering her mouth with her hands. Qrow, eyes wide, had already drunk through his entire flask, but was somewhat still sober as he spoke with a smirk on his face too "Damn... You kids have some balls to go against the Chaos, Orks and what-have-you..."

Adrian merely grinned back, nodding to the man, then said "Standard-issue Munitorum Titanium-plated ceramite balls as some of us would say." making Qrow chuckle awkwardly, rubing the back of his neck. Koris had already finished his coffee, placing the cup on the table calmly. Ozpin coughed hoarsely, then said "And you seem unfazed by the fall of your very homeworld..."

"We knew Cadia would fall the moment the 14th Black Crusade happened. We held off 13 others, but this one just came as too much of a sudden strike." Koris admitted, sadly sighing. "We accepted our fate and chose to help with the evacuation of the Hive City we were in after all. By the Emperor, we weren't going to let our elderly and youngest die and we'd have gone into the Eye of Terror and back for them."

"You guys would've taken a leap of faith that big for your old folks and youngest kids?" Amber asked, her voice filled with respect.

"And they spoke of these Adeptus Astartes with such high regard... Do you think your sacrifice will be known?" Ozpin asked the boys. Adrian looked to the man, then said calmly "We aren't the Astartes, the Emperor's Angels of Death... We're His hammer. The Astartes are the shield and blade and the Emperors hands wield all of us. The death of one of us would be a shocking tragedy... The death of thousands or millions is just a Statistic."

Ozpin stared at him for a moment, chewing on the words the boy spoke so carelessly with dismay. How much had these kids seen to warrant such indifference to the fall of their own homes, to the deaths of their own. A ten thousand year war that probably killed hundreds, perhaps thousands of times the current population of humanity on Remnant, with no end in sight. It was all just common occurrence for them right now. Ozpin could only be appalled and moved by the outstanding pride of humans like these. Alas, the Lieutenant and his subordinate didn't give off the feeling of careless commanders. Quite the opposite, really...

"I understand... It is disheartening that the place you come from has you thinking like that... But it is a sad truth that is how it is. If we can help with anything, you can tell us." Ozpin offered, to which the two boys looked to each-other. Adrian looked toward Ozpin and said "Well... We're kind of homeless now. We require a plot of land on which to build our camp and... Uhm, we saw some forestry not too far behind this place. Two separate forests with one big open area between them, a clearing enough to fit our regiment's current numbers."

"Won't you be seen if you guys stick out like that?" Amber asked, voicing Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch's thoughts by mistake.

Koris was swift to respond "We build our bases underground, usually. Several hundred feet, in fact, for them to act as bunkers and shield us from sight. The only things we build outside are elevators for our vehicles, defensive turrets and bunkers for when we have to fight and some storage things... Our Techpriests, the finest enginseers of the Imperium, should do well with preparing each and every structure. They help create the damn things."

Ozpin thought, then nodded and said "Please, take us to meet the rest of your unit. We may wish to speak to them."

Adrian nodded, stood up beside Koris, then said "Follow us, sir."

Going down and through the doors, into the courtyard, the group of six could hear a choir of voices singing calmly as the rhythmic beating of boots against concrete and stone sounded off. Walking through into the backside 'parking lot' of the School campus, they saw them. The Imperial Guard 1st Cadian Youth marching and singing softly a song known only to the Cadians and them alone. A marching song ancient as Cadia itself.

-Play Instrumental Battle Hymn of the Republic-

Mine eyes have seen the battlefields of gore and blood

As I've dispelled the vilest wrath of our Darkest foes of old.

Through the night and battle of this longest, damnedest war,

His truth is calling all!

Glory, Glory to our Emperor!

His truth is calling all!

Battle-worn souls and spirits stand side by side,

Against an ever-growing, encroaching, bloody, darkened tide!

They chant, Armed with but a lasgun and their own, undeniable and holy pride,

His truth is calling all!

Glory, Glory to our Emperor!

His truth is calling all!

Born naught of steel and fire, but of blood and youthful hearts

Since young age we were taught the finest, man's true arts,

Of war and battle, Cadia stood forever strongest and won't soon fall!

His truth is calling all!

Glory, Glory to our Emperor!

His truth is calling all!

-End song-

The pause in the song was followed by the thundering voice of young Sergeant Markath "ATEEN-HUT! LEFT FACE!" and five hundred boots stomping the ground and swiveling about, to greet the Lieutenant, Sergeant Koris, the Headmaster and their other 3 companions with salutes. Markath walked out from their front, with Clara following close behind. The Sergeant saluted again, then said to Ozpin and the others "Ah, hello. You must be the locals." And he nodded to Ozpin "The Schola Master and his..." He looked to Glynda "Adjutant and fellow teacher, I presume?"

"Indeed." Ozpin nodded. Glynda continued, a rather bit awed by the soldier-children... "You're Sergeant Colin Markath, aren't you?"

"At your service, sir, ma'am." Nodded the boy, looking at them. Ozpin looked about at the regiment, how stern and strangely trained these kids were... It reminded them of another nearby kingdom. Sighing, Ozpin nodded to the Sergeant, then said "A pleasure to meet you, sir... We were briefed about how your people have arrived here... And about a great many other items of interest to us, such as your 10,000 year old war..."

"They were naught but simple soldiers. No titans, nor heroes." Quoted Koris, keeping his Las pistol in its holster and arranging it. "A passage from the Tactica Imperium referring to the Imperial Guard and its Ancestral military units. Aside from strategy, that book has some pretty deep ideals about us and our whole business as what the Imperium originally called Astra Militarum."

"I'm seeing kids, not actual soldiers." Qrow mumbled in discontent. Adrian nodded and said "Finest kids you'll ever see. We're defending humanity since birth, buddy." in retort. Ozpin looked to Adrian and said "You said you desire to wish the clearing in the Emerald Forest as a territory for your base? I have perhaps a better idea for a base location... Underground and safe, but closer to Beacon."

After Clara joined them and received information about what their current standing with the locals was, the command section formed of the Lieutenant, Sergeants and Clara herself, was discussing their next move. They could either take the base location that was close-by, or attempt to move out into unknown territory for them. The Professor must've had a reason to suggest a close location...

"You sure, Lt? We could just take that position in the forest, save us the shitfest of having to dig near by the school." Clara asked, looking at Adrian. The Lieutenant shrugged, then looked back to Ozpin and asked "Just how close are we speaking here? When your academy begins its hours we won't be able to perform our training. Aside from that, why would the Emerald Forest as you called it not be suitable?"

Ozpin looked to the boy, then calmly responded "It is filled to the brim with the creatures our people fight... The Creatures of Grimm..."

"Whatever they are, compared to Abaddon and his troops, I imagine they're nothing more than pussycats." Koris spoke, drawing his las pistol and sword. Adrian nodded and said "We've faced worse, that's true. But let's not underestimate the creatures' strength. Send in our two Incinerator tanks with the building crews..." He turned toward Sergeant Markath and spoke sternly "Markath, I want you personally there to supervise the construction."

The military boy saluted, then said "By the Emperor, it shall be done, post-haste!"

Adrian looked back toward the armored column, then barked toward the rest of the Regiment "Line'em up, First Reg! We're moving out to secure ourselves a fancy ol' base location not so far away from this little schola! Now, I'm sorry for asking this of you so early after our latest trip, but I want half of you kitted out and ready to move with the Adeptus Mechanicus Techpriests! I trust they've brought their own tools and construction materials."

"We've done so, Lieutenant. We will finish the main structure within a night by our calculations. The barracks as well... Then we will focus on the Mars Pattern Command for the tanks to be housed in." Illuminate reported calmly, shocking Ozpin's entire entourage from Beacon as he revealed himself and his fellow Techpriests. The half-metal, half-human creatures approached Adrian, then the Illuminate said "May we suggest adding a Punisher to the unit sent to guard me and my Techpriests? It may so be required as to keep us all alive... I've found traces of the local Fauna, these 'Grimm'... Malicious signals indeed... With a hint of a known power to us..."

Adrian sighed, then simply nodded "Yeah. We'll get Punisher-2 with you as well as Inferno-1 and -2." to which Illuminate hummed, then looked toward Ozpin and the others and said "We are of the Adeptus Mechanicus... Half-man, half-machine. And we've chosen this path for ourselves, for we believe in the Omnissiah and in the Omnissiah's teachings alone. We align with the Emperor's beliefs much like the normal human aligns to ours."

"We're wasting time." Adrian said "I want us bunked up and ready for instant deployment whenever required, Illuminate..." He then looked to Ozpin and finished "We shall continue talks, professor... I'll leave Markath do his own thing. Clara will accompany him and Koris will stay here on officer duty." And he looked to his command squad "Ready?"

"AYE!" cried the unit. Adrian nodded, then said "EXECUTE!"

Under everyone's gazes, the regiment broke apart, half moving alongside the road with the trio of requested tanks, the other half preparing themselves to rest. It was an awe-inducing sight to see children of these ages moving about, armed to the teeth and preparing for the worst. To think the universe they came from had dozens, if not hundreds of such Regiments...

Ozpin sighed as Adrian walked beside them. The young boy said "Shall we continue our talks, professor? Perhaps let ms. Amber and mr. Branwen rest?"

"Yes..." nodded Ozpin...

That would be for the betterment of all of them.