Grey Knights Fortress-Monastery on Titan, Sol System, 1 863.999.M41
"Wow."
That was all that could be said by the millennial as he gazed out over the Grey Knights' armory. The rather plain Space Marines has a more than eclectic cocktail of weapons, armor, and equipment - but he saw an issue. Most if not all of what these super-soldiers had to offer was too large and clunky for him to handle. "It's impressive, but well... I don't know if I can handle it."
"Don't think the only things we have are for Astartes." One of the Space Marines wearing a backpack covered in mechanical arms stepped forward. "Techmarine Denarius. We have suits of power armor designed for the wear of normal men - such should allow you to carry the weapons we offer. Even the Adepta Sororitas are able to carry bolter and chainsword with the assistance of their armor."
"And I assume this isn't gonna be something hard to do? You know, learn how to use the armor, that is."
"I doubt such will be an issue." He smiled, despite half his face being replaced with mechanical augments. "Powered armor more often than not is capable of responding to human stimuli without risk of mechanical overcompensation." The human nodded - he wished that someone like Troy Hurtubise was still alive to explain what the hell he was all about. Unfortunately he wasn't, and as such, he had to browse through the sets of armor before finding a suit that looked like it would fit him. Eventually, he found a human-sized one, whose torso plate was covered with skulls, shoulder pauldrons showcasing an Inquisition emblem overlaying a Grey Knight one.
"Yes, this will do nicely."
"You may wish to speak to the Supreme Grand Master about that... the suit is a relic to the Grey Knights." Of course, there was only one person who held that rank - an individual by the name of Kaldor Draigo, who had survived an extended tenure in the Warp and who was preparing to get revenge on a daemon. Understandable, seeing as Chaos seemed to consist of nothing but cocks.
"Look. This rosette thing entitles me to use whatever I desire for the good of the Imperium. It's just sitting here, no one else is gonna use it seeing as a Space Marine would destroy that armor trying to put it on."
"...very well, if you insist. The blame be on your head if the armor is destroyed." The Astartes sighed, reluctantly removing the armor from its case.
"What's so special about it? Looks pretty standard, all things considered."
"The armor once belonged to an Inquisitor who greatly cleaved to the Grey Knights as a source of camaraderie - he assisted us greatly many millennia ago. This suit of artificer armor, Ignatus pattern, was commissioned for him to wear as he fought by our side. He found himself robbed of life after having held a position to save the life of the previous Supreme Grand Master, Geronitan, from a horde of daemons summoned by a Black Legion sorcerer. Out of respect for him, this relic of his dedication to the Emperor's will, laying down his life for the greater of His servants, we have preserved his armor."
"Alright... Wel, it's mine now. What else we got..."
The Techmarine thought for a moment before an idea lit up. "I would be willing to quickly give your power maul the onceover, in order to give it the enhanced quality of a master craftsman's touch. It will take a mere couple of hours. Might I suggest that you acquire a ranged weapon in the meantime? Perhaps a bolter?"
"Well..." The millennial considered what weapons had existed back in his day. "What do you have that goes boom?"
"A variety of grenade types..." Denarius opened up a shelf to showcase the grenades within, each compartment filled with a different type of thrown ordnance. Perhaps there would be one to his liking.
"Krak grenades, frag grenades... Rad grenades? Handheld mini-nukes? Fuck yeah!" He grabbed five of them, stuffing them into the pockets of the Administorum robe he still wore. He would make sure they were secured to the armor when he finally went out to go and engage these Chaos Space Marines. And yet, there was still need for a weapon... Something that could cause more than a proportional amount of damage to his size. Searching through the racks, he found a weapon that looked, well... surprisingly small for something a Grey Knight would use. Picking it up, he turned to Denarius. "What's this?"
"That is a Volkite Serpenta. It doesn't work, so please don't..."
"Wait a minute..." He looked the pistol over - it weighed a good seven and a half pounds, almost three times as much as a Colt 1911. The magazine at the bottom was, well... He didn't even know what it was for. But it seemed wrong... "This is backwards." Removing the magazine from the well, he turned it around and jammed it in the bottom of the weapon as far as it could go, a light blinking on one side of the exotic gun. "Did you ever consider perhaps checking to make sure the magazine was in the right way?"
"No... The weapon was completely disassembled by a tech-priest from Mars who could not find the problem. It was placed here in the armory millennia ago." The trained Astartes knew how to maintain the chapter's weaponry - but the thing was, with regards to certain parts, it was hard to determine what way they went in. Regarding the Serpenta's power pack, however... Well, it was just a hunch. It did look like it could go in either way.
The millennial sighed, but soon turned away, holding the massive pistol in his hand. "Yes... This'll do nicely." Pivoting back on his heels, he raised an eyebrow. "Alright... Where do I get suited up?"
In vicinity of Space Hulk Nihilus Rex, Angrimar, 2 865.999.M41
And lo, it was time. The Grey Knights Strike Cruiser Malcador Ascendent arrived in the Angrimar system, meeting with the eccentric Chapter's newest battle barge, the Fucked Your Bitch Twice. They had a good sense of college humor, at least. The millennial now wore the suit of artificer armor,which felt surprisingly snug as he still flexed its individual fingers. At his right hip was the Volkite Serpenta, now a lot easier to handle thanks to the Ignatus pattern's powered exoskeleton. Around his waist were rad grenades, and at his left hip was the power maul, now master-crafted at the hands of the highly skilled Techmarine. Though it still appeared to be a rather standard, if not slightly oversized baton, it could deal even more damage now, thanks to fine-tuning of the power systems within - not to mention replacement of the maul's power source. The rosette in question was stored along with his robe, awaiting his return.
Standing next to the almost-warrior from another time was Reri Hesperax herself. Fully dressed(if you could call it that) in her wychsuit, the Impaler and Falchion she wielded were both primed for battle, much to the dismay of the Grey Knights who were accompanying them to the space hulk. She smiled, ready and primed for battle against the forces of Chaos. Perhaps their souls would be her next meal - being here in realspace for so long was giving Slaanesh more of her soul to devour, after all, and she needed to make up for that so the Thirst wouldn't overwhelm her.
Standing behind the two oddities were five fully equipped squads of Grey Knights - two Strike squads, two Purgation squads, and a Terminator squad. Leading the Grey Knight forces was Mithrac Tor, leader of the Grey Knights' 8th Brotherhood, where the squads were from. The goal was simple - they would take some boarding torpedoes over to the space hulk in question, then meet up with the 5th Company of the Angry Marines at the entry point before spreading throughout the wreck and purging it of all Chaos iconography. The remains of whatever starship this had once been would be sanctified and purged of any lingering Chaotic essence before being towed through the Warp to Mars, where the Adeptus Mechanicus would dismember it to accrue whatever technological secrets were hidden within.
Aboard the boarding vessels they went, flying across the entirety of space towards the massive collection of metal that had formed within the void. Chaos forces were inevitably on board, and this likely would be one of the hardest fights of his life. Perhaps he'd even die in the attempt... But if he did, who would save Reri from getting torn apart by the Grey Knights who would view her as nothing but a heretical xeno who needed to be purged?
Soon, the adamantium tips of the boarding torpedoes impaled themselves within the frame of the ancient mass of metal, folding outward to reveal a seemingly empty hall. The Grey Knights detected the foul presence of Chaos nearby, turning and preparing to engage with their specialized weaponry as the millennial raised the power maul, holding the Serpenta in his free hand as he traveled down the hallway. "This way, I assume?"
It was a one out of two shot, and he was correct - the feelings of Chaos were permeating throughout the entirety of the Hulk - this was Black Legion work, for the combined powers of all the Chaos Gods were spread vibrantly throughout the vessel.
It was his first encounter with Chaos Space Marines, and they hardly disappointed. The loud cries of Khornate Berserkers and their Possessed brethren lit up one end of the hallway as a massive, hulking figure with a pair of barbaric chainaxes pointed at the ancient human, power armor equipped. "I am Zurkhrin, Blessed Champion of Khorne! Your blood will pool at the feet of my master as I take your skull for His throne! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!" His eyes malevolently shown, revealing his fanged maw as he screamed out his war cry, other Berserkers and Possessed emulating his actions and sending a roar of hatred throughout the wide hallway.
As a barbarian, he rushed forward - their leader had to take first blood of the enemy's leader as his own. The corrupted Terminator armor he wore protected his flesh from assault, and the Volkite Weapon could scarcely be used to stop him with a couple of shots let off before he cleaved the millennial in two. As he charged, though, a good twenty feet away, he tripped. One could mistake this for the blind providence of the Emperor, but from how hard Reri was panting, it was obvious that she had moved faster than one could see, forcing the Chaos Champion to his knees. And as he stood up, the once-frozen mon'keigh took advantage of the biggest flaw of anyone in the battle, whether traitor or loyalist.
He had no helmet.
The blast of energy from the relic-weapon touched the front of his head, and from there, it was all downhill for Zurkhrin. His flesh peeled away centimeter by centimeter, dissolved into a fine ash as his head completely crumbled into dust, a lifeless skull raised to stare at the man who had ended the World Eaters' existence before falling apart. Taking a playbook out of his reaction to Brother Maynard's servo-skull, he stepped forward with all his extra weight, the traitor's skull crushing under his foot. If he had been wearing a helmet... Well, maybe he wouldn't have been humiliated by a pathetic mortal.
Still, though, this did not stop the worshippers of the Blood God from their charge forward. The Grey Knights opened fire on the abominations, chainswords clattering against chainaxes as they fought tooth and nail against one another. The millennial and Reri fought as a team - functioning surprisingly well as a cumulative unit. Her Impaler's monomolecular edge forced its way through a Possessed Marine's throat, tearing his head from its body as her partner slammed his fully-energized power maul directly into the knight-like helmet of a Berserker, crumbling the ancient ceramite as his skull caved in before turning and discharging another Volkite blast right in the face of another Possessed.
The battle waged on, but the wards of the Grey Knights slowly prevailed. They held the line against the rush of insane bloodlusters, who merely engaged like an Ork mob, weapon's swinging in a feral display of rampant madness. Though they were winning, they had made no progress.
Until the battle cry chortled through the halls of the wreck, louder than even the cries of the Khornate traitors.
"ALWAYS ANGRY! ALL THE TIME!"
A rush of yellow-armored marines came from the far side, directly behind the Chaos horde. They wore power fists, and began to bludgeon their way through the horde of traitor wannabes. Soon the Grey Knights could actually move forward, the millennial and Reri taking this as an opportunity to move forward and watch the Angry Marines force the Khorne-worshippers back, soon ending them as they had nowhere else to go. The Sergeant in charge of the company of Angrimar's finest personally grabbed the last Beserker's head in his hands, crushing his skull in a single grasp before kicking the corpse down a shaft. "FUCK YEAH, NO ONE FUCKS AROUND WITH THE EMPEROR'S BADDEST MOTHERFUCKERS!"
"FUCKING RIGHT, SARGE!"
"SHIT, IT'S THE LITTLE FUCKING KILLING MACHINE HIMSELF!" The sergeant turned to the millennial, who could now clearly see their chapter emblem... an angry face. "YOU FUCKED UP SOME OF THESE FUCKING BITCH-ASS POSERS GOOD TIME!"
"Thanks... You remind me of some people back when I was alive."
"THAT'S FUCKING AWESOME!" He raised a hand in victory. "WE HAVE MORE OF THESE FUCKERS TO KILL OFF. YOU FUCKING READY TO GO SKULL-FUCK MORE OF THESE TRAITOR BITCHES?"
"FUCK YEAH!" The yelling the Angry Sergeant was letting loose invigorated him, even as Reri sighed. "LET'S GO!" But while the Khornate Berserkers had been defeated - the real troubles were about to begin.
It was time for a blast from the past to haunt him once again.