Even as I'm writing this, I know it's not going to be anywhere near as good as the previous story, but sometimes you just feel compelled to write what's in your head.
True Purpose
Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines, Lord of Ultramar, Lord Commander of the Imperium of Man and Imperial Regent sat... impatiently.
This was not a natural state for him: he was well known for his implacable resolve and calm, even in battle. And yet, as is often said, there are exceptions to every rule, and so he sat, awaiting the arrival of the Adeptus Custodes and their prize. And what a prize it was: something they had been searching for, chasing, for nearly ten thousand years. Guilliman couldn't help but feel it slightly odd that now, of all times, after so many attempts and failures, they had succeeded. After all, their target was known to be uniquely adapted at keeping one step ahead of any pursuers, but captured they were. And, as Imperial Regent, it fell upon Guilliman to decide what to do next.
The chamber door opened with a loud hiss, and a full squad of his Father's most loyal and steadfast bodyguard entered, weapons at the ready, carrying between them a metal box, some two meters at a side. Silently, they placed it before Guilliman, and with a bow, left, the door hissing shut behind them.
What was to follow was for him and him alone.
With a loud snap, the locks holding the box closed snapped open all at once, and it collapsed like a child's toy, leaving only its occupant behind. She was tall, for a human, with long, album hair flowing down over her shoulders. Her body was hidden beneath a long coat of deep red, a broad rimmed hat the same colour laying to one side. Guilliman observed her intently: he had heard stories, read reports, but this was, to the best of his knowledge, the first time they had ever been in the same room together since, well, a very long, long time ago.
"I don't suppose there's much point in my continuing to play dead?" an amused voice asked, and the woman stood with the grace and poise of a jungle cat, retrieving her hat and placing it on her head at what some might call a rakish angle, "So... how should I address you? Roboute? Lord Guilliman? Regent? Or simply...brother?"
"Carmen." Guilliman nodded formally.
"So, first names it is." his sister nodded back, "Well, Roboute, it is nice to finally meet you, face to face."
"Why did you allow yourself to be captured?" the Lord Commander asked.
"Straight down to business?" Carmen clocked her head to one side, "No 'nice to meet you, sister'? 'You're looking good'? Or even 'So glad you didn't fall to Chaos'?"
"My personal opinion on our meeting is irrelevant, as is your physical appearance." Guilliman spoke matter-of-factly, "And, if you had fallen under the sway of the Ruinous Powers, the Custodes had my authority to kill you before risking bring you back here alive."
"Anyone ever tell you that you need to work on your small-talk?" Carman asked as she looked around the room, "Yes, I did allow the Custodes to finally capture me: it seemed the easiest way to get face-to-face with you, and we need to talk."
"I will not lift your banishment." Guilliman warned, "That was our Father's decree, and I can not...no, I will not, go against his decision."
"Relax: I'm not looking for that. Not from you, anyway." Carman waved him off, "Actually, I need you to put me in touch with your girlfriend..."
"Girlfriend?" There was an odd tone to her brothers voice, as if he was trying out a new word for the first time.
"Yes, your girlfriend: Yvraine." Carman continued, "You know, the cute little priestess of Ynnead, got an arse that won't quit?"
Guilliman looked at her like she'd suddenly grown a second head.
"...you're joking, right?" Carmen blinked, actually surprised, "Are you trying to tell me that you're not... Oh, how in Father's name are you not..." she suddenly smiled, "So...she's single?"
Guilliman stood, towering over her sister, his massive, gauntleted fists clenched, his face set like stone.
"Okay! Okay! Message received loud and clear!" Carman put up her hands defensively, "I'm not stupid enough to try and get between whatever it is the two of you have going on."
"Why do you need to see Yvraine?" Guilliman asked as he sat, doing his best to hide his shock and surprise at the severity and sincerity of his response.
"I...no, we, need her to go to Baal, preferably with you there to keep her from starting a war simply by being there." Carman's face suddenly became very serious, "Just how good is she with the whole 'bringing the dead back to life' thing?"
"Sanguinius is lost to us." Guilliman shook his head sadly, "Without his soul..."
"I have his soul." Carmon spoke softly, "Or, at least, hopefully a big enough shard of it so that he can be brought back to life. If Yvraine is as good a they say she is."
"A shard of Sanguinius soul?" Guilliman asked, dumbfounded, "How?"
"Very long story short, the souls of everyone who died aboard the Vengeful Spirit is, at least in part, trapped there. They take the form of crystalline statues of the individual." his sister explained, "And, well, I am considered the greatest thief in the galaxy, after all..."
"You stole Sanguinius' soul?" Guilliman was still having a hard time comprehending what he was being told: even after all he had seen and done in his long life, this was... inexplicable.
"A couple of centuries of planning, some quick thinking when the plan inevitably went haywire... and some help from an interested third party, and yes, I did what I do best." Carman smiled, drawing herself up to her full hight, "I may not have the skills needed to lead a army or rule the galaxy, but I'm the very, very best at what I do."
"Help?" Guilliman asked, "From who?"
"Trazyn the Infinite." Carmen admitted, somewhat sheepishly, "Look, even my considerable skill has its limits, and he came to me..."
"What?" Guilliman was visibly taken aback, "Why?"
"Because he's one of the all-too-few beings in this galaxy who can take a step back and look at the Big Picture." Carmen shrugged, "Look, whatever our Father had in mind for me when he created us, I obviously wasn't destined for anything too public; it's just not in my nature. Trazyn may well be the only being I've ever met who came close to matching my abilities as a thief, but he's on a whole other level when it comes to the grand strategy of state. That's more your thing."
"But why would he help you save Sanguinius' soul?" Guilliman asked, feeling like he was starting to grasp the shape of something that was just tantalisingly out of sight.
"Because Sanguinius can do the one thing neither of us can: broker peace with our enemies. No disrespect intended; as an administrator, you're second to none, but even you choose Sanguinius to be the figurehead of your little back-up Imperium. But Sanguinius... even the Necrons respect him. Hell, the Orks fear him. Through Yvraine, you can bring the Aeldari to the negotiating table, but Sanguinius, if returned to life, could bring the Necrons, T'au and Orks, and find common ground. Because, while we're fighting each other, we're making ourselves easy pickings for the true enemies we all face: Chaos and the Tyranids. Trazyn sees them as the true threat... and I may have hinted that it might be possible to return his people to some semblance of their original organic bodies..."
"How in the name of Terra would you do that?" Guilliman almost, but only almost, laughed.
"I may have hinted that Father is the smartest human who has ever lived, capable of crafting the twenty of us from his own flesh." Carmen admitted, "He kind of filled in the blanks from there. On the bright side, he is now dedicated to restoring Father to full health, but in such a way that doesn't cost us the Astronomican or result in seeing all of Terra consumed by a massive hoard of demons from within the Webway."
"And if Father can not do as you said? What then?"
"We'll cross that particular bridge if and when we come to it...which will be after we find a way to convince Father to even attempt it in the first place."
"That would be... complicated."
"To say the least."
Guilliman lsat back on his throne, resting his chin on one gauntleted hand.
"Why come to me with this?" he asked, "If all I have been told about you is true, you could have found a way to get Yvraine to Baal without the Blood Angels noticing. Why involve me?"
"Because... it scares me; the enormity of it all. Terrifies me almost to the point of inaction." Carmen admitted, "I'm not like you: the world I grew up on was... normal. The people who raised me were... good people, and I loved them dearly, but they weren't anyone the history books would remember. Everything I have become is because of whatever drive Father has hidden away in my DNA, but despite everything I did, I made sure to keep my name and face from becoming public. Oh, sure, I'm known by a thousand different names the the authorities on ten thousand different worlds, but I can still walk down any street without anyone knowing who, or what, I am. And I like that anonymity: I like being able to just lose myself in a crowd."
"But if you were responsible for the return of our brother Sanguinius..."
"...I'd never be able to keep my name out of it. The High Lords would want to know the truth, and the possibility of having a third... no, I'm not calling myself a Primarch, or a Matriarch, for that matter." Carmen shook her head, "Let's just say that to be able to proclaim that a third of our Fathers children has returned? They wouldn't be able to resist, Fathers decrees be damned."
"I fear that you may be right: they are a near constant thorn in my side." Guilliman nodded.
"Yes, but at least you have the knowledge and experience, to say nothing of the very much needed endorsement as Imperial Regent, to deal with them. I have none of that. No: you need to be the one who takes Yvraine to revive Sanguinius, while I start setting things up with Trazyn and the Silent King, who's apparently quite the fan of our dear brother."
"What of the Orks and the Tau?" Guilliman asked, "How do you suggest we approach them?"
"The Orks are easy: just promise them the biggest fight that the galaxy has ever seen, and they'll be falling over themselves to sign up. They have no love of Chaos, and they're just as much fodder for the Tyranids as the rest of us. And the Tau? Okay, that one might actually be a little complicated, but I may have a contact in with the Farsight Enclaves. I can at least try and get a meeting with O'Shovah. One way or another."
"A 'contract' in the Farsight Enclaves?" Guilliman asked.
"I have a Warrant of Trade, signed by Malcador himself: I think he was hoping that I'd go lose myself in some unexplored part of the galaxy. I am officially known as The Lost, after all."
"I have one final question." there was something approaching a smile on the Lord Commanders face, "What do you get out of all this?"
"I'm not looking for forgiveness, if that's what you think: that's Williams thing." Carmen shrugged, "I truthfully can not say: despite everything, I still feel the need to prove myself to Father. That's why I keep breaking into his Palace, to try and prove that I am still, in my own way, loyal to him. I'm not looking for forgiveness, but maybe... acceptance."
"I can not speak for Father, but I think, maybe..." Guilliman nodded, and, rising to his feet, offered a hand, "I am very glad to have finally met you, my Sister."
The End?