Power. It can come in many forms from many places. A position of authority, uncommon but useful knowledge, a network of close allies, information on someone they would rather keep private. Or in Max Dabing's case, standing several dozen times taller than some of the greatest warriors of the 41st Millennium. Who happened to be reenacting the greatest hits of the 41st millennium on your floor in a chaotic battle with all the bombs and whistles of the grimdarkness of the far future.
Careful not to squish anyone, Max slowly made his way over to his kitchen, over the miniature warriors all stunned into silence. With each step he took, vehicles and soldiers rushed out of his way to not be caught under foot. Devilfish, Howling Banshees, Leman Russ tanks, even Space Marines had stopped mid-fight to stare at Max the Emperor-class Titan towering above them. Eldar who were camped along the side of the wall, almost at face level just stared at the giant mon-keigh as it passed. Once having read a story about a situation exactly like this, Max already had a plan of what to do.
Retrieving the fire extinguisher from the cabinet under the sink, Max carefully stretch over the group of Tech Priests who had fallen to the ground, praying in binary. Hiding his excitement and his nervousness under a flat, stoic face of authority, Max examined the armies before him. By far the largest contingent was the Imperial Guard, who he could make out Cadian Shock Troops, Armageddon Steel Legion and another large regiment of soldiers he could not recognize who manned the artillery. Behind them was the cult of the machine, the Adeptus Mechanicus, whose Skitarii stood perfectly motionless, their heads following that of their Tech Priest controllers.
In the front line was the mighty warriors of the Adeptus Astartes, Space Marines of an unknown chapter in rust colored armor riding beasts that looked like rhinos with scouts using bows of all things. In their ranks, Max could spot the bright colors of several other chapters he did recognize. Space Wolves, Raven Guard, Imperial Fist, an entire range of other Marines of mixed roles with more iconic weapons. Accompanying them in their animal-riding battle was a group of Adepta Sororita, who along with carrying a standard load out of bolters and flamers, also had sisters appearing to cosplay Bretonnia to varying degrees mounted on something analogous to a horse.
Following the flow of battle from the Imperial side of his living that connected with the cooking area, Max saw the "Wall of Eldar". He kept his open floor home bare and spartan, the many shelves and walls not being used for much other than the odd trinket or photo or simply to gather dust. An Eldar force took all of the shelving space Max had and turned it into a multi-layered defense that could spew an equally powerful multi-layer salvo of fire.
Following the spread of Eldar forces let Max's eyes to the Tau forces along the floor and next to the dining room table. It had been claimed by the Tau contingent, desperately trying to fortify it and the surrounding area while still in the middle of the battle. After focusing in on it, Max's stomach dropped as he realized that within the fortifications was scores of non-combat personnel. The Tau had civilians with them, all of whom were cowering in slapdash bunkers and hiding next to destroyed battlesuits for cover.
"War spares no one it seems…" Max whispered to himself, turning away from the scene on his table as he walked over to the coffee table in the living room area. He placed the fire extinguisher with a loud thud on the hardwood and addressed the gathered armies whose eyes will still firmly locked on, "So… Welcome to my house everyone. See how its standing upright and not destroyed? I prefer it that way so I'd appreciate it if you'd all stop HAVING A WAR IN THE MIDDLE OF IT."
"And what makes you think you can stop us, mon-keigh?" an Eldar's voice dared to challenge Max's. Within seconds, Max had thrown a battery from a box on the coffee table at the wall, crushing a heavy weapons platform, and marched over to dowse a third of it in fire foam.
"I assume everyone's got leaders right? Commanders, generals, officers. I'd like to organize a little meeting of leaders." Max dangled the big red cynder at his side, glaring at the general direction the Eldar voice came from. "Please, meet on the unoccupied table made of wood in my living room."
Not wanting to see what else the giant human could potentially do to them, the Imperials and Tau began an awkward shuffle to disentangle from one another. As Max made his way back to his couch, the leaders slowly came forward with their own guards who eyed the other sides with suspicion.
A trio of Valkyries flew above the table with one landing on it and dropping off a man with a chest full of metals and an impressive coat with a fur collar, behind him was an entire squad of the unknown regiment acting as his guard. The Space Marine commander simply jumped out of one of the circling Valkyries with a mighty thud, using his enhanced physiology to simply absorb the landing shock with his own guards soon to follow.
The Tau commander had taken an entire cadre of battlesuits to follow him on the table, launching themselves up into the air, over the loveseat, and on to the table with an accompanying swarm of all types of drones. The Eldar came last, apparently having debated if they wanted to partake in this ritual or not. In the end, it was decided they would with a pack of jetbikes flying over the crowd and on to the table, their riders still ready to take off at the slight provocation.
"So… who are you guys?" Max took a good look at the forces, trying to discern where any of them might have come from, "I recognize the larger factions everyone is a part of, but not the colors you guys are specifically wearing."
"If thass the case, then the Conservators shall lead." The Marine command moved up first, his tanned face boasting a bionic eye, "Chapter Master Arkius Filmorick of the Conservators Chapter. Acting head of the Eodonic Crusade."
"Grand General Bragana of the Laptorian Expedition!" The Guard general wasted absolutely no time in announcing himself after the Space Marine. He puffed up his chest to display the medals and honors he wore. His entire outfit sort of reminded Max of a militarized jumpsuit, a khaki color with a tinge of orange with heavy duty black boots and rubber-looking gloves. Much of his armor appeared to lack the perfect cuts and standardized finishes of normal Guard armor; some parts seemed entirely handmade and looked straight out of a post apocalypse film.
"I'll have to ask what those two events are later." Max raised an eyebrow, always curious for interesting knowledge such as this, "Xenos, what is your story?"
"We are the children of Belethann, on a journey not privy to your lesser mind, mon-keigh. I am Faeris, Autarch of Singing Blades. And this is Ylandin, Farseer of the Thousand Winds. That is all you shall know of us." Faeris haughtily huffed at the giant mon-keigh, her Farseer companion gave her a sideways look you'd find in a parent's gaze after their child said something particularly unpleasant in public.
"Shas'O Dal'yth Zun'ere. Skyspirit in your tongue. I am here with the Ethereal Aun'Phai as part of a colonization fleeting." The Tau commander's terse short bluntness stood starkly in contrast with the flowery prose of the Eldar.
Max sat back into his couch and did his best to hide his fanboying. Part of him was still in disbelief of what was going on, wondering if it was all a dream. Taking a deep breath and hiding his smile by crossing his hands in front of his mouth in a Gendo pose, Max sat up straight and faced the leaders of well trained and highly dangerous armies that could probably wipe out several states and leave a number of smaller suburbs ruined husks. Even with their tiny scale, they were still pretty terrifying.
"Okay so first of all, my name is Max, this is my house. See how its still standing? I'd like to keep it that way and so second, I'd like to suggest an armistice agreement. Nobody fights and blows up my house and nobody gets banished to the great outdoors and left to fend for themselves. I can already tell most of you haven't brought supplies to stay here barring the Tau and their civilians. I know you all probably have grudges, real or imaginary, that go back at least a century, but if you could at least tolerate each other like adults, this whole thing can go over a bit smoother."
"And what if we refuse, mon-keigh?" the Autarch huffed.
"You're more than willing to try your luck outdoors. Between the comparatively giant wild animals, the fact that even rain can present a huge danger to you, the fact you have no idea how to feed yourself on this planet and that you might run into people who are a lot less welcoming than I am and might take great interest in dissecting all of you and your toys." Max was pretty sure he heard at least one tech priest faint and fall over. "Welcome to the modern era."
A harsh silence fell upon the massed armies before mummering swept over everyone, turning into a low hum of confusion and commotion. Guardsmen and Sororitas began talking with one another. The various Space Marines from different chapters discussed something over their helmet comms and the Tech Priests chirped in their Lingua Technica with increasing worry. The Xenos who were all unified under a single banner looked just as confused as to what was happening.
"If you don't mind me asking…" The General looked up after consulting his troops, "What is the current year? And where are we?"
"It's Earth, or Terra as you'd probably know it. Current date is like…. Early M2-ish?" Max tried to recall niche lore on Imperial timekeeping he hadn't read in a long time, "Wait no, it's like early M3 for you guys. Probably some 39,000 years from the time period all of you are familiar with."
Again, a silence blanketed the room, this time with a bit more panic. People were stunned. They knew they were probably a long way from home, but to be thousands of years before their greatest of grandparents were even born? It was incomprehensibly mind boggling. For the Imperials to be upon Holy Terra, before the Emperor was seated upon the Golden Throne or even before he embarked on the Great Crusade, it was overwhelming. Many of the Sisters dropped to their knees in prayer, forming the aquila with their hands, with some Guardsmen following. The Tech Priests began to commune in binary and took great interest in everything around them, eager to gaze upon the wonders of the pre-Dark Age of Technology. Some didn't take it well and were crying out in robotic outbursts, their mechanical minds trying to compute a logical chain of events that didn't exist.
The Tau, entirely separated from this period of history and whose ancestors were likely still fearful of thunder and wild predators, just had a sense of wonder wash over them. They had no concept, no anchor point from which to judge or truly grasp at the scale of time that had shocked the Imperials. Those Tau who weren't wearing helmets and that Max could see just stared at the walls, the floor and out the windows into the green yard and forest beyond.
The Eldar had taken this news with the most grace and composure. While worrisome, none were acting the same as the Tau or the Imperials. Yet many wondered what was of their kin in this very moment. Some even wondered if there was anyway to connect with them or even, avert the fate that doomed their species.
"M… 3… By tha Emperor..." Arkius was the most visibly shaken of all the leaders on the coffee table. His honor guard rushed to his side as the Chapter Master dropped to one knee, stabbing his sword into the table with the weight of the world bearing down on his shoulders.
"H-Hey, is he going to be okay?" Max got up and hovered over the table. Before he could even open his mouth to ask his next question, someone fired off a shot in the background. And within seconds, the house erupted into conflict again as Max cursed and grabbed his fire extinguisher.
A/N: I can't take credit for some of the ideas in this story or chapter, most goes to Rogue Vector and his ToyHammer story and honestly, they're really good. Leave reviews and feedback! Its how I get the hamster wheel in my head to keep writing. Thanks for reading!
A/N 2: I've slightly updated this first chapter, rewriting most of it and adding thing in. If you are rereading this and wondering if something is different, it probably is. Unless this is your first time reading which, hi! Thanks for reading and do leave reviews, the hamsters enjoy them immensely.