Welcome to the seventh installment of Praetorian of Remnant
Hope you enjoy it.
Big thanks to Kyuubi-Titan, Goofball14 and many others for your support
Also, I finally found a map of Beacon academy, thank you to who made this.
adiac/art/RWBY-Map-of-Beacon-Academy-v1-with-Legend-750333225
Last time
Rogal stared into Yang's eyes and spoke, "Yang, I've been living a lie, a bigger lie than anyone has ever told you, bigger than Blake's. I'm not who you really think I am…"
Present
Rogal felt butterflies beginning to form in his stomach as those words came out of his mouth, he was really going to do it. He looked into Yang's eyes and saw confusion and concern, both towards him, he couldn't blame her. What he was about to say was going to rock her entire world.
"Yang, what I'm about to tell you can't reach anyone else's ears, this is something I haven't told anyone before. I'm trusting you and you alone with this, well until the time comes when they come for me." Rogal spoke earnestly, his deep voice making Yang shake, but as he spoke she just grew more concerned.
However, Yang kept quiet, this was clearly something he was struggling with and in a way, she felt happy. She was the first person he has talked to about this, 'Not even Weiss knows about this', she thought but just made her even more worried. What could it possibly be?!
Yang stared into Rogal's eyes, they were full of fear, shame and aura of solemnity were discharged from them. Yang clutched Eran's armoured hands in reassurance once more.
"Yang, I'm not from around here… and when I say this I don't mean I'm from Atlas. I'm not even from this planet, I'm not from Remnant." Rogal stopped there for a few seconds letting that sink in, Yang's eyes widened trying to wrap her head around this, "What do you mean Eran! Of course, you are, you were born here weren't you?" Yang asked in a questioning tone.
"I was, but, not originally, you see, originally I'm from the Imperium of Man-" Rogal responded in a sympathetic tone knowing this was a lot to take in before being cut off.
Yang's eyes widened even more, "Eran what do you mean?! There's no such thing as the Imperium of Man!" She exclaimed, half disbelieving, half believing this was a joke but if there was anything Yang knew for certain was that Eran never lied and this concerned her.
Rogal gave a sympathetic gaze and kept going, "Yang please, I've never lied to you, I was born here yes, was I named Eran Cornelius Schnee, yes. Am I basically a reincarnation of a demi-god, yes. Am I from a place named the Imperium of Man, yes. You see, originally I was one of the twenty sons of the Emperor of Man born in the late 30th Millennium." He paused again, letting it sink in.
Meanwhile, Yang was seriously believing that Eran needed some sort of help. Yang's eyes full of concern, she broke the silence, "Eran listen stop playing games be straight with me is this a joke." Using needle-like eyes, staring into the depths of Eran's white eyes.
Rogal knew he shouldn't have said this, he sighed, physically deflating, "I knew this would happen, I knew you wouldn't believe me and rightfully so. I must sound like a mentally unstable fool, I'm sorry Yang, just forget about it." Rogal said, his tired eyes accentuated and he suddenly looked like he was over a thousand years old as he let go of her hands, before starting to walk once more. Yang was concerned for him, he looked so defeated, so out of it. 'I mean sure, he is freakishly strong even when not using his aura, he is unnaturally tall and uses armour and weapons that no one has ever seen before… oh dust, could it be true?!' Yang thought her eyes widening to a plate's size before rushing after Rogal.
They were both near the entrance, Rogal took long strides wishing to get out of this situation as quickly as possible. However, as he was walking he heard something, something other than Yang's frantic steps getting closer to him. Rogal's eyes widened to extreme proportions, he turned around scanning the landscape quickly to identify what it was.
As Rogal scanned the area he saw nothing out of the ordinary until he looked up, Rogal to his surprise saw machines faithful to the Imperium. Thunderhawks, Imperial Fist Thunderhawks, the colours of the machines still visible even in the darkening night, coming from orbit.
'My sons, you have come at last', Rogal thought, eagerly wanting to know of the Imperium and its current situation.
Rogal stared wide-eyed at them, causing Yang to stop and look towards the sky as Rogal was doing. Her eyes bulged out of her head when she saw three massive things coming towards the school. She had never seen anything like it, they were absolutely massive and looked to be armed to the teeth.
She turned back to see Eran staring at them with familiarity and recognition and then in those moments she realized, he was serious.
The thunderhawks neared the school grounds and seemed to slow down as they got closer and closer to the landing platforms. Yang was still standing stock still, the air blowing and Rogal started to walk towards the land zones.
Meanwhile, unknown to the two Ruby Rose was there, Yang's sister had previously seen that the two weren't there with the main group and had decided to go back telling the rest of the group to keep going.
Ruby had almost called them over when she heard Rogal's serious tone, as soon as she heard him speak she decided to eavesdrop.
Ruby being Ruby decided to use her semblance and hide behind a tree not too far away from the two so she could hear. She was in disbelief to be completely honest, her brain tried to grasp the concept but it just didn't seem real to her. That was until she thought about the same things Yang had previously. His armour and weapons were unique and they had several characteristics that didn't seem to relate to Remnant in any respect.
It only made Ruby think, in slight fear and disbelief, 'Maybe Eran wasn't joking, well even if he was it was a terrible joke.'
Ruby used her semblance once more and was beside Yang in an instant, causing her to jump up in surprise before exclaiming, "Ruby! How long have you been listening to us?!" Ruby blushed and tried to shrink herself away, similar to a child being caught doing something bad and said, "Since the start…" Not adding anything else, she received a slight bump to the head, but it was from Yang so she had to hold her head in slight pain, whimpering slightly, it was cute.
Afterwards, their attention was turned towards Rogal who was walking towards the massive flying machines. The noise coming from the engines making their ears protest, causing them to cover their ears.
Meanwhile, Rogal was walking closer, staring at the flying machines, the beautiful, yellow and red livery stealing his gaze.
The I-XXI pattern thunderhawks all carried the sigil of the black fist, in front of the pilot's viewport He could see into the pilot's compartment and he knew the pilots saw him. The massive machines getting closer and closer at slower and slower speeds the thick wedge-like fronts of the machines ploughing through the winds.
The proud Aquilas, designed onto the wings and sides of the vehicle to show their allegiance to the one and only Emperor of Mankind.
Unknown to the newcomers to Remnant, the engines powering the thunderhawks were significantly noisy, thankfully it didn't wake the city of Vale. However, it was heard all over the campus. Ozpin was awoken from his nap, Glynda interrupted from her time using the bath to rest her weary muscles and flesh. Every other student was interrupted from their work except for team JNPR, Blake, Sun and Weiss. Who were broken out of their calm, peaceful walk towards the dorms when they heard the cries of the engines reverberate in the halls of Beacon.
One thing was for certain, they were all soon enough rushing towards the loud sounds.
Meanwhile, as the thunderhawks came down onto the platforms, Rogal stopped walking. He was already at the intersection between the three avenues that came from the landing pads to the academy.
Rogal stood there wiping the look of surprise off his face and bringing his stalwart gaze and his legendary scowl to play, just like he had done when he first met his legion.
Then from far away, he could see the bottom section of the wedge at the front of a glorious thunderhawk start to open, similar to how they did suspenseful openings in movies. After a couple of seconds, the thunderhawk on the avenue directly in front of him revealed thirty marines all wearing either the Mk VII armour variant or another which added more protection to the neck. Most likely a new one he didn't know about.
The marines were stock still before marching out of the thunderhawk, towards Rogal, showing off their glorious weapons.
Five of them had heavy flamers, another seven had heavy bolters, the rest had bolters, with combat knives acting as sidearms. Rogal even saw a few marines wielding melee weapons.
He could also see that there was an apothecary in the mix, however, he wore armour pertaining to an unknown chapter, probably one that he didn't know of. However, he did know that they had roots in the Imperial Fists due to the white fist on their spaulders. He could also see a captain, a techmarine, a librarian, a champion and six sergeants.
The captain was in Imperial Fist armour, wielding a master-crafted bolter and a chainsword, several honours of the chapter on the marine's armour. The techmarine who was clearly visible with the mechanical arms on his back being a dead giveaway was of the unknown chapter. The librarian was of the Imperial Fists, his robes fluttering in the wind, while his chainsword, bolter and magic were at the ready. A champion of the Black Templars, his armour and massive sword glistening in the starry night. There was even a Black Templar chaplain, his Crozius Arcanum and bolter being displayed proudly. Then there were three Imperial Fist sergeants, two Black Templar sergeants and another one from the unknown chapter.
Rogal then saw the other two thunderhawk's doors open, one containing ten Adeptus Mechanicus and the other another thirty space marines, of which were all staring at him. They soon started their march towards Rogal as the previous group had.
Meanwhile, the two girls were in absolute awe, never had they seen so many beings like this, they all carried majestic weapons and incredible armour. There also seemed to be similarities between the newcomer's armours and Eran's, making Yang and Ruby's eyes widen to unparalleled levels.
'Why did I think it would be a joke, he's probably never joked in his whole life!' Yang thought, reminiscing about her previous mistake, whilst Ruby was still in shock.
Once all of them were around him in a semi-circular manner, the mechanicus taking up the left side and then the rest being space marines. Rogal did not move, he merely stared at them, his scowl seemingly turned permanent. The marines and mechanicus stared back at him as if analysing his very being to identify if he was truly Rogal Dorn. The Primarch could tell, so he said something that instantly made them know that it was him.
Absolutely nothing, just like how he had done when he first met his legion. He stared at them, his unwavering eyes fixed upon all of his sons.
Then the captain kneeled and spoke the words that would forever change Remnant, "Primarch-Progenitor, to your glory and the glory of Him on Earth!" Then the space marines knelt behind him, be them of the Imperial Fists, Black Templars or the unknown chapter they kneeled. The Black Templars roared, "No pity! No remorse! No fear!" Finally, the marines in black armour, and a red circle and white fist on their spaulders thundered, "Stand strong for Dorn is watching!"
The mechanicus simply kneeled to the Primarch, not having a chant of their own.
Now, space marines were loud at times and very loud in others, this was one of the other times. Their voices reverberated through the calm wind and were heard by the people occupying the school. This certainly made people start to get to the entrance faster, especially the rest of RWBY, team JNPR and Sun Wukong since Eran, Yang and Ruby weren't with them.
The forces of the Imperium on the pavement were still kneeling after the cries awaiting the orders of their newly found Primarch. Once the Primarch stayed silent for a few moments before speaking, he said, "My sons, you may rise, you have found me and in due time, I wish to know of the Imperium and its stand against the xenos and traitors, immediately." Rogal's voice emanating from his throat, deep and powerful.
The astartes and mechanicus rose from their kneeling positions, the captain spoke, "My Lord, the Imperium has been at war for more than ten millennia with the foul xenos and traitors. We have recently been more successful as it seems, your return to the galaxy was most likely the cause of it. Also, there are new threats to discuss, tyranids, the T'au and the necrons. The Lord Commander, Roboute Guilliman is doing his greatest to right the wrongs made upon the Imperium. However, the toll is heavy for Cadia has fallen, Abaddon the Despoiler still lives and is in the progress of his thirteenth black monstrosity!"
Hearing his name made the air cool, Rogal's eyes flared up with cold fury, it was the forty-first millennium, he was still alive and his brother was Lord commander. 'Oh Emperor, why?' Rogal thought as he could basically feel his father shrugging, somehow and in some way, the Primarch just knew.
Rogal sighed and turned to the Black Templar chaplain, "Tell me chaplain, how is the Emperor's champion? How are my sons Sigismund and Alexis Pollux?" He asked in his Primarch voice.
The Black Templars grew uncomfortable with the question, the Imperial Fists and the rest of his sons falling silent. Only for another Black Templar, the champion, to dig up the courage to say, "Sigismund was killed, my lord... by the Despoiler and Alexis Pollux was killed by some unknown xenos named the Scythians, my Lord." Rogal, he stayed silent, too many had died, too many of my sons had died, in the siege of Terra, the Iron Cage, Sigismund, Alexis… and so many more.
The marines and mechanicus had their eyes glued to Rogal, slightly wary of their father, Rogal finally spoke, "My sons, the Imperium has waited long enough for salvation, far too long has the Imperium stagnated, I will remedy it. For when it ends, the Despoiler will fall by my blade or my hands and xenos will shed blood in unparalleled numbers, this I swear." Rogal spoke like a king inspiring his troops and it worked, the marines could feel their hearts swell with anticipation and adrenaline.
Unknown to Rogal a tech-priest who specialized in communications used the vox-caster he had implemented into his brain, to send the transmission to the nearest thunderhawk's vox-caster. Which in turn sent the divine words of the Primarch of the VII Legion to the strike cruisers up in orbit. The tech-priest knew that sending a message to orbit was beyond his capacity, something which made his gears sizzle at not being able to deliver the words of the Primarch but at least he played a role in it.
In Orbit
Strike Cruiser 'Titus'
All was silent as the space marines and crew awaited to hear the news, to find out for sure that this was truly their Primarch to know that the journey they took was all for not.
The message they received was not found wanting. When the communications officer received a message from the planet he played it for the entire fleet to hear. Then came the voice of Rogal Dorn, the progenitor of the chapters on the expedition.
Celebrations were in order, but duty came first and they knew that their duty was to the Imperium, the return of Dorn would not be a secret held to a fleet of six ships.
Metrios had a true smile on his face, for the saviour of Terra would return and with it, he would bring the salvation of the Imperium, 'How fitting,' the captain thought. The entire crew seemed to be in high spirits, even the astropaths. Who seemed more than willing to deal with the pain, not even allowing a moan of pain to escape their throats as they sent the message of salvation through the stars.
Remnant
In front of the space marines was their progenitor and internally all of them were abundantly pleased. They were unimaginably thankful to the Emperor for the return of the Praetorian but, they also did see scars that did not look like they came from a battlefield on their Primarch's face. Something that angered them immensely, they already knew about the White Fang and their grievous deeds. The majority of them were restraining themselves to not go out on a rampage to hunt for the abhumans, especially the Templars.
Also as they looked at their surroundings more they raised that there were two native females standing a good ways away. They were both pale, one wearing a black and red dress, the other wearing a set of more revealing clothing.
However, one thing could be certain, they were gawking at them, staring with eyes so wide they didn't know it was possible.
The captain, who spoke to Rogal, "My Lord, who are the two natives behind you?" Rogal thought for a second speaking back in high gothic as well, "Those two are my teammates so to speak, I will have to explain the situation sooner or later so I might as well say it now. I was born on this planet again, I still hold the organs befitting of a Primarch but I only retrieved my memories of the Imperium after I was tortured by a terrorist group known as the White Fang. That is how I got the scars on my face and how I lost my forearm, again." Rogal spoke seriously, following the stereotype the Imperium had created about him.
However, now may not have been the best time to dwell on the matter of his injuries, the space marines had already known of the injury but the hate was still there. Rogal could see the hate coming off of them in waves, but was thankful that they were still as disciplined as he remembered.
"Now, my sons, my name in this world was changed and it is known as-" Rogal was cut off by a voice screaming at him from behind.
"ERAN!" A certain sibling of his screamed out from behind him, along with a multitude of gasps and awws, directed at the space marines most likely. Rogal turned around to see the rest of team RWBY, team JNPR and Sun Wukong at the entrance to the school. All of them readying their weapons. While a few meters in front of them Ruby and Yang stood, gazing at the scene in front of them, unsure of what to do.
They rushed out charging towards Rogal, however, Ruby and Yang got in their way telling them to stop. The space marines seeing this as an affront to their Primarch readied their weapons.
Rogal saw this and immediately shouted, "STOP", however, one Black Templar already had his finger on the trigger and had fired. The loud bolter shot overwhelming any other sound, Rogal instinctually created a glyph in front of the group, in the shape of a shield just in time to stop the bolter shot.
Everything seemed to slow, the Templar who fired the shot grew nervous as smoke came out of the barrel of his gun awaiting his Primarch's judgement. The trees seemed to be still the breeze had gone away and silence ruled, the group Remnantians didn't move a muscle. The circular form of a glyph in front of them had stopped the bolter shot, they knew it wasn't Weiss' so it had to be Eran's, it faded from existence a few seconds later. All whilst they just stared at Rogal's growing scowl, something bad was going to happen.
Then Rogal turned to the space marines, his glare intense as his gene sons returned to their standing positions, even the mechanicus were feeling uncomfortable under the gaze of Dorn.
Rogal stared at the marine with the smoking barrel and told him to step forward, the Templar marched forward as ordered awaiting punishment. He knew that he made a mistake and this was a grave one.
Rogal glared with his laser eyes into the marine, it seemed as if even the God-Emperor's greatest blessings could have saved the poor templar.
"Templar, do you understand what you did?" The grave tone of Dorn spoke, his fists tightening around the pommel of Storms Teeth. The marine spoke, "Yes, Primarch, I fired an un-sanctioned shot at inhabitants of this planet." The marine's voice to his credit did not waver, he had already accepted his punishment.
Rogal spoke, "Which hand pulled the trigger?" He spoke in the same grave tone. "The right-hand Primarch," the marine responded curtly, Rogal nodded. "Hold out your right arm, Templar." The Templar did as ordered and held out his right arm, his torso and right arm making a ninety-degree angle.
The group of remnantians stared at the armoured men, they saw the exchange between Rogal and the other giants. When they saw the one that shot the gun hold out his right arm and Rogal grab a hold of his sword-chainsaw-thing, they grew alarmed.
Rogal felt a sliver of respect for the Templar, he had accepted his punishment like all in VII legion would. Rogal took his chainsword out of its sheath and brought it down on the Templar's hand.
However, an unexpected variable would come into play, it was a girl, who was staring at him with silver eyes, a girl who was between his sword and the Templar's arm. It was Ruby Rose, but it was too late to stop the strike so Rogal, of course, diverted the sword. The sword came millimetres from the girl's head, some of the teeth cutting a few hairs from her head and in microseconds hit the ground, the teeth cutting into the cement.
Rogal was surprised by Ruby's sudden appearance and was looking at her in shock, he turned off the blessed weapon, taking his hand off of it, allowing it to stay stuck in cement.
Ruby knew what she had done was dangerous, but she wouldn't let Rogal do what he was about to do. She stared up into Rogal's eyes, scared yet defiant, Rogal's eyes softened for her, but the marines and mechanicus were other stories.
They were boiling, you could almost hear the oil in the mechanicus' gears sizzling. However, the marines believed that one mishap was enough, they would stay like this until their Primarch ordered otherwise.
The mechanicus, they, they were downright furious, the Magos Dominus Aurelian had already had enough of the inhabitants. This one, she defied the will of one of the sons of the Omnissiah, she had crossed the line.
He walked forward his bionics and mechandrites started to come from his robes menacingly.
"You dare, deny the judgement of the son of the Omnissiah, hmm? You dare deny his will! The Primarch of the VII Legiones Astartes will not be denied by the likes of a heretic!" Aurelian shouted, his voice adjusted to be more menacing, it scared Ruby, the soulless eyes shining like red stars. When Aurelian shouted, his voice made the heretic whimper in fear, it brought him a wicked sense of satisfaction. However, the Magos Dominus also sensed an interesting feeling of remorse, something which caused him to ever so slightly slow his pace.
However, Aurelian stopped in his tracks once he saw the gaze of the gene son of the Omnissiah. The white orbs or Dorn held warning signs for the Magos and so Aurelian retracted his mechandrites and took a few steps back knowing he had overstepped. However, he stood there his optics basically begging to witness the retribution that would befall the heretic, by the Primarch's hand no less.
Meanwhile, coming out of the entrance was the rest of Beacon, Ozpin, Glynda, Port, Oobleck, and the rest of the students all gawking at the sight of humongous airships, giants and… robots?
Ozpin was the first to come out of his stupor as he started walking towards the strange group and with him came the teachers but Glynda ordered the students to stay back. Unaware of who was at the front of the crowd, it was none other than Cinder and her posse. All of them were shocked at the arrival of these beings and the fact that they had armour with similarities to the Schnee heir. The antagonistic trio gazed upon the new arrivals in awe and gut-wrenching trepidation, knowing that if the newly arrived beings fought as well as the Schnee heir did, it would be a losing battle.
'One more headache I have to deal with,' Cinder thought, bitterly, an aura of obvious anger, uncertainty and overall annoyance radiated off her. Cinder knew what she had to do, she just didn't know if she had the strength to do it, she had to force her pride down her throat and ask for assistance from her other associates. Mercury and Emerald, who stood on either side of Cinder, felt some level of sympathy knowing the size of their leader's pride and what she had to do. However, more sympathy was felt for themselves for they were the ones who had to deal with her when she was more irritated, it was an annoyance, to say the least.
Meanwhile, the rest of team RWBY, team JNPR and Sun Wukong finally arrived at the scene of the close dismemberment. Ruby and Rogal were still staring at each other before Rogal kneeled down and wrapped the small girl in a hug. All of them gawking at the armoured giants and looking tentatively at Eran unsure of what to do.
"Never do that again, do you know what could have happened if I was just slightly late at turning the blade?" Rogal spoke, desperation biting into his words, Ruby felt guilt clamp down on her heart for doing that to Eran but she had to. She hugged Eran back, putting her head in the space between his head and shoulder, "I won't, but stop, don't do what you were about to do, to this person." She spoke pleadingly, still shaken up by these events.
Her voice almost broke him, but he at the same time had to put discipline into these marines, he thought for a moment until the fate of the space marine was decided.
The Imperials at this point were incredibly surprised not only had the young girl saved the templar from a more grotesque punishment but the fact that she was one of the people fired upon came as a shock. It was truly rare to see this such virtue and forgiveness still alive in the galaxy they called home. However, something that added to their surprise was the fact that their Primarch was hugging her, it was a sight they were not accustomed to. For anyone who was anyone in the galaxy knew that Rogal Dorn... was never really renowned for being an amiable being.
Rogal and Ruby broke the hug, Ruby walked back to her team and the rest of her friends, whilst Dorn turned towards the templar, who was still in the same position prior to the interruption. "Templar, as reparations you will suffer the pain glove until the chaplain believes it is enough for your failure. Marines and mechanicus you will have to get accustomed to this world, for the first thing we shall do is purify it of xenos and heretics, then and only then am I free to go back to Terra." Rogal spoke his voice was hard and stalwart as the fortifications he was known for and with it, he made his point clear that this world was currently their priority.
Rogal turned towards the rest of his sons, his gaze falling upon his sons. "Space marines and mechanicus, under no circumstances are these people allowed to be harmed, as I have told you I grew up once more in this world and I have made some companions. They are those companions. Am I understood?" Rogal spoke, his voice sounding more and more like an officer, more distant, something that made his friends and partners flinch, specifically Yang, Ruby and Weiss. It was something the Primarch saw out of the corner of his eye and it made him feel guilty like never before.
"Yes Lord Primarch!" The space marines and mechanicus responded as they all saluted the Primarch, Rogal stared at them with a scrutinizing gaze, daring them to protest.
After a few moments of silence being broken by footsteps, footsteps caused by a certain Headmaster. Ozpin had a curious and wary look on his face, worried about what these giants would do. As he walked right past team RWBY, team JNPR and Sun Wukong to finally stop next to Rogal and in front of the Imperial forces.
"I'm sorry, but it seems that you are a guest I was unaware of, I am the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, this academy. I kindly ask for your cooperation because I am unaware of your intents and purposes in Vale. Also, I must ask, who are you and why are you calling my student a... Primarch was it?" Ozpin spoke like a well-seasoned politician, cordial with some hints of curiosity.
The Imperials were once again felt insulted, to call a Primarch of all beings, a student, a pupil, it left them with a sour taste in their mouths and a burning anger in their beings. However, they held themselves back from doing something stupid and gaining even more of their Primarch's ire.
The Chaplain, too incensed to keep still, stepped forward and asked the Primarch in high gothic, "My Lord, may I grant the heretic some knowledge?" The Chaplain spoke as if he had swallowed acid and at the end of it shook his head in disgust.
Rogal thought for a moment before responding, "You will be able to chaplain but not at the moment. Right now I require all except the champion, leader of the mechanicus, chaplain and the templar who will receive punishment to bring the thunderhawks to the northern edges of the red forest north of here. Conceal them as best you can and start the construction of a temporary fortification. If you happen to come across any beings with black colouring, with white exoskeletal-like armour and red luminescent eyes destroy them, they are the xeno we are here to eradicate. Set up communications as quickly as possible, with the help of the Magos we will be able to communicate. Captain, you will be in command and I do not expect myself to be found wanting, Imperials you have your orders now carry them out." Rogal's orders being spoken in high gothic so Ozpin wouldn't get any ideas were registered by the Imperials in an instant and was met with a resounding cry of, "Yes Lord Primarch!" Before all but the four Imperials marched back to the thunderhawks, ready to carry out the Praetorian's orders.
Now to the group of inhabitants of Remnant who were there to witness, they had just witnessed possibly the most important event in their history. They just didn't know it yet.
101.42M
Phalanx
Sol System
Gregor Dessian, Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists was having another meeting with the ten well nine companies now of the Imperial Fists before being interrupted. A tech priest burst into the room wishing, no pleading that they listened to him, Gregor sanctioned it and what they heard was glorious to their ears.
First, it was a message from Metrios saying, "We have found our Primarch, Rogal Dorn on a planet in the Veiled Region, we have made contact and we can happily say that this gamble was well worth it." Each Captain rose during the message, happy this gamble was well worth the wait, then came something that surpassed their expectations. Their father's voice.
"My sons, the Imperium has waited long enough for salvation, far too long has the Imperium stagnated, I will remedy it. For when it ends, the Despoiler will fall by my blade or my hands and xenos will shed blood in unparalleled numbers, this I swear." Rogal's booming voice was brought back into the halls of the Phalanx for the first time in millennia and throughout the Phalanx relief filled their hearts, their Primarch was back.
Now, to the rest of the galaxy, other Imperials, xenos and traitors, it seemed like a very specific portion of space marines were fighting with greater spirit… again. To the xenos it was incredibly frustrating and by that meaning, they were dying quicker than ever before, to the Loyalists it meant new hope.
Now what Gregor had to decide was how to inform the Imperium, they couldn't just keep this information secret, besides knowing Roboute, he would figure it out. He wasn't a Primarch for nothing right? Then an idea came to him, he would tell Roboute and the whole Imperium, the Imperial Fist way. Gregor ordered for silence before looking at his brothers and saying, "Brothers, we can't keep this to ourselves it would be too selfish so I believe we should give the Imperium a glorious, Imperial Fist fashioned announcement. What do you all say?" Gregor spoke in a voice uncommon to the Imperial Fists, it sounded as if he were preparing a surprise.
His brothers started to look at him and smiles started to form on their faces, it would be an announcement met with jubilance. That was something they could be sure of.
Terra
Imperial Palace
Office of the Lord Commander
Roboute Guilliman felt something shift as if the balance of power throughout the galaxy was shifted, he begged that Angron hadn't been summoned again. Roboute was in his power armour sitting on a throne behind a large desk, the furniture fit for a Primarch. Mounds of forms and papers needing to be attended to, it was a tiring job but the Imperium and his pride pushed him on.
The room was luxurious, the walls made of the best wood, in front of the table where he was seated were two leather couches facing each other with a rectangular wooden coffee table in between, the group of furniture standing on top of a blue carpet. He had a painting behind him depicting him in his glorious armour and laurel wreath around his head.
Then he heard an astropath enter his luxuriously decorated office, Roboute looked towards him with a questioning look, the astropath then spoke, "My lord, I am the bearer of grand news, grand news indeed." In a voice that held some semblance of joy and relief, it made Roboute furrow his brow.
'What could be this amazing?' The Primarch thought, he gestured for the astropath to continue.
"My Lord, we received a message from the Phalanx, it seems that one of your brothers has returned to the Imperial fold, he has been found once more sire. My Lord, the Praetorian has been found." The astropath spoke in a joyous tone, almost unbelieving but knowing the Imperial Fists they didn't joke. To be honest the astropath was considering reporting the message to the Inquisition, until he himself heard the voice of Dorn.
Now, Roboute was someone who considered himself an open-minded Primarch, but at the moment he was gawking at the man in front of him. 'A Primarch has returned, confirmed by the Imperial Fists of the Phalanx no less, Emperor, I thank you, but... why Dorn?!' Roboute mentally growled in frustration, he knew Rogal and they never really got along after the Codex Astartes.
Guilliman let out a sigh, he was content that he could use it to his advantage, propaganda and such. 'Whilst Imperium has been given a boon, I may have been given another thorn in my side,' Roboute thought darkly, knowing he would have to cooperate with Rogal.
Roboute sighed and brought a smile to his slips as he stood up and looked at the astropath. "Astropath, I want this message of the return of a Primarch to be spread throughout the entire Imperium. I want my brother's return to be known throughout the galaxy, we could always use more volunteers in the Astra Militarum. Also, get me a connection to the Phalanx. I wish to speak with Gregor Dessian about the return of my brother."
The Astropath bowed and exited the room, leaving Roboute to himself, he chuckled a bit, and spoke, "You always come in the Imperium's darkest hour, do you not brother? This time, however, you might be insufficient." The Primarch's eyes and voice grew darker with every syllable, casting a sad look on his surroundings.
In front of him was a file about Perturabo and his aggressive advance into the southern portion of the galaxy. He wasn't even attacking most of the planets, just blasting a path straight through, luckily the servants of chaos that tried to use Perturabo's aggressiveness as a tool to conquer more of the Imperium were beaten back. In other news, it seemed that only a battle barge and five strike cruisers were able to make it through to the Veiled Region, thankfully.
'What does Perturabo want there?' Roboute thought, trying to put the pieces together until it clicked. 'Rogal!' Roboute realized
Roboute in a surge of adrenaline had to resolve the situation, who could possibly get there in time? 'Damn it!' The Lord commander screamed in his mind until an idea popped into his head, there was one Admiral who could do it, possibly the best admiral available, Lord Admiral Spire.
The man had come back to the Materium after a horrendous time in the Immaterium and returned in time to fight against Abbadon in the Segmentum Obscurus and was winning to everyone's surprise. He was holding the line, unwavering and unyielding, he had taken hold of Belis Corona and Agripinaa making sure it was under their control and handling the contagions of the Plague God as best he could.
However, could the line hold with Spire gone? Roboute didn't know, he would have to send someone to lead the defence in his stead, he thought for a minute or two until an idea popped into his head. He would send Lord Admiral Marz, he was an excellent naval commander and could hold any line if need be, very much defence orientated. However, he could still bite into the enemy when need be. As Roboute thought about the Admiral he recollected the man's motto, 'the best defence is the best offence'.
The Ultramarines Primarch thought humorously about the quote even granting himself a chuckle. 'Sounds like something Rogal would say,' Roboute thought, seeing the similarities of doctrine between the two.
Roboute soon got back to paperwork, organizing the changes in command and all that, he would ensure the Imperium's victory.
Until he took a look at the outside world from a window, there were noticeable differences between Terra a few years ago and now. The air wasn't so bleak, the people were actually happy, he could see it in their faces and children started to play in the streets once more, it was a beautiful sight.
"Rogal, I know we haven't seen eye to eye and we may be all the Imperium has... but, it'll have to do," Roboute spoke to himself as he returned to his work awaiting the call of the astropath. He started to hear the cheering of the people of Terra, the cries of joy and jubilance, "It'll have to do indeed."
Thank you for your patience, I really do appreciate it. I'm going to have exams in the coming week so I won't have a lot of time to write but afterwards I'll have all the time in the world to focus more on this story and other ideas I have.
Again I can't thank you enough for you, my reader's support of this story.
Also, stay safe, Nurgle will not and should not defeat us in these trying times.