Episode 1: Factory-Fresh Assault

Chapter 1: Portal Preparations

"Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood."

"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men."

-George S. Patton.

In other words: "Without struggle, there is no progress. Without conflict, we cannot evolve. Our hardships, big or small, are what make us human."

Well, there's one more thing you need to know about me before we get to the good stuff: I have no intentions at all to be a professional writer one day, so my writing skills might not be as good as you'd expect. I'm trying my best though.

Furthermore, I have plans to keep writing Starhammer 50K for years to come, at least until 2025. It could end up being ridiculously long and drawn-out, like The Wheel Of Time book series.

Maybe I should make the universe and the story smaller and not nearly as gigantic, but I'm still deciding on that.

Episode 1 intro:

The Republic's military forces are launching an attack on the planet of Geonosis, a major battle droid production site, just like in the Star Wars prequel trilogy… but there's plenty of twists and changes.

First off, the Grand Army of the Republic will be deploying a very wide variety of unusual troops: Clones, Spartans, Mandalorians, UNSC Marines, Adeptus Astartes, Guardsmen, and more, will all be fighting side by side, on the same team.

(Yes, that means this version of the Galactic Republic essentially merges the elements from the Republic in Star Wars, the Imperium in Warhammer, and the UNSC in Halo to create an Uber-Tier interstellar democracy.)

Secondly, the Geonosians have surrounded their droid factories with hundreds of miles of fortifications crammed with battle droids and droid vehicles of all shapes and sizes. And there are orbital defense platforms around the planet ready to strike at any enemy ships that foolishly come near.

However, the Geonosians didn't account for another, more esoteric method that the Republic would use to attack them...

And NO, I haven't watched the new Buzz Lightyear movie. I don't wanna see it, either, but I DO have the perfect crossover character concept for Toy Story's Space Ranger.

STORY STARTS HERE

Legion Praetor Captain Buzz Lightyear of the Ultramarines stood on top of a gigantic Baneblade super-heavy tank, in the middle of a major Republic army base, overseeing the preparations for the mission that his troops would soon carry out. Beta Cordatus, the planet which the base was situated on, was entirely dedicated to the production of military equipment and hardware.

Understandably, Captain Lightyear had diverted all those resources to his campaign, which would make use of a groundbreaking new prototype sorcery that allowed for transporting armies across the stellar realms in mere hours- the Stargates.

These new enchanted portals, conjured by specially trained psykers, mages and wizards with the random risk of causing themselves serious injuries, acted as bridges between distant worlds, making a "wrinkle" in time and space that tremendously shortened the distance it took to go somewhere in the Milky Way and its neighboring galaxies.

This meant that a Stargate was even more effective than the best of hyperdrives. Not even the fabled Millennium Falcon, the pirate ship flown by Republic Admiral Han Solo, and one of the fastest starships in the Milky Way, could match the least efficient Stargates in terms of travel distance shortened.

Footnote: The magic users in SH50K derive their power from the Force (like the Jedi,) and use four mediums to channel it: Body, mind, soul and emotion.

Now that the prototype Stargates were finally complete, Buzz Lightyear was going to rally his troops. He needed to know the capabilities of every force he planned on bringing to Geonosis if he was going to make an effective strategy. Besides, Venator-class star destroyers were already trying to hammer the hive world from orbit, while simultaneously battling with the orbital defense platforms.

Wouldn't someone like this version of Buzz Lightyear be familiar with the entire Republic military though? Well, turns out he spends 99 percent of his time working with other Space Marines, and that 1 percent of free time playing Pai Sho (that tile game from Avatar The Last Airbender.)

"Alrighty then! Before we make a plan and head through the Gate to Geonosis, I want whatever Chapters, Ordos and Battalions present to identify themselves. Who are you, and what's your purpose on the battlefield?"

Footnote: I made quite a few custom characters for the individual franchises that are going to be part of Starhammer 50k. Playing DnD gave me the idea.

Clone Captain Rags: Clone troopers of the 451st Grand Battalion! I'm an OC version of Captain Rex!

Space Marine Warsmith Gaius: Heavy Weapons Teams of the Legio Astartes, present! We've got plenty of firepower to spare!

2nd Lieutenant Ruby Rose: Remnant Spartan Strike Forces, locked and loaded! We're here to curb stomp Covenant and exorcise Grimm!

Commissar Lycan Pictus: Astra Militarum Regiment, Rosnian Spears, rolling out! Nothing escapes our precision fire!

Field Commander Din Djarin: Mandalorian Assault Squads, striking from the skies! We're so tough, weapons are part of our religion!

Sergeant Avery Johnson: Colonial Marines, ready to crush some clankers! And it's time to chew bubble gum and shoot big guns!

Colonel Ragnar Jotun: Forgotten Realms Frost Giant Comrades, armed and ready! SHOOT, SMASH, CHOMP, STOMP!

Grandmaster Kaldor Draigo: Ordo Draigo present! WE WILL PROVIDE THE HAMS!

Once the order of battle was made, Captain Lightyear had to come up with a strategy to breach the nigh-impenetrable defenses of the Geonosian hive cities and droid factories, and deliver it to the troops in a speech. An uneasy silence loomed over the immense crowd of soldiers surrounding Lightyear's Baneblade, who were anticipating something truly patriotic, something that made a whole galaxy's freedom worth dying for.

However, Buzz Lightyear made his speech as direct as possible, instead of resorting to something grand and eloquent, like the real-life Dream of a certain Civil Rights activist.

"Listen up, comrades. The security of this entire universe is in jeopardy, and we are the first and often the last line of defense that stands between survival and extinction."

"Which is why I believe in only three tenets of battle, principles we are going to use to smash the cities of Geonosis to bits: Firepower, more firepower, and even more firepower. That's literally all we need. Because our Navy's Star Destroyers can't get close to the planet to deliver landing forces or perform an orbital bombardment, we will use our Stargates to attack the Confederates from an unexpected angle.

"Just shoot at every clanker and blow up every obstacle in sight. That's an order, by the way! We have to cause just enough damage to completely halt the droid assembly lines."

After that, the millions of soldiers made an uproarious cheer and raised their weapons over their heads, eager to lay waste to the hive cities of Geonosis. It was a whole army of gung-ho maniacs and boisterous bruisers who all had a bizarre obsession with warfare. Compare it to how George Patton viewed things, but on an intergalactic scale.

The Stargates finally opened, bathing the enormous military base in otherworldly, ethereal light, and Captain Lightyear's amphibious battleship on tracks, the Baneblade, was first through the breach.

Once everyone was through, including whole companies of mobile artillery, battle tanks, combat walkers, and other death machines, the legions of warriors ended up on a vast, polluted wasteland with a megacity wider than the prehistoric nation of Greenland looming over the horizon, whose heights reached into the upper atmosphere of Geonosis.

It was all dedicated to making droids, and since the mission was all about causing loads of damage, that would mean permanently disabling the factory.

But could Buzz Lightyear's army pull it off? Time will tell...