Chapter 10: The Gathering Darkness

Back in the 40k galaxy, things were happening very fast. The Chaos Gods had sensed the Emperor's resurrection. They knew they had to do something or the Emperor would enact his final plan and rid the Warp of them forever. He was currently off in another galaxy, so they had time to plan. They knew Horus would be the ideal choice to fight the reborn Emperor, but he had been utterly destroyed during the culmination of the Horus Heresy. There was however, another who could fill the position. They had managed to save the power they had given Horus. All it needed was a vessel, and they had the perfect choice.

A chaos battle barge marked with the icon of Chaos Undivided approached the most sacred place in the eye of terror, the point where raw chaos poured through into the material universe. A massive plain of stone formed just beyond the vortex. The battle barge stopped and launched a shuttle. It landed and nine figures strode forth. Eight were Chosen Terminators. The ninth was the one that drew attention. Clad in ancient Terminator armor and wielding two of the most powerful Chaos weapons: the Talon of Horus and the Daemon Sword Drauch'nyun. Abbadon the Despoiler strode to the center of the meeting place. Four mammoth thrones materialized, and on each one sat one of the four God of Chaos.

Khorn, god of war and violence, his throne atop a mountain of skulls. His massive body was blood red, his bestial face half concealed by a helmet. In his hands was a massive war axe. He looked with rage upon the other gods. He had been against this meeting, believing that all that needed to be done was to attack without mercy until the Imperium was gone.

Nurgle, god of disease, rot and decay. His throne was merely a pile of dung and excretment. Only potent spells prevented the others at the meeting from dying of the stench alone. He sat silently, Nurglings spilling from his rancid guts. He was intrigued by the fact that the Chaos Gods had met under a flag of truce. It was an extremely rare thing.

Slaanesh: God of pleasure and debauchery. A veil of magic kept his enchantments of overwhelming the mortals present at the meeting. He looked out with excitement and curiosity, holding his scepter in his hands. Being the youngest of the four Chaos Gods, he was still regarded as the infant in the group.

And finally Tzeench: Lord of the strands of fate and god of all magic. None could gaze upon his form for it was never the same. It was constantly flickering with screaming faces and the halo of magic over his head was the only thing constant. He was the one who had suggested the alliance, for he knew that unless Chaos stood together it would fall. The strands of fate were always in motion, and he controlled that motion. Alone, even his formidable powers could not stand against what the Emperor could unleash. It was Tzeench who spoke first.

"Gods of the four faces of Chaos, Abbadon the Despoiler, I have called you all here do discuss-"

"There is no time for discussion. We must act now to destroy the False Emperor!" Khorn bellowed, his rage shaking the plain.

"Silence Khorn! This matter is much more complicated than your primitive mind can comprehend. Now you will let me speak," Tzeench ordered. Khorn looked around and saw Nurgle and Slaanesh nodding in agreement. With a growl of repressed anger, he reluctantly yielded to his greatest enemy.

"I will continue," Tzeench said. "As I was saying, I have called you all here to discuss the matter of the False Emperor's return. With his return to mortal life so comes the return of the greatest threat Chaos has faced. For the Emperor is even now working on massive machines known as Psychic Engines. Once they are completed, he will use them to tap into the energies of all pure humans in the galaxy. Once he has gathered his full augmented power he will unleash it all into the warp at once. The resulting shock wave will dissolve everything, including us. It nearly happened ten thousand years ago, but the Great Horus stopped it by forcing the False Emperor to ascend to his Golden Throne. Now that he has returned he will attempt it again. That is why you have been summoned here Abbadon the Despoiler. You must finish what your master began. You must kill the False Emperor and rid the Warp of his light forever!"

"My forces stand ready," he replied, on his knees. Abbadon bowed to no one, except the four beings who could snuff out his life with a breath. "I will tear out the False Emperor's throat with this!" He said, holding up the Talon of Horus. It had waited ten thousand years to taste the False Emperor's blood again.

"You cannot do it as you and your forces are," Tzeench said. He waved his hand and a portal appeared. Within it was an image of Terra and Mars. Hundreds of thousands of ships were orbiting the two planets. Abbadon was speechless for a moment.

"How s this possible?" He asked. This time it was Slaanesh who spoke, his voice softer than silk yet at the same time carrying a force greater than any mortal could ever imagine.

"A single ship is responsible," he said, holding a hand up to quiet the uproar. The portal changed to show Voyager coming through the wormhole. It was like a slide show. Abbadon saw Voyager taken to Maccrage, the crew captured, the ship taken to Terra, its secrets dissected. He saw the first ship leave the replicator lines, and finally the Emperor's flagship enter the wormhole, fallowed by the rest of a massive armada. "That ship gave the Imperium the technology to create ships as fast as we spawn Daemons. Fortunately most of the ships you see here are not yet fully crewed. If we strike now we have chance to defeat this fleet and destroy Terra and the cursed Astronomican. Without the Astronomican the Imperium will fall apart and be ours for the taking." After that Slaanesh fell into a trance as he imagined the possibilities.

"You must lead our army in a massive Black Crusade," Nurgle belched, his mouth barely able to form the words with all the bile and mucus coming out of it. "You will lead the army of Chaos United and destroy the False Emperor and his empire once and for all!"

The gods each shot a beam into the center of the plain. An amulet formed. A black chain suspended a jewel swirling with ever changing colors and bearing a mark of Chaos never seen before. It was all four marks of Chaos blurred together into a shape what mortal eyes burst upon seeing. It fell around Abbadon's neck and he felt a power beyond measure flood into his. His entire body writhed with agony. When the pain abated he stood again. But now he was taller, and his entire body blazed with the energy of Chaos. When he opened his eyes, they were those of hid master. The Amulet of Chaos United had given him all the energy his masters had taken back from Horus upon his death.

"I will not fail you," he said in a deep and commanding voice. He boarded his shuttle again and departed. His ship heading for its, and Abbadon's, destiny.

Meanwhile, in the other galaxy, Q pondered what to do. This Imperium of Mankind was intriguing to him. "Hm, I think I'll let Jean-Luke handle this. This will make a perfect test for humanity. We will see which humanity is better."

What do you think? I tried to do my best with the Chaos Gods. What will Q tell Picard, and will be able to pass Q's ultimate test of which humanity is greater? Find out that and more in the next chapter. And as always, leave reviews and tell me what you want to happen. See ya then.

ENTILZA