Chapter 18, Family Reunion
Tanya Russ
I looked across the table at wherequote-unquote "The Emperor" was sitting. He looked a bit perturbed at me saying no off the top but I didn't exactly care. The moment he told me he wanted my help to reunite humanity I realized that I held all the cards. If he had some ability to force me to go along with his little crusade, which again terrible choice in words but understandable as social crusades had been a thing for a long time, he would have used it. Which meant he could only get me to do what he wanted if I was willing to agree.
Now I was comfortable on Fenris, I had come to enjoy this planet and had my retirement in sight. So leaving Fenris to go crusading about the Galaxy, bringing worlds into this empire that the Emperor wanted to institute, was not exactly something I wanted to do.
However he had access to space technology, in fact hee had access to a lot of technology and I was not going to pretend that Fenris couldn't be improved. A bit of medical knowledge could increase the chances of children surviving, facilities would produce food in the cold of winter so no one starved, central heating and who knows what other items could be brought in. Hell, maybe there would be video games with enough time.
So the option of working with him to improve the conditions on Fenris was tempting, this is why I was willing to entertain the concept and negotiate. Well, I guess I should begin by finding out about my new potential employer. Raising my cup, I asked, "So, the Emperor? Do you have a real name or were you born with that?"
The Emperor chuckled before saying matter of factly, "A long time ago I had a name, yes but as time goes on and aging stops, you can't exactly continue to use it, so you have to change your name. You keep changing it again and again, until you finally realize that names are things better kept hidden from your enemies. So I decided to use solely 'The Emperor' when I went about fixing the problems of the Old Night."
"Old Night?" I questioned, before following that up with, "From the way you're saying that I would almost think you've been around for quite a long time."
"38,000 years, give or take a millennium. As for the Old Night, it's the name I use to mark a period of time from about 5,000 years ago to now. The Human Federation that once bound our kind together collapsed due to various issues. Humanity had reached its technological peak and was heavily reliant on the use of AI, often referred to in the texts that survive the period as the Men of Iron. Well, the Men of Iron rebelled and devastated a lot of infrastructure throughout the galaxy. Humanity won but we ended up broken and separated and then… Well, the Warp became unquieted.
"What do you mean 'the warp became unquieted'?" I questioned, frankly interested by how and why an alternate dimension would affect the realities of humanity.
"An alien species did something they shouldn't have, as a result the Warp changed and this change affected humanity in various ways. Before this event humanity's mages were fairly controlled and fairly rare. In fact I would say that mage numbers were getting lower and were on the way out as technology was, for the most part, surpassing what theycould do. The training of mages thus became less necessary or even profitable.
I nodded along, listening to him. His tale made sense in some aspects. If you could build an attack helicopter with the abilities of a mage, why would you need the mage? The attack helicopter was going to mount a lot more equipment.
"When the event happened though sections of the galaxy were cut off by Warp Storms, living hells as it were, places where the Warp leaked through into reality. The direct exposure to this realm caused mage populations to skyrocket, though they were slightly different. New abilities had become apparent, things that mages could not do in your time. They could now use mind control, that one was prevalent, as well as summon creatures from the Warp to cause mayhem and harm to humanity."
"Some of these creatures actually took over those who were now coined 'psykers', possessing them and using them to unleash even more chaos and pain on humanity. They often ended up using weapons of mass destruction on other human colonies, simply to get a kick out of it."
I had to digest that for a moment, putting my cup on the table. I tapped with my right hand on the edge of the wood.
"Are you saying demons, or at least something close to demons, exist in reality?"
"To use ancient terms yes. Though any connection between them and humanity's religions is rooted in humanity's observation of these creatures or simple coincidence due to their infinitely varied forms."
I let this knowledge settle , trying to comprehend what I was hearing as well as make it fit with the way I previously understood things.
Being X had put me in this world so the question at the top of my mind was: was Being X a Warp entity or was he something different? It was hard to tell but assuming that this 'Terra' was vastly separated from my Earth… He could either be something different or it was a Warp entity from my universe, vacationing in this one for his experimentations on the matter of faith…
Leaning forward in my seat I asked a simple question "Do these entities of the Warp rely on faith in some way to power themselves?"
The Emperor raised an eyebrow before nodding. "Why, yes, they do. This is one of the reasons I have actually forbidden any large-scale religions in the Imperium. Small scale personal worship I have no problem with but structured systems of religion tend to be infiltrated by Warp entities playing the part of whatever God the original religion was meant to worship.
I smashed my fist down on the table with a predatory smile gracing my lips. "I knew Being X wasn't God!"
"Who?" The Emperor asked, reaching for a goblet forgotten by some Noble who had left the room after his reveal.
"Some entity came to me at the end of my first life and we had a conversation on the matters of faith. He was annoyed that I did not believe he was God. That's how I ended up in my second life, the one I don't remember quite as well.
The Emperor nodded and drank the goblet down. "A Warp entity exists at all times, at all places. Some theories even state that they can cross between different universes and realities. This is how some of the more major Warp entities are able to say that they've always existed, even though as far as I can tell they only come into existence at certain points in our history. They've always existed but in a reality, not necessarily ours. Their power grows depending on the realities but I don't think they're all the same being in all realities gaining power from other realities, just that their personalities and the things they represent are interconnected."
"It would explain the timeline discrepancy you presented, with being from Japan and what sounded rather modern and yet saying your second life was in the ancient 'Great War to end all wars'." He chuckled at that.
"Let me guess. Twenty years later something terrible happened that resulted in a second Great War." I proposed
He shook his head, "No, it's just that there have been so many wars after it that were much greater. I find it hilarious that we even tried to name some conflict that impacted only Terra a 'Great War." He shrugged before continuing, "So this Being X ripped you from your reality and exposed you to the Warp. It might explain why you were able to keep your original identity intact for so long in the Warp after your second life… He would have needed to put some sort of protections on you so you didn't go absolutely mad even before he dropped you off on Terra. It's most likely why you're having issues remembering the middle life, the protections were meant for your first life. The middle life probably would have been destroyed completely if those protections weren't there. No doubt you used the experience from your first life quite heavily in your second life, which created connections and maintained that second life. But since those connections are through your first life…" He stopped and looked at me before obviously switching from a complex answer to another simpler answer. "You remember your first life because those experiences had protections, your second life will come in time because you remember your first life."
I nodded my head in some agreement, hoping that the illusion of understanding would be enough. I had been a Human Resource manager, I liked economics and history. The metaphysical underpinning of the reality we lived in? That was a bit above my pay grade or interest so I was just going to leave that little mystery to him for now.
"I would assume that this Being X, as you put it, has probably returned to whatever reality he found you in long ago. However I would not discount the possibility that a version of him exists in this universe, the Warp is strange. Some would say untamable."
"Some?" I asked
"I have theories that I'm working on, ones that could improve the situation of humanity and make the Warp less of an issue for us." He stopped and looked at me, then looked up at the ceiling before signing. "Right, never been in space before. Humanity's main mode of interstellar transportation is an engine that allows us to travel through the Warp. In order to survive such transitions we require tools that prevent the Warp from getting into the ships. And, yes, sometimes those fail. Sometimes we schedule a ship to arrive a month after leaving a planet and it arrives 10 years later, having only traveled a month."
"The Warp is a fast way to travel the Galaxy, but it has grown unreliable with the Old Night."
I nodded my head along, not getting the science but understanding the meaning. They were traveling through a dimension of horrors. I had to wonder if perhaps said traveling through the horror dimension was the reason that the Warp had increased in power to the point that they'd had some sort of Warp Storm incident. Asking about things like that could wait till the contract was figured out.
"So, dad, as it were… why did you create one human super-soldier only to toss them through the Warp?"
His looks darkened before he said "I did not create something to be thrown and exposed to the Warp so easily. An accident happened while I was away and a Warp tear was ripped into reality right inside the lab where you were growing. I am suspicious that there may have been entities involved in some way, but I have no proof that it wasn't my own staff betraying me. You see I had to forcibly reunite Terra through conquest after the fall of humanity, some groups weren't exactly happy about that. Especially due to the use of my first group of super-soldiers, the Thunder Warriors. A story for another time. It's not impossible that someone I thought I could trust was either a liar and simply wished to detract my plans out of simple vengeance. Or something influenced by the Warp may have moved against me. As I said, a lot of people became controlled by the Warp's powers. Anyone moving against them is a threat as I will not allow humanity to be used as pawns in whatever game they are playing."
I nodded my head as a knock came heavily on the door of the main hall.
"Come in," I said. In response one of my shield maidens stepped into the room. "My king? A giant is here to see you, he says he has to come at the request of the Emperor."
"A Giant?" I queried, turning to look at the emperor,
"That would be your brother, Horus."
"Brother? Okay, my older brother or younger brother? Was he created before the accident or after it?"
"You were both created at the same time. He was scattered as well, he found his way back to me faster though."
I nodded my head before turning to the shield maiden, "let him in but keep everyone outside. These conversations must stay private. If anyone tries to listen in you may punish them as you see fit."
"Yes, my king!" the shield maiden said, giving a salute before stepping out.
A moment later a giant stepped in. The top of the doorway into the grand hall was a good 10 ft from the floor and the man who stepped through had to lean down to get in, putting him somewhere around 11 ft. He looked around the room before spotting the Emperor and smiling as the door closed behind him.
The giant was wearing similar armor to the emperor, though not as golden. His armor was painted in whites and blacks, I also noted that there was a wolf on his shoulder pauldron. I had to wonder if he'd had similar run-in with local animals on his world. Besides that I noticed he was of European descent in look and was bald, though going by the stubble it was mostly because he shaved his head.
"Father, I have gotten together the legal experts you requested. They're just outside," The Giant looked around, a bit confused, before asking, "So was my brother not here?"
"Brother?" I said, raising an eyebrow as I turned to look at the emperor.
The Emperor sighed and looked a bit perturbed, then he confessed "I created 20 sons to help build an empire for humanity, at the time I thought…" He seemed to think for a moment before saying "It doesn't matter what I thought. Horus, my son," he continued, turning to the Giant. "This is Tanya Russ, your sister."
The look of absolute complete confusion that went across Horus's face was rather humorous and I had to maintain good control not to laugh.
"Sister?" he said slowly, as if trying to puzzle out the word as he looked at me.
"So I was supposed to be a son. Why am I a woman then?" It was the most obvious question in the world so I had to ask it.
"Well there is an easy and complex answer to that," the Emperor said, taking a moment to get up and stretch his joints. "The easy answer is," He took a step to the side and as I watched his form shifted to that of a woman, a rather beautiful woman at that. "Though we are derived from human stock, we are an aberration. An attempt to jump forward human evolution by a large number of what you would call mages ritually sacrificing themselves to create me. As a result I have abilities that humanity does not have yet. All of my sons, even you as my daughter, have a portion of me inside of you. Not only in your DNA but in the very makeup of your soul, meaning that sooner or later you'll all develop some of the powers that I have acquired over my long life."
She stepped forward again and was back to the Emperor form. "I predicted it would probably be 10,000 years before any of my sons would develop those pPowers, though by that time the Imperium should be fully stabilized. You will all be able to use those powers to remove the adaptations I had to create for the Great Crusade, if you feel like it."
I started to raise a hand but he continued, "You said you died in your first life in Japan. May I assume you were male in that life and ask how long did you live?
"Yes, before I got pushed in front of the train. And I was in my early thirties."
"And we have our answer to why you are female then. You must have lived past that lifespan in your second life, long enough at least that by the time you died in that life you thought of yourself more as a woman than a man. Things like that can affect the shape of a soul and things that affect the shape of the soul can affect the body of a Primarch."
"Primarch?" I asked, trying to get as much information as possible.
"Yes, my sons." He looked at me and then corrected himself. "I'm going to have to start saying 'children'. My children are primarchs, born with potential well above humanity. Their dna can be used to creates a substance that will allow you to raise normal humans above their frailties in order to create an army capable of taking back the galaxy."
I wanted to ask about this whole army situation but Horus spoke, up interrupting any chance for me to ask a question. "Hold on, hold on. So my brother is not only a sister but has past life memories? Are we sure this is one of your sons, father?"
"Son, I have a psychic connection to all my children. Even if my eyes show me that this is not what I was expecting to find I can sense that this is one of my children. Different, as they have more life experience than I was prepared for, but one of mine." The Emperor turned to me and asked a simple question, "Did you conquer or take over this entire planet?"
I shrugged. "I wouldn't say I conquered it, I simply showed that my way of doing things was better and used the military to show what happened to those who attacked me or my allies. Everyone sort of fell in line. There's only one major hold out at this moment and they're already well on their way to joining the trade network that I have set up on this world."
The Emperor nodded his head. "See? Even if she has a kinder hand, a bit of me is in her, a compulsion to unify humanity. The only other thing I would need to be sure that she is one of mine is to see the gestation pod she came to this planet in. That would not only confirm it but would tell me which Primarch she is, and what her legion is."
"Legion?" I said but then shook my head and said "Third weapon up, fourth one from the right." I pointed in the general direction of said weapon.
Confused the Emperor looked where I was pointing and walked over, picking up an old ax. He looked it over and then chuckled as he realized what he was looking at. Turning, he said, "You used parts of your gestation pod for weapons, creative."
"This planet is cold, even when it's not winter. You're either creative or you die." I asserted matter of factly. The Emperor nodded and stepped back over to Horus, looking the ax over.
"A lot of the paint seems to have faded but there's a nice little number here that I remember. Panel 17, that was part of pod 6, I believe."
"The sixth legion," Horus said sounding intrigued. He looked at me and said dubiously, "I don't see it."
"What did you expect to see?" I asked, confused.
"Well, this will require an explanation of the army I mentioned earlier," The emperor interjected, taking a seat across from me. "Each of my so- children, has the capability to produce what I call Geneseed, a solution that can turn humans into what I call the Astartes or Space Marines. Warriors that can go against the xenos, mutants, and monsters of the Old Night."
"I was harvesting this solution even as you were in your gestation pods, so that by the time you came into the world you would already have a force of soldiers under your command to be the foundation of your legions. I had some ideas about what kind of person you would be, so I was already putting together your legions from people I thought would work well. The sixth legion was mainly created from the most barbaric groups on Terra, extremely violent and uncontrolled savages. I believed that a Primarch's strong hand could keep them in check and let them use that savagery well for humanity."
"You created a legion of battle maniacs…" The moment those words left my lips I had a massive headache and I couldn't help but leaned forward a bit. "Sounds like my luck," I said. "So why don't you see them in me, my brother?" I asked with a new smile, still trying to not let the headache overtake my head.
"Considering how they turned out I was expecting…" He looked around the room. "More of an authoritarian."
I raised an eyebrow at that before looking at the emperor, "I'm guessing there's more to the story."
"I'm afraid so. The sixth legion had a lot of issues with their geneseed. Since I didn't have a lot of your geneseed around I couldn't run enough purification experimentations to solve them. I had to take careful efforts to get the geneseed in working order and the recruitment finally began only once that was done. The legion really only started to get up in numbers about 10 years ago and for the first five I wasn't even allowing them to participate in the Great Crusade."
"Frankly the issues are still quite present and we will need to work out the problems. But with your fresh supply of Geneseed that should be no issue, I've even set aside the resources to produce a gene lab on the sixth's legion new homeworld specifically for figuring this issue out."
I raised an eyebrow at that, bringing my face out of my hands. Either the Emperor was way too trusting or he was very self-assured that I would sign on to his Great Crusade eventually. He was just giving me more power at the bargaining by confiding that table he needed my genetics to fix the problem for one of his legions.
Horus continued, "The sixth legion has been having other issues, mainly untamed savagery that makes them hard to control. When they're in a fight they get too hot and they start causing damage to things they really shouldn't or killing people they shouldn't. In response the current Legion Master has created a disciplinary corp that holds the legion to standards, often at gunpoint if they get hot. However we've had numerous complaints from units that served with the sixth legion that said disciplinary corp will hold any parts of the Imperial Army to the same standard as their Space Marines."
I blinked and said, "If the sixth legion is holding the Imperial Army to the same standards as themselves, wouldn't those standards already be universal? I would assume that you have a set rules of war that everyone must follow. A military that doesn't follow the rules is no better than a band of savage barbarians."
Horus blinked a couple times before he smiled and said, turning to the Emperor, "Okay! Now I see it." Before I could ask what that meant he continued."Still, why is she so small?"
The Emperor leaned back and thought before admitting, "I have no idea, Primarch should grow as they gain strength and power and accomplishments. Someone who has managed to conquer the entire planet as she did should be as tall as my son. Perhaps she's simply a late bloomer and with time and more worlds under her belt she will obtain a more reasonable size."
I blinked and then burst out, "Are you saying that growing tall is related to how much of a big head you've gotten over your accomplishments?!"
The Emperor turned his head quickly to look at me, mouth slightly ajar as his eyes seemed to realize the implications I had put forward.
"That was not an intended side effect. I was simply going for an easy way for my sons to be recognized at a distance for their Space Marine legions, as well as assuring their combat capabilities." The Emperor stopped and looked at me, as if he had realized something before he continued. "Either way I'm sure she will grow in stature in time, but I think we've wandered quite a distance away from the purpose of this meeting."
"You said no to my offer to join me in bringing humanity back together."
"She said what?!" Horus sputtered in what sounded like genuine shock.
"You assured me that you would accept negotiations but what are you negotiating for?"
I nodded my head and said "Well, I'm negotiating for the planet of Fenris. It was my hard work that brought about peace on this planet, one I quite enjoy. I don't want to run off and leave this world unprotected and undeveloped."
The Emperor nodded before he began, "We have no plans to completely abandon this world to its savagery. It shall be brought into the Imperium. And as I said I have set aside funds for the sixth legion to have their geneseed issues cleared out. A facility and fortress will be built on this planet as it will serve well as a recruitment ground for your legion. The people here are already trusting of you so the Space Marines recruited here would be the most loyal possible."
"As for developing this fine world I'm not exactly sure what you mean. We could have Mechanicus agents look into adding a Hive City."
"A Hive City?" I asked, not familiar with the term.
Horus spoke up, "A city built upon itself. Towers upon towers, levels upon levels, until those at the very bottom cannot even see the light of day and those at the top don't even know the lower levels exist."
That was not what I was interested in, that sounded like a dystopian nightmare. "When I say modernization I mean bringing this world to the level of say the 21th century, powered by the safer technologies of nuclear energy with the intent of protecting the planet's culture and environment. I don't want to supplant the culture that is here with something else, I simply want to upgrade it with new technologies. My goal is to make my people's lives better as it were and give them more of a chance to survive in this world."
The Emperor nodded, saying, "That can be arranged. That would cut down on some of the savagery of these people which would make them a hearty stock for the Space Marine program, but I believe the increase in numbers would help us solve the issue with the geneseed at a quicker rate."
Something about the way he said stock when referring to the people, as if they were things, just didn't sit right with me but I didn't raise the question yet. He was giving me what I wanted, best not to piss him off.
"That's just what I can think of off the top of my head so I will need assurances that I can get more for my people if I commit to this crusade, as you call it."
The Emperor nodded and said, "Yes, yes, you will have access to quite a large ability to improve this planet as a Primarch in the crusade. I'm sure if you asked the Mechanicus they would search nearby systems to set up a Forge World specifically dedicated to arm your legion if you so wished."
"The Mechanicus being?"
The Emperor exhaled and said, "We're going to need to spend a year bringing you up to date on the modern world you now are stepping into."
"Well, that can happen right after the year you owe me. We'll use it to improve this planet." I said matter of factly, reminding him that he had technically lost our little gamble at the start of this evening.
"Touche," the Emperor said, before he continued. "The Imperium is divided up in two halves. The empire section I run myself and that is pushing the Great Crusade outwards and the Mechanicus of Mars, a group of humans with cybernetics who have a large control over industry throughout not only the Solar System but many many star systems throughout the Galaxy. This second empire is funding my war machine, as I have brought them in as a dual partner."
That was concerning. Their equipment and arms were dependent on a second empire within the Imperium, what if they ever revolted? I wouldn't bring that up now but I would keep an eye on this Mechanicus, just in case.
"Anyways for our purposes it would not be hard to have them send one of their expeditionary forces in this general direction. We'll see if they can find anything of use in the system, for the betterment of your people as you put it. I bet if you asked they could even build an orbital ring around the planet."
I blinked several times after that statement, trying to comprehend what he had just said. I may not be a Sci-Fi person but I had played Halo once or twice and I think he had just discussed the concept of a ring around the planet. Considering how the Halo in that had been rather a verdant paradise, besides the monsters in the game… Well, that would be a great boon to Fenris' economy. Not to mention the season of fire was brought on by coming too close to the Sun, if the sun's rays could be partially blocked out near the equator perhaps it would make conditions less terrible for the Sea People. There were still many tribes who didn't trust my control of the continent; this would be a great way to bring them in. I would have to give this some thought and I would have to do a lot of research on what the Imperium could do for me. They were dealing with technologies that were well and truly above anything I understood.
Nodding my head in agreement I said, "There's definitely a lot of options we could go with, but I think you've made a good case of why Fenris should join the Imperium and why I should help. The only real hangups I have left are about the stance of the Imperium on democracy and whether I have operational ability to make decisions on how to bring a planet into the fold while on the field."
The Emperor chuckled and nodded his head, "You would have complete operational control of in the field, unless I gave specific orders otherwise. Personally, if you can bring in worlds to humanity without a fight? That is a good day. The problem is we are all coming out of the Old Night together at the same time. Though the Imperium of Man is so far the most successful others will be on the rise as well, so they will probably engage in hostilities if you show up in their system."
I nodded, that was an understandable situation. Just because you were top dog didn't mean that people you ran into would believe it. If they thought themselves at the top of the food chain they would fight according to that belief.
"As for your other question on democracy… I frankly don't give a damn. The Imperium needs a strong central authority right now but what a planet does on the fringes? As long as it pays its taxes it could do whatever it wants, within reason. Whether it wants to run itself as a corporate oligarchy or a communist democracy it can be allowed as long as it meets its taxes."
"Please tell me communism isn't rampant." It was the first thing that came to mind, I just needed to know.
"No, I believe we've mostly run into empires and a few attempts to reestablish the human federation, but that's about it." The Emperor answered with a shrug.
Nodding, I got up from my seat and said, "Well, I'll have the shield maidens bring in your legal team and we will get the contract filled out and signed. Sound reasonable?"
"Very, though I do have one demand."
"What is that demand?" I asked, a little bit confused. As far as I was concerned I still had a large amount of negotiating power, so I wondered why he felt he could demand anything.
"You may have memories from your past lives but in this life I am your father. I would like to be addressed as such, not as the Emperor or anything like that."
I looked at him for a moment, thinking hard about what he had just said. Demanding I call him father was a bit much but it was also a downgrade from the formality of Emperor so it showed he wanted kids in a way. It could be a tactic to just put me in my place, or to try and influence me into going along with any decisions in the future but I doubted that it would work. Frankly, since he hadn't given me a name, calling him the Emperor every time mentally would be a lot longer than 'father'. So I shrugged and acquiesced, "yes, Father," before moving over to the doors to get the shield maidens moving.
Horus Lupercal
I shook my head in absolute confusion, this whole situation was madness and completely off from what I had been told to expect. But then again, the universe had proven prone to surprising me.
A sister. That was not something I had ever foreseen happening. Brothers, yes, I had been told about my 19 Brothers out there. And I had prepared myself for many options, from them being absolute assholes to being just as magnanimous as myself. There was also always the acknowledged possibility that something had gone wrong. A sister was not one of the possibilities I prepared for and I wasn't really sure how to feel about that. If there was one sister the possibility opened that there might be more. Finally that the fact that my new sister apparently had memories of a life before this one was strange. I don't think I delved too deep into how we had been created or all the abilities we would eventually gain. I was more interested in the here and now, working with Father to reunite humanity and end the Old Night, but the idea that there were powers I had yet to unlock that would come with age… that was news to me.
At the moment father and I were trudging through the snow away from Castle Russ. He had gotten my sister to sign on to the Crusade, even if it had to be through the form of negotiations. It was good to at least have her be part of the Imperium.
Before I could get further into my thoughts though father stopped and looked back at the castle then breathed out before looking at me. "I don't know if we have a great boon at our disposal or just a strange set of circumstances… Let us try and keep the fact that your sister has memories of a past life away from my other sons when we discover them."
I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why do we want to do that?"
"Having more life experience than my other sons may cause her to feel detached from the rest of you, and feeling detached from the rest of you is not what I wanted. I wanted your brothers to be there for each other, to be able to share a few common things so that it would strengthen your bonds." Shaking his head he said, "The Scattering has already damaged those potential bonds, and Tanya has already had a few more of those bonds ripped from her as well just by being a different gender. Taking the potential bond of having grown up on an isolated world away from the others, maybe just one severed bond too many. It could set her on a path away from the Imperium. It would be better for her to come to know her brothers, and for her brothers to come to know her as one more member of our family that was scattered. Not someone with a completely different history."
I put my hand to my chin and nodded my head. "This seems sensible, I assume you'll talk to her about keeping that fact secret? She seemed a little too open about it."
"I think she already suspected who I was and that's why she was open about it. She wanted answers as much as I did, which worked in our favor today. She had questions and I had a majority of the answers, or at least good educated guesses to bypass the situation," Father said shaking his head and letting his hair flow in the wind. "But yes. Also I apparently owe her a year of service so I'll make sure to inform her that she should keep it to herself during that time, though I bet she already knows it. Something tells me that she's absolutely wonderful at keeping secrets, if her statements on the matter of her second life are true."
"What exactly has she said about her second life, if you don't mind me asking?"
"If I'm to believe her statements she is the Devil of the Rhine." He said it like that should mean something but I had never heard of this particular devil. Before I could ask for clarification he continued. "The Devil of the Rhine was a psychic soldier about 28,000 years ago, one who managed to push military tactics ahead quite a bit during their time. At least that's how the legend goes, no one knew the name of the Devil or what happened to them after the war, all records of them appeared to have been either destroyed or never existed. Which led me to believe that it had been a propaganda action until recently."
"You were aware of their career, father?"
"It was hard not to be, every country was talking about some super-soldier flying about destroying armies and no one was providing substantial answers. After the war, by all records available, this super-soldier just seemed to not have existed. But that makes sense, the war they were involved in was rather brutal. Destroying her records and disappearing into the wind was probably the smartest move anyone could do in a losing conflict."
"If her side was losing, how is this a boon for us?" I asked, not seeing how a loser could be useful to us.
"Her side was losing, she was not. If the rumors are to be believed the only reason her side held out as long as they did was because of her efforts at a tactical level. It was the strategic level and the diplomatic level that failed her. This is why we might have a boon on our hands because she will have access to that strategic and diplomatic level while in our service. I wonder what she can do."
Father seemed to stare off in the distance and thought for a moment before he shook his head and said, "I can't stay here very long so I will turn that year of service she requested into a year of training her. We'll be trying to get her up to date on current technology and anything else needed to help in the Great Crusade. I'm afraid we will have to split for a while my son, someone must go on to continue the crusade while I bring her up to speed."
I knew that this might happen. Sooner or later the other brothers would be joining us and we would have to spend more time away from each other. I had been preparing myself for that eventuality and it would be a chance to go forth and conquer on my own for a bit.
"But before you do that you can take a few weeks off, perhaps join your sister for a hunting trip or something? Get those bonds forming, the sooner she feels like a member of the family the better for humanity."
I nodded my understanding and said, "I will see about engaging in such an activity, father. I wonder if this planet has any wolves, my legion is always talking about how they would like to find some actual wolves for our fur cloaks rather than the bioengineered furs that are currently used."
Father chuckled and said, "Horus, look to your left and between those extremely gnarled trees."
Doing as he said I looked and saw nothing at first, then my eyes picked out the shape and I was left dumbstruck at what I was seeing. Sitting there and watching us like it was the most normal thing to do were three giant wolves. They were larger than most humans and I strangely wondered if a Space Marine could ride them. Their yellow eyes watched us with interest but they otherwise made no motion to move towards us.
"The rumors I heard before we came to this land included a certain tale that the King of the Russ was also known as the Wolf King. No doubt Tanya has trained these wolves to be her loyal hunting dogs. I wonder how deep this goes but I'm sure that whatever the sixth legion becomes under her influence, whatever it may be, your lunar wolves will no longer be the only wolf-themed legion."
I smiled at that I thought and came to the conclusion that I would in fact try to get to know this Tanya as much as possible before I had to leave. At the bare minimum I wondered if she could help my legion get some actual wolves as pets, since the bioengineered ones tended to be rather uncontrollable. My boys would enjoy something that wouldn't try and rip their necks out just for trying to pet them.
Legion Master Enoch Rathvin
The most contemptible thing in the universe stared up at me from its place in front of me, mocking me with its presence and ability to slow my life down to a crawl even though it would only take me a few minutes to get through it.
Breathing out pure contempt and hatred I reached for a pen and began to fill out the paperwork in front of me. An army marches on its stomach, they say? Well with each and every year that passed it felt more like this army marched on paperwork.
From requisitions of new armors to requisitions of new weapons and dealing up punishments for soldiers who got too violent during a campaign. This was the everyday life of a Legion Master I made sure the paperwork was filled out to keep the sixth legion moving and every day I wished I was in a position where I was not the one in charge.
I, like many other Legion Masters, was quite jealous of the lunar wolves. They had their Primarch with them for 30 years, galavanting across the galaxy with the Emperor himself. They were an example to every other legion of what was waiting for them when their Primarch was found.
It frankly was getting on my nerves that ours hadn't been found yet. Without our Primarch to create the military structure of our units we were left to devise our own systems. Since most of us had come from Terran stock, some from the most barbaric areas of the world, we defaulted to a simple 10-man unit system not too dissimilar from the one used by many ancient empires. For some reason I felt like this was not peak performance, like there was a better way to do it than 10 men to a squad and 100 men to a Company and a thousand men to Chapter. But I was not a student of History, I tended to leave that to the disciplinary corps since they needed to know all the rules and regulations to maintain a proper control of the legion.
Every legion was different. Sure there were some similarities between some. We had been unrightfully called The Rout for the last few decades because of our particular expertise at hunting down enemies as they attempted to run. We had also acquired a reputation similar to the Dusk Raiders, of a tendancy to strike the enemy when they were weak and destroy them. We had slowly been trying to change but I had to handle a kind of personality crisis as it were while we did. We had gone after weak targets because we had been a weak legion. There had only been a thousand of us when we had first been allowed off the leash. Even now there were only 6,000 of us but we were doing better, striking more in the weight class of some of the other legions, but we tended to let our brutality get too much of us. One of the first planets we had been unleashed on had been half wrecked and civilian casualties had been unacceptable, the men had gone too far.
Which was why I had established the Disciplinary Corp. If the men were going to let themselves be taken up in the moment and unleash their fury to the point of such disastrous destruction then there would need to be a force who could equally control them. Thus had been created the Disciplinary Corp and they had learned every rule that was currently active in the Imperiums military. They had one objective: find those rules and subject the sixth legion to them.
The objective was not of course to be overly harsh with these rules but to enforce them at all times, to try and build up an ability to maintain control in combat and not let savagery run wild.
In the fighting that happened since their first few fights and the creation of the Disciplinary Corp there had been a vast improvement in the professionalism of the sixth legion. Savagery was now applied in a proper amount and at proper targets while the rules were followed. The only real problem I had was that I got too many complaints from imperial army commanders who felt that my soldiers should not be issuing punishments for breaking the rules of the imperial army. I could understand that but they were breaking the universal rules what kind of precedent was that setting for my space marines?
If they wanted to complain about my efforts to keep my legion clean and effective they could complain to my fucking bolter.
Sighing I got up and cracked my neck, looking across the room to my armor. Its gray paint reflected light dimly as I wondered if we should perhaps move on from that coloration. Many of the other legions had already moved on from gray but then again many of these legions had created their own history and stories by now, having fought from Terra itself to the outer reaches of space. I shouldn't think too hard about this until we actually found our Primarch, wherever they may be.
Getting up I walked across the room towards an exit leading up to the Hall, figuring I'd go get some food from the ship's cafeteria, when the door in front of me was knocked on. So hard that only another space Marine could have done that so I opened it as soon as the knocking stopped.
"Yes?" I said, looking out of the room and seeing one of the sergeants. I was unfamiliar with him, a newer runt brought in with the most recent generation of sixth legion Space Marines.
"Legion Master, I've just run down from the bridge with orders from the Emperor. We are to make all haste to a planet known as Fenris on the ancient maps, our Primarch has been found."
I blinked and then said, "Don't even bother getting orders from me on this, tell the captain to start moving the ship in the direction of this Fenris right now. Then tell the other sergeants to meet at the command and control center in 2 hours, we must have a discussion on this matter. Understand me?"
"Yes, sir!" The young sergeant said with a salute before running off, causing me to simply shake my head at the show of incompetence. Not getting straight to work when the Emperor sends an order? You didn't need my permission to get started on obeying orders as far as I was concerned. Starting as soon as we arrive at this Fenris they wouldn't need my permission ever, we'd finally have our Primarch. I smiled the biggest smile I had worn in years as I moved to put on a robe so I could speak with the other sergeants, No need for armor.
Writers note: and there we go big secrets revealed little secrets kept, headaches created and the story progresses. And if you don't get it… yes the answer to are primarchs going to be a mix of genders or only one gender is yes… their genders is gender bender… MAWHAHAHAHAHAHA
Patrion supports: Neso, Markus, Mackenzie Buckle, Silver Wolf, Falk H, Mana Rope, Daniel Martinez, michael, Devilstar101, Hats88, DrkShdow, James Moorhouse, Matthew D, Duncan Sproule
Edited by: Pierre
Community edited by:Justin R, Ryan Pirtle, ashley goodman
Community editable doc (Chapter 18) No story suggestions in the community editing document, Keep all story suggestions and comments in the thread
Reviews
redneckturtle1: ha yeah, well he explains it a bit in this a bit in this chapter.
Its Me : isn't that set in 40k after relgions became a heavy think for all the factions?
Clare Prime of Ultra: well i think it went well
Madara95: give her the old bart simpson? pershps
Warga: good a good luagh will make you leathyier
Templarsith: huh was not aware of that protection spell intreseting
Chronolocked: becouses they will be... unless she fines out the thing...
MidKnightMoonglow99: i had not heard about it before and frankly makes no isnce to me.
SomePervyGuy: ah i explain the problems with females marines next chapter
Blackholelord you havse to wait three or so chapters... for her first campaign is all first time manny of first 6 siblings met Russ
Valerious Lake: you should have all thoses answers and more this chapter.
Ozpin52:next chapter going to give you that answer
Immortal Potatoe: thank you
Thrans: yep that tanya
Qinlongfei: did i? as for taking titles, i think titles will be diffrent
89ingenting: depend on mangus more then you think
Guest : here you go
Trane671: perfectly reasonable line take moment.
