Chapter 20: The Journey Home.
So close, they were so close to putting down the Plague Queen, mere systems away, almost within the grasp of the power fist, and the will to clench it, to purify, and remove the vile cancer which eats at the galaxy.
But It was not meant to be, the Reapers made sure of that.
The imperial leading vessel was brimming with action, the imperial leaders and the Quarians were conversing the events that have shaken the galaxy to its core.
"We have not expected this…not so soon, and not so close to our goal." Tiberius spoke as his eyes darted from one point to another on the galactic map, glowing red and indicating immense danger, it pointed to the reaper invasion points. There were so many of them.
The south ,west and east were outright invaded, outer systems and approaching deeper into the galaxy. Tiberius was reminded of the Hive Fleets of the Tyranid xenos whom also invaded in such a manner.
He was knowledgeable about the reapers, Agrippa made sure of that, the energetic techpriest made sure to inform the Magos, whom then informed the leadership of this new threat. They made preparations for their arrival, but they did not expect the sheer scale of the invasion.
Worst of all, the invasion on the south threatens Terra itself ,the homeworld of humanity is in danger.
Tiberius thought about the situation, could he continue with the mission? Not without causing a revolt on his entire fleet.
The Quarians themselves were also conflicted, the invasion is also coming from the center west of the galaxy, if they wasted their fleet on hunting the Plague Queen, their own kin ,Tali. They would be spent, and would risk annihilation against the foe which had the capacity to siege 70% of the Galactic outer rim at the same time.
"None of us expected this Imperati Tiberius, the machines were seemingly stopped after the Citadel Incident, one human commander made sure of that. But it was decades ago, people tend to forget traumatic events in order to sleep better.
"We should have stayed awake, and better prepared. " Arahi'Ler spoke, mind deep in thoughts, grim and dark thoughts, he contemplated defenses of his planets, the readiness of his fleets, and the ability of his New Quarians to wage a total and utter war until extermination against the Reapers.
"This enemy. The machines, they must take priority." The Space Marine Chaplain, Julius Nepos, spoke, his voice was cold, emotionless; in his mind only the thoughts of how best to combat this threat were racing.
"The sheer amount of their number, it is unnatural, for something that was a myth, they have dozens of fleets, hundreds if not thousands of ships, it doesn't seem possible.
They must have existed for millennia, but how did they remain hidden for so long…" Admiral Aurelian contemplated.
"There were folk tales about cycles of extinction all over the galaxy, fossils of various races were found, destroyed by forces unknown, if they are related to reapers in any way, that means they must have been here 50000 years ago during the protheans, and maybe longer…" Arahi spoke
"An enemy which challenges us all. We must not pursue further, risking our fleets getting bogged down or trapped somewhere in these cursed stars, it would damningly weaken both our Empires. Making them easy prey for the abominable machines." Tiberius continued the discussion, after checking the live feed of the Turian fleet engaging the reaper vanguard.
He knew the imperium itself is in danger, as the reapers punched through the eastern most part of their territory.
They would have to carve through various xeno races still lingering in that region of space, for the Imperium itself had no colonies there, they would have to carve a third of their way into the Imperium before reaching the human colonies established post Batarian war.
This gave them time to organize and prepare, it was a much needed breathing room to prepare for the true and absolute war.
"We all agree then? Our fleets will jointly retreat out of the plague stars and then move on their own respectable ways? "Arahi spoke to Tiberius
"Yes. For our security we will return together. after we enter the Quarian Reich's space, we will each go our own way."
"let us organize the fleets. If that is all admirals, I have to tend to the command of my vessels. "Arahi spoke and saluted, his arm extended upwards.
"Indeed, we should return to our posts." Tiberius responded and saluted as well.
All admirals returned to their vessels. After preparations for the return trip they started to pull back, slowly and carefully.
They were few systems away from their target, but the prospect of losing vessels, or worst yet, getting caught in attrition or trapped into the unknown, would make their own empires a target not only for the Reapers, but to the other xenos waiting for their moment.
The fleets jumped system to system, back tracking for safety. Within days they exited out from the plague stars. They were not attacked, but they knew their enemy was overjoyed that they had to retreat.
The Imperial vengeance and desire for retribution was endless, they would be back as soon as they were done with the upstart Abominable Intelligence.
And quarians…their rage could only be quenched when the entire fallen quarian fleet burns. They must take care of their own now, but they would never forget about the traitor Zorah.
As they have entered Quarian space, they resorted to using Vox holographic projections to exchange final words.
"It was an honor to fight alongside the Imperial Armada, I still lament that we started off as enemies, but I and my people have grew to respect your codes of honour, much similar to ours.
And I personally thank you for believing me Imperati Tiberius, and coming to our aid against the common enemy.
If evil threatens your borders, and you are in need of help, we will be there to provide help you, just as you have come to help us."
Arahi's form flickered as holographic projection. In front of him Tiberius stood, accompanied by Aurelian and Chaplain Julius Nepos, Agrippa was ever silent as he listened to the conversation.
"Indeed it was, Arahi'ler of the Quarian Reich, It is…painful. To know that we have not accomplished the mission. But the enemy which assails us now is as dangerous as the one hiding.
The plague bearers are also on the way of these machines, and if they do not get them by the time this is over, we will come again and finish our deed.
Glory and Honour Fuhrer Arahi, good hunting in the coming machine war."
Tiberius told the Quarian leader, whom issued a gentle smile, they both came to respect one another, even if neither of them were willing to admit that.
"Good hunting to you as well Tiberius, Farewell" Arahi concluded, and the video ended.
The Quarian fleet split from the Imperial one and proceeded onto another Relay leading deeper into Quarian Teritory.
"Navigator, set a course for the Sol System. " Tiberius ordered as he saw the quarians leave the system.
"The Sol System? " Aurelian asked, more for himself, and the rest of the crew likewise gazed at Tiberius, for many of them, to go to the Sol System was the highest honour they could get. As many of them never saw it in their own universe.
"Yes, the Sol System, I did not want to say anything to our Quarian companions, but Indomitus has received a message of highest urgency, the current Warlord of Terra calls our envoys to our birth planet.
The message states he calls us as friends and allies, and wishes for us to come here.
This being the highest honour, and priority, the entirety of our fleet will depart for Terra instantly.
Regardless if the reapers invaded or not this would have overridden our quest and we would be on our way. By some cosmic luck, the reapers gave us good excuse not to leave a bad impression on our….allies."
"The holy Terra itself…"Chaplain Julius thought to himself.
All present people were instantly lost in thought, to see the birthplace of humanity, the place where their own God originated from…
"Set a course navigator, we are going to Terra."
The silence was palpable as Tiberius issued his command, and the Navigator took a moment to chart a course through the relays. The navigator was impatient like the rest, nearly considering to open the warp jump directly there, but this was their finest military secret, and he prevented himself from doing that .
The fleet of 150 imperial vessels exited through the relay and went north of the galactic core, then diverging south and directly towards the sol system. Each jump filled the crew with more and more anxiety, their guts were churning, and the crew was obviously impatient.
The passing of the Imperial fleet scared more than a few alien worlds. But the Imperium simply ignored them, jumping relay to relay, halfway through their journey they stumbled upon a scene of raiders attacking civilian convoys fleeing the Local Cluster and the Domains of man.
They were being assailed by the various collection or semi red ships. The red skull on it pictured who the invaders were. The Blood Pack.
One of the Omega's mercenary bandit groups. They have been active in this region of space ever since the alliance collapsed, and now they have increased their raiding after the reapers caused militaries of the galaxy to divert their focus to the defense of their borders.
Some 5 frigates attacked about 30 of the civilian hauler transports, improvised transport vessels, and various other barely flyable ships that humans used just to escape the collapsing region of humanity, and towards the imperium of man which they saw as salvation.
Tiberius was quickly notified by his officers on the events, and decided a little show of force would do Good, both to the image of the Imperium, and to secure this region of space from other opportunistic scavengers.
The Blood pack vessels stopped their attack on the convoy, unfortunately for them, they were close to the relay where the civilian ships tried to escape. And now they stood within firing range of the imperial fleet.
"Obliterate 4 of their ships, spare the last one, but do puncture a small hole into the vessel, let them make hard decisions who lives and dies with limited oxygen. "
"Yes lord Tiberius. " one of the lesser officers said, issuing quick commands. And the leading vessel, 7 kilometer long Battleship Solar Macharius fired its weakest weapons towards the raiding assembly.
Without any effort, the beams of pure energy just ate at the 4 vessels designated for destruction, the crew of these ships did not even had enough time to think what is happening to them before being obliterated along with their ships.
The last one issued panicked cries of surrender towards the deaf ears of the Imperials.
In the bowels of "Solar Macharius" one of the gunners primed his projectile canon.
"Commodus, do you think 380cm shell filled with High Explosive Uranium is enough to wound that vessel? "
"What is the ship's size again Kilikus? "
"Coms say, 140 meter"
"You want to fire the battleship puncturer towards that fighter vessel? What are you, insane? Just use the practice shell."
"The 80cm long one we use to destroy asteroids? "
"The very same one, it should do the trick, aim for some part that wont destroy the entire vessel."
"As you say Commodus."
The servitors quickly gathered the 80cm long shell and loaded what was the smallest caliber gun on the vessel.
Kilikus punched the red button, a loud CLANG sound was heard as the empty casing fell from the canon and the shell was propelled with immense speed towards the enemy ship.
Cutting silently through the open space , the enemy had no time to maneuver as it punctured one side of the ship, the shredder component was made to eat through the dense rock and metals of asteroids on course with imperial systems, it was made to cause cracking effect, effectively causing the asteroid to break into many smaller pieces which could do no damage, the shell had very hard casing made of diamantine plasteel, with reinforced neo-adamantine tip.
The shell punctured effortlessly, and then proceeded to eat through the ship and punctured its way out on the other side, and kept going, eating through one civilian vessel and continuing its track undisturbed, onwards into open space, its final destination unknown.
"Well shit…" Commodus said as he looked through his gunnery optics.
Tiberius saw as the enemy ship vented oxygen, not from one side as expected but from two holes in its hull. He grinned slightly, before composing himself, if anything survived there, they would spread the story, and bring fear unto the enemies of man.
He ordered coms established with civilian vessels.
"Civilian fleet, this is Lord Admiral Tiberius of the Imperium of Man, who represents you?"
Within a minute, the civilians brought forth a man to represent them.
"Good day to you sir, I am Jonathan Archer, I am leading this fleet of refugees, we are on course for the imperium of man and seek asylum. Are we allowed to proceed through the relay good sir?"
"Affirmative, the road behind us is clear, whoever saw our passing will know twice before disturbing you. What of your civilian vessel hit by the stray shell, any casualties? "
"Negative sir, the shell punctured through the cargo bay, we had various goods stockpiled there, but no humans. We are ok."
"Good, continue with your path. Ave Imperium" Tiberius was about to end the call before the civilian interlude again.
"Sir, if I may…"
"You may, what is it? "
"The path behind us is filled with danger; there are various bands of aliens engaged with Cerberus, and other fleets fighting for the sake of fighting.
We did heard that Earth and surrounding systems were safe under the new leader, but we could not get there, there were many pirates and fleets between us and the planet, so we decided to head north. "
"I appreciate your advices, Archer. But you fail to understand something, out here. We are the only thing worth fearing. Good journey." Tiberius said and ended his communications.
"Navigator, as you were, Terra awaits."
The Fleet watched the civilians leave through the relay, and they jumped into another system, charting a course towards the Sol System.
After several jumps they exited through the relay directly into what was a fleet engagement.
A reaper vanguard, one of many which pierced the galaxy from almost all sides, approximately 5 reaper capital ships followed 10 destroyers was making mincemeat of the Cerberus fleet which at its peak had 2 dreadnoughts, 10 cruisers, and 15 frigates.
Now they are down to half of that, whatever was in the system was deemed worthy enough to protect under the cost of losing the fleet.
Hundreds of civilian vessels were fleeing the planet in utter panic and total lack of coordination; some destroyers were hunting down the fleeing civilians and were causing a terrible toll on their number.
There was no ground invasion yet, the reapers were trying to establish Cosmic supremacy and provide their troops uninterrupted access to the planet. But the Cerberus seemed hell bent on defending this system, and making it hard for the Reapers to fulfill their intentions.
"Lord Tiberius, If our preliminary scans are correct, the black ships tearing Cerberus fleet apart are the members of the abominable intelligence various xenos call, Reapers. We are being hailed by Cerberus."
"Put them through. "Tiberius tracked the explosions in space, already planning his next move.
"Unidentified vessels, this Is Cerberus Dreadnought "Asymandios" we are requesting assistance; we are under heavy attack by the Reapers!
We are tasked with protecting the planet, please provide help! "
"This is Lord Admiral Tiberius of the Imperium of Man, we will provide assistance. We will be engaging the abominable intelligence instantly. " Tiberius responded and ended the call.
Take our fleet closer, rend them apart!" Tiberius ordered.
As the imperial fleet approached, the Battleship of the Imperium took lead and split away from the main force, opportunistically, one of the Reaper 2km long ships split from its group and sought to engage its quarry while his brothers mopped up remaining Cerberus vessels.
This was a trap set by Tiberius, eager to test the Imperial ships one on one against the machines, he ordered the rest of the fleet to lag behind, drawing the reapers to engage his vessel.
Much to Tiberius's enjoyment, the machines have took the bait.
The reaper spread open its metallic tentacles, used to destroying most vessels in one shot, it expected this larger ship to take a few before buckling eventually under its power.
It charged up and unleashed its deadly ray against the Battleship.
The void shields flickered like gel and in colorful display of various colors let the energy of the blast vanish across its length.
Namely the void shields were designed in such a way that they leaked damage to the shields directly into the warp, and in case of shield failure, they could get them back up even under sustained firepower, truly a masterpiece of human engineering and product of uncountable millennia of war.
The battleship took the blast and did not even flinch.
The Reaper took a nano second to process what happened. Its powerful main weapon did not cause any damage.
But it could fire even strongly, each tendril of the Reaper held a weapon, and it combined all its internal energy in order to crush the foolish organic vessel.
The main gun charged once more, even more energy poured into it this time, along with 2 of its tendrils, it fired a total of 3 beams against the battleship.
All three impacted the void shield, and none caused any damage whatsoever.
"Results? "
"Lord Tiberius, the main energy weapon of this AI weapon contains an impact of up to 450kilotones of TNT, the first one was around 200, it underestimated us, the second one was probably full power and reached 448 against our hull.
The Two tendrils unleashed less energy than the main gun.
The Discharge did not cause any concernable damage to the Void shield, the venerable machine spirit contemplates that it would take many more of such vessels to even stand a chance of taking down our void shield, a lot more.
This singular vessels if of no threat to us."
Tiberius couldn't help but smile, this…this is what frightens the galaxy he thought? The octopus of tendrils which could not even compete with the Imperial destroyers one on one? This filthy machine dared to attack anything organic?
It needs to pay the price of blood. He was a veteran of centuries of void combat, he knew that in greater numbers they could pose a significant threat, and the reports suggest that they are innumerable. But no enemy in the right mind would gather its forces in one spot to engage the enemy.
"Gunsmen. Remove this pest from my sight. Its visage offends me."
"Affirmative Lord Tiberius. "
There was no time to load the nova Canon and display the true power of the Imperium, the ship was solitary, too close, and not enough time was had to load the shell itself which was 50 meter in diameter, utterly gigantic, it required loading time which they could not afford here.
They needed a show of force that was quick, and damaging, so they just resorted to use one of the torpedo weapons in front of the ship.
"Kilikus! Prime the torpedo! "
Kilikus was "promoted" and transferred to the Torpedo department of the Battleship where he could cause less collateral damage.
"The Short burn High Explosive one, or the Plasma common torpedo?"
Commodus was also "promoted" alongside his friend.
"Damnit Kilikus, don't do this to me again, you mess this up they will have us cleaning the bowels of the ship filled with old oil and human shit piled over the millennia.
Prime the Plasma one, it's the common one used in most operations!"
"As you say Commodus" Kilikus responded and had many servitors use the Plasma Torpedo.
Kilikus once more punched the big red button, and the Torpedo was sent flying into space.
The Reaper, not expecting such an attack which was not of mass relay tech, did not have time to maneuver properly. It tried to correct its course and primed all of its energy into engines, overcharging its inner power production to the critical levels.
All this served to do was cause cascade of failures, the Torpedo impacted the Reaper dead on, the torpedo wholly bypassed the shielding and exploded with such viciousness that it ruptured its hull and it killed the reaper instantly, plasma melting its innards and causing the ancient construct to finally die.
The Charging of the Energy which the reaper attempted in its last moments caused one of its tentacles to vent the energy in a shot which had no aim and no goal.
As luck would have it, it unleashed the last of its energy towards one of the smaller Cerberus frigates, some 150 meters long, it impacted the engine section of the ship, causing the power to die and ship to be out of combat for the duration of the battle.
Inside the gunnery station Commodus gazed through his optics.
"Emperor damn it….not again…." He said with a weakness in his voice.
The Reaper's untimely demise caused the entire Reaper fleet to stop its combat and process what has just happened. Uncommon to them, and seeing the same battleship fast on approach towards the primary battle site, and over hundred more imperial vessels behind it, the reapers unceremoniously , and for the lack of the better word, bolted towards the edge of the system and into empty space between the stars in order to escape.
No Cerberus ship could pursue, and Tiberius felt no desire to follow the reapers into the unknown.
The system siege was lifted with a single torpedo, Tiberius considered this a great victory and a show of force. These machines now knew the danger of challenging the Emperors finest.
The Cerberus admiral hailed the Imperial vessels once more.
"My Dear Sir, you have saved us, The Imperium shows why it's the greatest ally of Cerberus and all humanity. Thank you!"
"It was of no concern, tend to your wounded and take care Admiral, let it be known the Imperium helps its friends in need."
"I will let our high command know of your gracious assistance. But I have to inquire. What is the meaning of your presence in this region of space? "
"We are on…diplomatic mission, it is classified. This system was not under official Cerberus control, so we did not encroach. "
"no, you did not good Sir. Cerberus thank you once more and Good journey to you"
"Likewise, Farewell Admiral" Tiberius ended the call.
"They will let the ilussive man know of our passing, but it is of little concern. We will not backtrack through this system on return trip. We have been delayed long enough, lets continue."
And so it was that the Imperial vessels entered the relay and ventured ever closer to the Sol System, leaving the remains of the Cerberus fleet to tend to their wounded.
And across all of Space, the surviving Reapers shared in their consensus what has occurred with their brethren. the immense power of this faction was not to be underestimated, it was of great concern, there was still power in the organics of this cycle. And it matched their own.
The Fleet which was in Imperial territory past the destroyed space station in the galactic north east, silently retreated back, and diverted its forces towards other prey. They did not know the power of the Imperium, and would not risk their plans failing because of overzealousness, they had the numbers and power unlike anything this galaxy has ever seen.
They will conquer the lesser races, then, when the Imperium is all alone, they will descend upon it like vultures, and devour it whole.
The Imperial fleet finally reached the border of space controlled by the Warlord of Terra and the Senate and the People of Earth.
They were welcomed by a 3 smaller fleets ,each consisting of 60 ships and whom were spread out in Half moon formation towards the relay.
They were detachment of red and white vessels, their design akin to the old alliance ships, but they were larger and more equipped, supposedly with technology provided by none other than the Princeps or the Emperor, himself.
The Imperials were being hailed.
"Ave Honorable envoy from the Northern Brothers, we welcome you to the domain of Man. Our mission is to escort you to Earth where you will be guests of the Princeps himself.
Follow our main fleet through the relay, our other fleets will provide protection and escort. " the nicely dressed man in his early 40s welcomed them.
Tiberius looked at the man, his officer clothes were very impressive, white pants and shirt, with red stripes. But his rank called for more than that, the admiral carried armour on his chest, with visible definitions of the muscles, it was decorated in murals and was almost reminiscent of the uniforms some of his officers used to carry back in the original universe.
"We are…honoured, Admiral. we will follow your fleet." They ended the video link, and the SPQT fleet took position for the Imperials to follow them, 2 fleets of equal size were positioned towards left and right flanks of the Imperial fleet respectfully.
Tiberius silently commanded that their shield power be increased, not enough to be noticed, but enough in case this was a trick.
They jumped through few more relays, quickly scanning the systems they came across; they could see massive rebuilding efforts, fleet shipyards, and enormous mining efforts consuming entire asteroids and hollowing out minor barren worlds.
The SPQT was gearing up for war with efficiency akin to that of a far larger industrial powerbase. Whoever this Princeps was, he was a man of true skill to assemble such a skilled workforce and inspire them to achieve so much in such a short span of time.
At long last, the Artcurus relay was in front of them, and on the other side. Earth.
There was silence on the older vessels of the Imperium, those who were born in the original universe understood the importance of what they are about to experience.
Those who were born in this one, did not truly understood the veneration Earth got from their older brethren, but they could never understand, not really, and not yet.
His heart beat was increasing second by second, it was no small feat to see the homeworld of humanity, the seat of their God, he understood that this one is not the same, but he could not control his pulse.
Tiberius never saw Terra, the sheer size of the imperium and its many enemies allowed him no respite and time to ever come to it. There was always another battle, always another war and another enemy which sought destruction of all that he held dear.
After 322 years of his long life, after centuries of war of what seemed like many lifetimes spent in service of the Emperor, he felt that he was rewarded to see something he never expected he would get a chance in his life.
To see the Golden Seat of Man. To see the skies of blue and radiant golden walls where man first walked and took to the stars.
To see that small ball drifting in the vast space where it all began.
He felt humbled at this moment, and he felt true joy after decades of only anger and duty.
The fleet has jumped into the Sol Relay and into the birthplace of Mankind.
Jumping into the system itself caused much awe and joy among the Imperials, they were finally here, their dreams so close; their home, so close. Soldiers and officers almost abandoned their posts to see through the scanner how Terra looked.
They huddled around each other as techpriests enhanced the visual display of Earth.
It was blue, so much blue on it, the oceans were vast and endless and the green continents saluted them with pride, their homeworld, it was their earth. Finally, for the first time in their lives, they could see it in all its radiant glory.
The planet welcomed its children like a mother would to a son who was gone to serve the military for so long.
"Brothers, please, take your positions, I feel the same joy you all do, but we are the finest mankind has, let us uphold our positions with pride, Terra beckons, let us approach!" Tiberius spoke to his men, many were openly crying, It could not be stated enough how much love they felt for their homeworld, how much the world meant to them, for 10000 years Mankind stood on the bulwark against horror, and all that for that sole jewel in space they called home.
They hesitantly returned to their posts, smiling and happy that they got to see it for the first time in their lives.
"I want scans of this system; this will be the future home system of the Imperium of man." Tiberius ordered as they almost openly began to scan the system.
It was truly miraculous what the Princeps accomplished here, there was a huge colonization and rebuilding effort all over the system, Mars was being rebuilt, its lower gravity meant it was perfect for ship construction, and already hundreds of transports carried alloys and constructed orbital stations and shipyards.
Luna was being reinforced with anti-space canons, ammo depots, strong shielding, and enough weaponry to provide immense hardship for anyone trying to attack it.
Many stations were scattered all over the system, their true purpose unknown, but judging by their size, Tiberius could tell they harbored either fighters, or other weapons of war which could stop or slow the enemy's advance.
As the fleet approached, they could see a vast SPQT fleet orbiting it, many new space stations were being built all around Earth, space weaponry and other defense installations, Earth is slowly turning into a fortress where any enemy will break their teeth trying to conquer it.
As they drew near, Tiberius gathered his most trusted officers and companions.
Aurelian Solarian the young void admiral prodigy, Agrippa the Techpriest of considerable knowledge, Julius Nepos, the White Eagles Chaplain and Romeluss the Lord Marshall of the field armies.
"We are dealing with plenty unknowns here, I don't want to leave anything to chance, we are going down to meet their leader, and I want to bring a psyker with us, he can probe for the enemies. "Tiberius told his companions.
"We did brought a Psyker which can best invade minds, I am not sure of his name, he never told anyone that, he is known as Rikker, a nickname he got somewhere. but he was the one who extracted the information from that Batarian prisoner we caught decades ago, he is a bit…unstable, but is probably the best one we have on the fleet." Aurelian spoke
"I want him probing the enemy as soon as we enter their HQ, especially their leader, I want to know if plots something against us. The Enemy has no concept of psykers, so they wouldn't know who he is. That works in our favour.
Tell the fleet to be on standby and expect anything. That would be all. Let us proceed to the Aquila Lander, we got coordinates where we should land. "
The Companions all proceeded to the cargo bay and boarded the Aquila Lander, preparations completed they exited the battleship and proceeded to make planetfall.
They were flying over Europe, but they did not recognize any landmark from the holo vids they have seen in their universe, this was a wholly different planet than what they expected a mega hive city that was Terra to be.
The modernist architecture of Earth still stood, but it was slowly replaced or updated to a more classical design reminiscent of Romans or Greeks, the vision of their Princeps was changing the very face of the planet.
They soon arrived over Rome, and soon they landed on the outskirts of a gigantic palace, no doubt the home of their leader. It was truly a wondrous Classical building, akin to the palaces ancient Romans used to house their Emperors.
Fountains and marble sculptures were everywhere, green and beautifully maintained Lawns for as long as eye can see, it was a wondrous display of aesthetic presentation.
The ship has landed, and the Imperial envoy exited the Lander. They could barely contain their awe and joy, to be where they are is a dream of trillions of humans.
Walking in unison they were greeted by the SPQT ambassador dressed in white toga looking clothes, they passed numerous guards outside and went inside the palace.
The inside of the Palace was even more beautiful than its exterior, gigantic columns held the ceiling decorated in murals and art.
Red banners wearing the Roman Eagle hang freely near the columns and the walls, wide open windows decorated with gold and silver allowed sun to illuminate the great building.
Beneath their feet, red and golden carpet lined the floor from the entrance all the way towards the end of the palace, it was decorated in various symbols, from eagles to gladiator looking men dueling, to more modern space combat murals.
And at the end of this majestic construction, there was a throne, with a man sitting on it, his eyes were not showing any emotions as he gazed towards the new arrivals. He stood up to greet them as they arrived.
The Companions continued to walk towards the man, on both sides of them were armoured guards, wearing obviously high tech gear, they were akin to the ancient Praetorians, and bore the same name. they had long purple cloaks, omni blades in form of a gladius which were obviously modified and possibly stronger than their usual counterparts, on the other side of their waist they carried a pistol of custom design, its power was unknown, but considering that they were guarding the ruler of a whole empire, their power was not in question.
They had a helmet which covered their faces wholly, and a great crest on top of it in also of purple complexion, signifying their status.
Standing on the right side from the man in front of the throne, there was a fully black cladded warrior, the armour design was that akin of the old alliance, but improved in all aspects, on his back were assortment of weapons, obviously of relay tech of the weapons that can extend before use. His role was not obvious by his appearance, but his position on the right side of the Princeps meant that he was a figure of significant importance. He spoke nothing as he watched the companions approach.
On the left of the man standing in front of the throne, was the leader of the palace guard, the Praetorian Primus, he was dressed much like the rest of the palace guard, with few difference in clothing, coloring, and design.
They approached and stood in front of the Princeps, there was a silence for a moment before it was broken by a voice which was strong, stern, fatherly and commanding, all in one. It was a voice which gave pause to the companions whom expected the ruler to be another of the petty warlords they were used to.
~Welcome to Earth children of the Imperium. ~
His voice… there is nothing like it, its commanding aura is overwhelming, the power held by his word is overwhelming, it was like nothing Tiberius and his companions ever experienced in their lives.
The psyker which came with them was grinning from the moment he arrived, not by willing design naturally, every psyker is in one way or another wounded mentally, such was a price of wielding warp born powers.
it was a child's game to him to extract any information from the minds of those he wanted to do so. His mind was a vortex of pain and suffering, endlessly his mind is assailed by beings he doesn't want to name, but he endures, in great pain and unbreakable dedication.
He probes at the mind of a man standing in front of him, and finds that his efforts lead to nothing, he doubles his efforts, straining himself, but still…nothing.
His grin starts to fade as the efforts take their toll.
And in that moment the Princeps gazes into his eyes. And only he hears the words coming from him.
~What are you trying to do Passios? ~
This simple act shocks him to his very being and he withdraws in himself. He was alone in the throne room, there was nobody else there but him and the Princeps.
This man knew his name? How?! Nobody living or dead knew his name, Is he a daemon?
~No Passios, I am not. ~
It can read his mind! He must prevent him at all costs, it must not know anything which might endanger the Imperium, and by the Emperor he will do it. He will purge his own mind. It is a small price to pay for salvation.
~Do not hurt yourself Passios, there is no need for that. ~
He begins to strain his thoughts, all in the efforts to expel the intruder , but it's a futile effort, the sheer presence of this being overwhelmed him with a single word.
~You suffer greatly Passios, know me for who I am, and be at peace~
At this moment, and all in a single second, the Princeps and Passios exchanged thoughts, and his soul screams, oh it screams, for he begins to realize who the man in front of him is.
And he is again in the Throne room, surrounded by his companions and the Man still standing in front of the throne, his body weakens and his collapses to the ground and on his knees.
"Rikker! What is wrong" Tiberius shouts
Passios ignores him, and keeps looking at the man in front of the throne, he removes his Psyker helmet and drops it to his side, his eyes were tearing endlessly, wide eyed and out of himself, but no longer grinning, no longer twitching, he is still, and calm for the first time in his life. His mind is no longer a cacophony of screams and madness, his mind is truly his own now, and he feels it with every fiber of his being.
All he manages to utter in his shock are the words he always said in his prayers to a man…now standing in front of him.
"My Emperor…It is you…."
The Companions could only stare in deadly silence at the psyker kneeling down and calling the man in front of them as his Emperor. He raised his hands weakly and smiled, it was not a smile of pain, it was a smile of a man truly overjoyed to be free of his shackles.
The Companions suspected something was wrong, and their thoughts betrayed them, they were on the verge of acting violently in defense.
~Be at peace, you are in no danger here.~
The Princeps raised his hand towards them before they could act. They were compelled to remain calm by the sheer authority in his voice.
Tiberius could only just ask one thing.
"Who are you? "
The princeps smiled and came and stood in front of Tiberius and his Companions, as he approached, the Psyker could only shield his eyes in reverence.
Noticing him, he offered him a hand, but the psyker Passios was beyond himself, he dared not take it. And so the Princeps approached him, lightly placing his hand on his shoulder and with his other hand began to raise him.
~Come. ~ he said and raised the Psyker to his feet, seeing that Passios can stand on his own, he then turned to Tiberius again ,his every movement was followed by everyone there.
~I was known by many names. Good Passios here told me one by which you all know me. The Emperor.~
"That cannot be? The God of all mankind?" Tiberius was wild eyed, and his companions were likewise beyond themselves
~I am not a God, Tiberius, I seek to free all mankind from these superstitions, our potential is far greater than that. ~
He took a step back and continued his great speech.
~The Stars are mankind's birthright, it was always so, From the moment we mastered the elements, we were destined to rule all there is.
I have always sought to further our goals, gently, behind the curtain without interfering too much. But you have forced my hand to take a role directly.
You come from a dark and terrible reality; I have seen it through the eyes of Passios, the nightmare you could not wake up from, the war without conclusion and the pain without ending.
But it is by design that you are here, and you still have a role to play. ~
"Why…Why are you telling us all this? "
~Because Tiberius, you and your companions are not here by accident, you have a role to play, and you will do so by doing what you have always done, serving mankind.
But I see your confusion, you still doubt who I am. Here, let me show you ~
The Princeps stood still, and in a flash of pure energy transformed his body to the visage of the one the companions knew from their own universe .
The Master of Mankind was before them in all his glory, he released miniscule amounts of his power to show them who he truly is. Such was his radiance that it was hard just to look at him, the gold light emanating from him would have burnt any chaotic presence into nothingness.
In their very being the companions knew him for who he truly is, for all creatures with any presence in the warp could feel the sheer presence of a Man standing before them, and to be so close, to experience it first hand, it was overwhelming.
An outburst of power and dominant energy was so great that even up to the Imperial fleet they could feel it, everyone received a vision of the Emperor, and their joy and religious fervor was immense, they have shed tears, for many of them to have been alive to witness this, there truly is no greater honour.
The Fleets Astropaths were sending messages towards the wide imperium, personal messages to their loved ones, everyone sought to spread the message back to the north, for they have found their Ruler on Terra.
"My Lord! "The Chaplain was the first to understand, centuries of service were rewarded for he could witness the very man he fought for.
He kneeled, and so did everyone else, for there was no greater honor than to witness the Patriarch of the Imperium in all his glory, in this moment, life was beautiful.
~Rise my children~ he gently spoke ot them and they obeyed.
~We have work to do, Mankind is in great peril, and we have to protect it. You will tell the Imperium in the North all you have seen today, let them know that even in the darkest hour, the light of victory draws near.
And I have a personal task for you Tiberius, you and your companions must do something for me.~
"Anything Lord, order us and we will obey. " Tiberius, still out of himself spoke.
~ I have expected these Reapers to come, and have took preparations to face them. Guiding the alliance towards the steps where they could stand on equal footing and win.
The Demise of the alliance only slowed down my plans, but have not stopped them.
You will take your fleet, and travel to the coordinates that I will provide you, there you will find a planet, and on it, my finest researchers were developing weapons which would give our ships a fighting chance against the overwhelming enemy facing us.
Accompanying you will be my finest soldier, the man I can trust to finish this task without fail."
The Emperor pointed with his hand towards the black clad soldier whom was up until this moment silent and observing of the arrivals.
He stepped forward when summoned.
~He is a Commander of my elite soldiers, trust him and follow his guidance like you would mine.
Now go, waste not a moment of your time, the enemy makes plans even as we speak.
Complete this mission, and upon your return we will converse further. ~
"Ave Imperator! " The companions cheered.
Before they have left the Emperor singled out Psyker Passios.
~Passios, I have a parting gift for you~
"W-what gift my lord, I am not worthy!" he said
~If the moment comes that your companions are in danger, this will help you protect them.~
He touched his head with his hands and his eyes glowed golden yellow and Passios felt as if shocked by electricity. Then his body calmed down.
~When the moment comes, you will know what you must do. Farewell~
Passios quickly took his helmet from the ground, his back never turning on the Emperor as he slowly moved back before exiting the great palace and joining his companions, still unsure of what happened.
Joining the companions now was a black uniformed soldier in modified and improved former alliance gear.
They have swiftly moved towards the lander, still under the impression that they have met the Lord of Mankind himself, not one was truly able to discuss that yet.
The Black armored soldier talked through his omni tool, commanding his finest soldiers to join the Imperial fleet and prepare for departure.
Entering the lander, only now did companions start to gather their wits.
"The Emperor himself, I never thought id live to see the day…" Aurelian spoke
"yes, truly an honour" Agrippa agreed
"But..he spoke that he is not a God? You have all heard him." Tiberius spoke the uneasy question.
"Indeed he did said so. The Emperor is our father, guardian and protector, he is the best of all of us, a true pinnacle of what we should all be. But a God, that he is not. " Chaplain Julius spoke , much to the chagrin of the companions, but few were willing to openly disagree with the superhuman sitting in full body armour.
"But the Emperor protects lord Chaplain" Aurelian said
"Indeed he does, but the issue is more complex than that. Besides,we have a mission to accomplish, not to discuss theological differences between what we believe, and what the Emperor himself told us. "
Everyone silently agreed with the Chaplain, if the Emperor said he is not a God, then they should agree with that. But ten thousand years of teachings cannot be washed overnight, and some would take more than that to consider the Emperor less than what they were thought from birth. A God of all Mankind.
"You spoke nothing all this time soldier, what is your purpose here? " Tiberius questioned the black uniformed soldier.
"The Princeps sent me along with my men to ensure that the research on the planet is acquired at all costs. My men and I will make certain of that."
"Does the almight Emperor expect trouble? "
"The Princeps always expects trouble. We should be ready for anything."
"I see. One more thing soldier, what is your name? " Tiberius asked him.
The soldier removed his black helmet revealing his face before answering.
"Shepard, John Shepard. " the Commander answered with a little smile.
The Lander carried them towards the battleship, where their journey will take them to the south for the galactic rim and towards their destiny.