Author's Note: Whooo! On a roll! Unfortunately, this one is mostly a transition chapter, but it sets up the real meat of the plot. Next chapter should be out within the next three or four days.
Disclaimer: Don't own either Code Geass or Warhammer 40k. Don't think I ever will.
Chapter Eight: The Return
Black Knights Drop Shuttle Courageous, Orbit of Titan
Four Hours After the Ikaruga's Appearance
"They've verified our approach," the communications officer glanced over his shoulder at the commander, "They're sending gunships to meet us."
"Approach vector locked," the pilot added.
The pilot glanced out the cockpit windows as Imperial Thunderhawks joined the quintet of Excalibur-class attack craft currently escorting their shuttle. The slab-sided Imperial gunships contrasted sharply with the sleek lines of the Black Knights attack craft. In front, the cavernous main docking bay of the Grey Knights' fortress-monastery slowly grew to dominate the view. The destroyer they had launched from and its frigate escorts grew smaller and smaller in the distance.
The Excalibur-class attack craft peeled away at blinding speed as the Courageous passed through the atmospheric integrity fields. Their bellies came millimeters from the surface of Titan for a few brief moments before the craft climbed sharply away from the moon. The quintet of Black Knights craft soon joined the multitude of Imperial fighters patrolling the perimeter around Titan.
"Docking permissions granted. The Imperials have sent a delegation to greet us."
The Sleipnir suddenly stopped in midair, sending its gunship escorts wildly banking away in an effort to avoid colliding with the drop shuttle. The Courageous' bow swung around in midair, bringing its starboard flank in line with its assigned docking area. The bay was originally designed for Imperial dropships, but the difference in scale was sufficiently vast that the Black Knights vessel's current orientation made for a—rather snug—fit. The Courageous' pilot slowly sidled the shuttle into the berth.
"Touchdown confirmed. Shutting off the gravitric drives," the pilot hurriedly flipped several switches and pushed a couple of buttons, "Drive shutdown confirmed. Lowering the ramp."
The armored blast doors at the end of the docking berth slowly slid open. Though their helmets hid them, the crew's eyes widened at the sight that lay beyond.
Shuttle Bay E72, Main Docking Bay
Grey Knights Fortress-Monastery, Titan
The members of the Grey Knights honor guard simultaneously snapped to attention as the Courageous' ramp dropped down. Fresh air from the shuttle's interior mixed with the stale air of the fortress-monastery as two armored figures strode down the ramp. At around two meters in height, they stood noticeably shorter than the gathered Astartes. Records of the conversation between Inquisitor Kirschman and the captain of the Pendragon had already made their rounds of the fortress, and the gathered Grey Knights were already familiar with the helmets of the Archangel Knightmare.
The rest of the design proved similarly sleek and utilitarian: the torso was vaguely spherical, with a narrow waist and pelvis section. The shoulder armor flared out in a clearly visible but fairly understated manner and was nowhere near as conspicuous as the Astartes'. The limbs were long and thin, but they somehow remained proportional with the rest of the body. A roughly oval-shaped pod hung from each hip, with the downward-facing end narrowing into a tip. The forearms were slightly bulked up but not nearly enough to grab one's attention. The backpack was fairly small and unobstructive and was clearly overshadowed by the elongated, roughly trapezoidal, structures that hung on either side of it. Every major surface of the armor was sloped or rounded in a way that suggested it could easily bounce a bolter shell or lasbolt.
Two more Archangels followed two paces behind, their hadron assault rifles ported with the barrels pointed downwards. A pair of Knightmares, very clearly not Archangels, disembarked afterwards.
The one to the left clearly shared some visual characteristics with the Archangels but only to the extent of a vague resemblance. Compared to the surrounding Knightmares, it sported a significantly more pronounced head crest, lengthened to the point of resembling a backwards-facing horn. Its shoulder, knee, and forearm armor flared out aggressively, visibly increasing the size of its silhouette. The design's overall lines were sleeker and more aggressive than that of Archangel, serving to both intimidate and impress. It sported the same backpack-like structure as the surrounding Knightmares, but two scabbards and a pair of structures resembling featherless birds' wings were mounted on the sides, and a hadron assault rifle attached to its lower back. Instead of black and silver, the Knightmare was painted white and gold with red highlights.
The Knightmare to the left was a radical departure from either model of power armor present. Standing noticeably shorter than its counterparts, it was largely red with orange around the collar and upper chest and various quantities of grey and green were scattered around its frame. Its lines were sharp and angular, giving it an even more aggressive appearance than its companion. The backpack-like structure was still present but blended into its torso, with two winglike structures folded tightly against it. Two prominent, blade-like structures jutted out of its back, with a pair of tracks allowing them to slide to the front of its torso. Its head with significantly more exaggerated than its companion's, sporting one large protrusion on top that closely resembled a horn and two more upward-curving structures on the sides. The flared-out shoulder and knee armor only enhanced its aggressive aura. Most distinctive of all, however, was its right arm: it was noticeably longer than its left, with a large, five-clawed hand rather than a more conventional manipulator.
Four more Archangel Knightmares filed down the ramp next, followed by two robed figures. Lithe and petite, they seemed out-of-place next to the armored Knightmares and Astartes that inhabited the room. Four more Archangels followed them, assault rifles ported and pointed downwards. The two custom Knightmares and the two robed figures halted at the bottom of the ramp, while the Archangels proceeded forward, forming two neat rows.
"Detail, attention!"
With nanosecond precision, the Archangels snapped to attention.
"Detail, present arms!"
Twelve rifle salutes.
"Detail, order arms!"
With a precision that impressed even the gathered Astartes, twelve rifle butts crashed against the floor. The Knightmares stood ramrod-straight, holding their rifles at the barrel.
The Grey Knights, not to be outdone, responded in kind. The two columns turned their backs to one another, and the Astartes strode in lockstep to the corridor walls. They all pivoted simultaneously, halberds held upright in their right hands and their left arms against their sides. With the kind of precision that only years of practice could bring, the butts of their halberds suddenly slammed against the ground with a deafening thud. As they did so, the gathered Grey Knights simultaneously turned eyes-right.
"In the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind and the Imperium of Man, I welcome you to the Holy Terra System."
Inquisitor Manuel Kirschman strode between the two columns of Grey Knights, appearing quite tiny compared to the mountains of ceramite that surrounded him. Another Grey Knight, his helmet removed to show his weathered and battle-scarred face, walked beside the Inquisitor. The pair came to a stop just before crossing the blast doors. The Black Knights delegation walked the remaining distance to meet them.
"I am Inquisitor Manuel Kirschman of the Ordos Xenos. In the absence of a higher-ranking envoy of the God-Emperor, I am authorized to speak on behalf of the Imperium," the Inquisitor bowed slightly.
"And I am Supreme Grand Master Jakob Aetius of the Grey Knights," the Astartes beside him boomed.
To the entire Imperial delegation's surprise, one of the robed figures stepped forward first and lowered her hood. Before the voluminous sleeves slid back over her hands, the gathered Astartes noticed that the figure wasn't quite as unprotected as originally thought: her hands were encased in a material visually similar to wraithbone. It seemed to extend up her arms, and from the way the robes fell over her shoulders, the material probably covered at least her upper torso as well. With those observations filed away, they took note of the woman's appearance and made a valiant effort to hide their shock. A youthful-looking face with large purple eyes and framed by flowing chestnut-brown locks lay beneath the hood. She didn't appear much older than twenty at most.
"Greetings, Inquisitor Kirschman and Supreme Grand Master Aetius of the Imperium. I am Nunnally Lamperouge, governor of the Black Knights."
Nunnally extended her hand. The Inquisitor reluctantly accepted it and shook briefly before letting go. The Supreme Grand Master hesitated for a second, as if wondering whether his hand would crush hers, before taking the proffered hand. His hand promptly retracted as if shot. From the look on her face, he knew that she knew that he had realized she wasn't any normal girl.
The white-and-gold Lancelot-Seraph stepped up next.
"My name is Suzaku Kururugi, General of the Black Knights Military Arm-Militia Division.
As Suzaku shook both their hands, Kallen in her Guren-Seraph stepped up.
"I am General Kallen Kozuki, head of the Black Knights Military Arm-Special Forces Division."
She extended her left arm.
"And I am CC, Director of the Psychic Special Warfare Department of the Black Knights Military Arm."
CC's robes parted as she extended her hand. As he shook the Director's hand, Supreme Grand Master Aetius noticed that she was clad in a suit of the same wraithbone-like substance that Nunnally was wearing. He could see a saber in its scabbard in the folds of her robes.
Grey Knights Fortress-Monastery, Titan
Fifteen Minutes Later
"So this 'God-Emperor' of yours…did he choose this title for himself, or did others bestow it upon him?"
The Inquisitor and the Supreme Grand Master both froze in their tracks. Nunnally buried her face in her hands as Suzaku and Kallen facepalmed with simultaneous metallic clanks. Jakob whirled around and advanced on CC.
"I suggest you consider your next words carefully. I have struck down lesser men on the spot for far less."
"Stand down."
The Supreme Grand Master's blood boiled as his hand shot for the bolt pistol at his hip. This…witch…had the gall to blaspheme against the Emperor and then dare presume to order him around?
"I said stand down!" CC ordered a little more loudly this time.
"I suggest you listen to her anyway, Supreme Grand Master."
That was the point that Jakob realized neither of CC's commands had been directed at him. He turned around to find himself face-to-faceplate with an unknown model of Knightmare with its blade millimeters from his throat. No less than five Knightmares of the same previously-unseen model stood behind him, blades at the ready. Three more stood behind Inquisitor Kirschman, one with his sword millimeters from the Inquisitor's neck. The nine Knightmares straightened up and re-sheathed their swords, and the Inquisitor sagged visibly in relief. They saluted and disappeared with a series of faint cracks.
The Supreme Grand Master turned around and continued walking down the corridor. His features were carefully composed thanks to centuries of experience, but internally, he was shaken. Just how had those Knightmares appeared behind him like that? What kind of sorcery allowed them to move close enough to attack him without him noticing?
Behind him, Nunnally was angrily mouthing "Behave!" to CC.
Grey Knights Fortress-Monastery, Titan
Forty-Five Minutes Later
"Completely unacceptable!" the Inquisitor slammed his fist onto the table, "I will not stand for this! We have already extended you and your Black Knights significant trust in allowing you near Holy Terra in force! The High Lords would never grant your request to approach Terra itself!"
CC stared at the now-redfaced Inquisitor impassively while Nunnally began to massage the bridge of her nose. Suzaku and Kallen stood at either side of the two, their Knightmares not budging. Neither Nunnally nor CC needed psychic ability to see that the two were internally banging their heads against desks.
Nunnally took a few deep breaths, straightened up, and folded her hands primly in front of her.
"Inquisitor Kirschman, I'm not sure if you fully understand the Imperium's position. Abaddon the Despoiler himself is arriving in less than fifty hours with one of the largest non-Tyranid fleets the galaxy has ever seen. Your forces couldn't even repel the first wave of his attack."
The Inquisitor's hands balled up into fists.
"We have at our disposal a legion of battle-hardened troops and one of the most powerful fleets in the galaxy. They've faced and beaten Orks, Tyranids, Necrons, and Chaos multiple times over the past twenty thousand years."
"You are standing in the seat of power of the Imperium of Man," Jakob interrupted, "Yet you still dare to threaten us?"
"Your fleet is not even worth the warheads it would take to destroy it. Our survival is merely a matter of leaving this system. You would be surprised how many sectors the taint of Chaos has yet to reach. You have no such option."
Inquisitor Kirschman's grip tightened even further, his knuckles turning deathly white.
"You can stand before Chaos with us at your side, or you can stand alone. The ball, as my people say, is now in your court, Inquisitor."
Manuel Kirschman slumped down in his seat, defeated.
"I'll talk to the High Lords regarding landing permissions on Holy Terra. I make no guarantees regarding an audience before the Emperor. The Adeptus Custodes have sole authority over that issue."
"I'm sure we can make them see reason. As I speak, approximately ten million militia troops and one thousand five hundred ships are ready for immediate deployment to projected contested zones. They will be joined by another thirty million troops and seven thousand ships within twenty-four hours, with the rest of our forces ready within the forty-eight hours afterwards."
Kirschman didn't become an Inquisitor through superior dataslate-sorting abilities. In order to have that much firepower ready on such short notice…
"You never had any intention of withdrawing, did you, Governor Lamperouge?"
"I could have been bluffing, Inquisitor, but do you really want to take that chance?"
Manuel slumped back down in his seat, closing his eyes and massaging his temples. Just what was this girl?
Docking Bay, Black Knights Frigate Valiant
Seven Hours After the Ikaruga's Appearance
"Detail, right shoulder, arms!"
"Detail, forward, march!"
Eight Cherub Knighmares shouldered their hadron carbines with practiced motions. As dozens of Orbital Planetary Assault Wing personnel—encased in their Knightmares due to being on alert but with the helmets off and held under their right armpits—looked on in solemn silence, they moved forward with nanosecond precision.
"Detail, halt!"
Eight feet simultaneously crashed to the ground, followed by silence.
"Detail, right, face!"
Eight Knightmares pivoted on their right feet, rotating ninety degrees and facing the row of flag-draped coffins.
"Detail, present, arms!"
Seven simultaneous rifle salutes accompanied by a hand salute.
"Detail, order, arms!"
Seven carbine butts met the ground. The eighth Knightmare slowly bought his hand up in another salute. He held the pose for a little over a second before turning to face the other seven Knightmares.
"Detail, left, face!"
The seven Knightmares returned to their original orientation.
"Detail, port, arms!"
The seven Knightmares simultaneously ported their rifles, standing at rigid attention the whole time as the eighth Knightmare read out of the names of the dead, beginning with Lieutenant Karen Schneider and working his way down the ranks. The pause in between names stung just as much as the number of names.
"Ready!"
"Aim!"
Seven hadron carbines pointed towards the far wall, as if threatening whatever daemons of the Warp wished to feast on the souls of the dead.
"Fire!"
Seven cherry-red lances shot out at once, splashing harmlessly against the bulkhead.
"Ready!"
Seven carbines returned to port arms.
"Aim!"
Seven rifles aimed at the wall.
"Fire!"
Seven more hadron bolts splashed harmlessly against their target.
"Ready!"
"Aim!"
"Fire!"
The final seven bolts impacted the opposite bulkhead, leaving behind faint scorch marks but otherwise not affecting the metal at all.
"Detail, right shoulder, arms!"
"Wing, present, arms!"
Dozens of feet simultaneously slammed against the ground as all the Orbital Planetary Assault Wing troopers present snapped to attention and saluted. Twenty-four of them walked forward in lockstep, splitting off into pairs as they approached the coffins. Each pair flanked the coffin closest to them and pivoted to face it.
"Wing, parade, rest!"
Nearly eighty armored feet lifted up off the ground at once and slammed against the floor again a split-second later. Feet shoulder-width apart and hands clasped behind their backs, the OPAW troopers watched solemnly on as a remote signal activated the grav-lift platforms under the coffins. Slowly, the flag-draped coffins approached the boundary that was the docking bay's atmospheric integrity field. As each of the coffins passed by, the OPAW troopers to either side grabbed the flag by the corners and lifted it away.
Removing the flag revealed the smooth metal hidden underneath, along with the OPAW insignia etched into the surface. From a distance, one might be forgiven for thinking it was a badly-drawn Imperial Aquila: a highly stylized eagle dominated the design. However, where the Imperial eagle resembled something hand-painted with a calligraphy brush, the OPAW eagle was far more angular, its contours roughly lining up with the triangular border. Its single head faced to the right. Written around the edges was "Black Knights Military Arm-Orbital Planetary Assault Wing." A thin line on the eagle's chest, which countless troopers over the millennia had remarked closely resembled the mark on Director CC's forehead, denoted them as Raiders.
In perfect synchrony, the twelve pairs of OPAW troopers turned the flags towards their audience. The design was simple: completely matte black, broken up only by the silver malformed-trident insignia in the center. As the soldiers turned the flags insignia-side-up, twelve more Knightmares broke ranks and moved in lockstep towards the front. Each deposited an OPAW patch and a Raider stripe at the center of a flag before about-facing and returning to formation.
With practiced ease, the twelve pairs of Knightmares left in the front folded the flags. They matched one another fold-for-fold with nanosecond precision, pausing for a second between each fold. The hangar bay was tomb-silent for the nearly thirty seconds the ceremony lasted.
"Detail, right,face!"
Twenty-four armored feet simultaneously crashed to the deck as the Knightmares they were attached to pivoted to face the audience. The rightmost Knightmare of each pair held the folded flag under his right armpit.
"Detail, fall in!"
The Knightmares quickly arranged themselves into two columns and snapped to attention.
"Detail, forward, march!"
The audience parted down the center, allowing the flag-bearing Knighmares passage. In silence, the twelve pairs of OPAW troopers marched out of the hanger bay.
"Wing, dismissed!"
The remaining OPAW turned around and left the hanger bay. No sooner had the last of them left through the blast doors than Knightmare-equipped technicians swarmed into the hangar and busily set about restoring the area to working order.
The coffins slowly drifted off into the distance, becoming specks in space before disappearing from view entirely.
Black Knights Drop Shuttle Courageous
En Route to Holy Terra
Nunnally double-tapped her communicator, summoning her personal holographic heads-up display. A thin rod extended for the ear pieces, following the contour of her head and stopping as they entered her line of sight. Years of use allowed her to endure the dazzling effect as the display was projected directly onto her retinas without so much as blinking. With a few mental twitches, she brushed aside the vast majority of the readouts and bought up a window displaying the latest dispatches from all over the fleet.
Most of the dispatches were little more than routine logistics reports from her legion of advisors and ministers. One that caught her eye originated from the Valiant: the ceremonial burial in space for Karen Schneider and her Raiders had concluded mere minutes ago. News of the 1st Raiders' fate had spread to nearly all members of its parent unit within minutes of the 2nd Raiders' arrival. Within an hour, Kallen had received a request to conduct the ceremony. The redheaded general had reluctantly authorized it, provided all participating units were ready for immediate deployment should Chaos forces arrive in-system earlier than expected.
The civil governor of the Black Knights held no illusions of just how costly the upcoming war was likely to be: in the years before returning to Earth, she had secretly stockpiled a massive amount of funerary supplies. Fifty million coffins, specifically geared towards burials in space, and flags to drape over them sat piled in several of the Ikaruga's cavernous storage bays. Well aware of the OPAWs' burial traditions, she had also skimmed twenty thousand OPAW patches and five hundred Raider stripes from production lines. In addition, nearly two hundred fifty million medals, the vast majority of them awarded for severe injuries sustained in the line of duty or—-usually posthumously—for conspicuous bravery in battle, had been secretly struck.
Though mere thoughts of the sheer scale of bloodshed about to take place was sufficient to make Nunnally sick to her stomach, she was truly shaken by the Raiders' unflinching acceptance of their orders. A mission even more dangerous than normal in the Raiders' line of work, the job was one all four of the Black Knights' leaders could say with near-certainty that no unit would willingly take it on. For one of the few times in her numerous millennia of existence, Nunnally found herself painfully aware just how much stock the Black Knights put into her words, as well as those of her three compatriots.
Private thoughts of doubt wormed their way into Nunnally's mind. She could tell that her three companions were experiencing similar feelings at that very moment.
"We have emerged from the cover of Imperial fighter patrols. As soon as our escorts dock, we will engage the skimmer drive," a very calm and collected voice announced.
The deck rumbled slightly as five Excalibur-class attack craft pulled close to the Sleipnir's sides and engaged docking clamps.
"Escorts confirmed docked. Course is plotted. Estimated travel time: seventeen minutes."
Nunnally leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. No matter how she felt inside, she could never show any signs of her current mental state outside the Courageous' passenger compartment. She couldn't afford to appear anything less than absolutely certain of every decision she made in front of the troops, and she especially couldn't afford to let the Imperials see her waver.
A slight shiver running up her spine confirmed to the Psyker that the shuttle had entered the Warp.
Orbit Of Mars
Eight Hours After the Ikaruga's Appearance
As the first and greatest of the Adeptus Mechanicus Forge Worlds, the defenses of Mars were second only to those of Holy Terra itself. As the remaining fleets of the Imperium conducted their long retreat back to the human home sector, the defenses around the planet had only increased. Thousands of ships, among them hundreds of the fabled and unimaginably-powerful Ark Mechanicus-class ships, maintained constant vigil over the world.
When a series of sickly-green rifts in reality suddenly appeared in the midst of the defense fleet, thousands of guns were immediately trained on them. The Imperial fleet could hardly stand down fast enough when the Black Knights Dreadnoughts Beijing and Paris roared through the rift, followed by over a dozen cruisers and their respective escorts.
The Imperial fleet hurriedly parted, allowing the Black Knights' battle group past. Weaving through the tangle of orbital shipyards, the ships stopped in low orbit and began disgorging drop-shuttles.
?
?
"Is this the specimen you mentioned, my lord?"
"Yes. I want to know if it can be done."
"My lord, it took a little longer to get the specimen into stasis than would be optimal, and…"
The sound of a sword unsheathing echoed throughout the chamber.
"Do not test my patience! As of now, my continued patronage…no, your continued existence…is at my pleasure. I ask you again: can it be done?"
"But, my lord, the codes…" "I don't care what the codes say at this moment! What I want to know from you is if it can be done!" the first voice thundered.
"It is well within our capabilities, my lord," the second voice meekly replied, "But our supplies are already depleted from the last procedure…"
"State your needs. Anything you require will be yours!"
"Yes, my lord. We will begin preparations immediately."
Author's Note: Yes. After eight chapters, we finally reach Holy Terra! The real meat of the plot now begins!