The black clouds of Laphon I grew in size, lighting crackling overhead as the dark, polluted water in the clouds caused their color. On the ground, guardsman and warrior stood side by side, those without living metal bodies retreating to shelter to escape the coming acidic rain. Heavy boots left footprints in the grey sand as they moved, kicking up dust as the men ran inside their tents and prefab structures.
Less than a kilometer away, Nevha, Gaz, and a handful of guardsmen and Warriors stood at one of the tomb world's many gates. In front of the sealed door, a cryptek used his staff to illuminate and manipulate the doors controls, preparing to open it.
"How long is this supposed to take?" One of the guardsmen complained idly, more to himself than to anyone else.
The cryptek paused what he was doing and turned to the guardsman, "I suggest you remain quiet Human. Should you continue your ramblings I may leave you out here. I assume your flesh is not as resistant to the rain as Necrodermis?" he asked threateningly.
"Tivehk! Enough!" Nevha chastised.
The Cryptek remained silent, before returning to his work. A moment later, the door opened, the panels sliding sideways to reveal a long tunnel. Green lights lined the hall with glowing Necron symbols and glyphs etched into the wall. The group moved forward, heavy boots and metal feet clanking on the stone floor as the door closed behind them.
The guardsmen turned on the mounted flashlights on their Gauss rifles, illuminating the dimly lit corridor. While the Necrons wouldn't necessarily need them, the humans required a bit more light than what the glowing symbols provided.
The group kept moving, before they finally reached an elevator. The group piled in, the space provided by the construct more than sufficient to house all of them. The Cryptek toyed with the controls of the elevator, and before long, they were moving.
The platform seemed to almost float downward, the magnetized tracks it connected to providing a smooth ride. The trip only lasted about a minute, in which the Necrons stood silent while the guardsmen chatted idly. When the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, everyone present was subject to a magnificent sight.
A great balcony jutted out, allowing the to step out of the elevator and better see the massive hall before them.
The ceiling and floor stretched a hundred meters from the balcony, the walls covered in more symbols and glyphs. The majority of the room was lined with row upon row of stasis chambers, each filled with Necron soldiers, civilians, and any number of other living metal inhabitants. Canoptek Wraiths floated about, performing maintenance and repairs as needed. Tiny scarabs flew around, working in areas the large Wraiths could not reach.
"Throne… what is this place?" One guardsman asked.
"This is a stasis vault, where many of the citizens of the great Necron race lay dormant, waiting to be awakened." Tivahk answered.
"Indeed," Nevha affirmed, "However, this is not what we are here for. Tivahk, please start the reanimation process, and locate the construct templates for the pylons."
The Cryptek bowed, "Of course, my lady."
Tivahk walked off, heading to carry out Nevha's orders. With that done, the Phaerekh turned to Gaz, "Well, what do you think?" She asked, gesturing to the thousands of stasis pods filling the room. Already several pods had begun to open, their inhabitants stepping out and moving to carry out their future orders.
"It's… enormous, I'll give it that. I've seen some magnificent things in my life, but I think this tops most of it. Are there any of these rooms back home?" He asked.
Nevha shook her head, "Not to this scale, no. Still, we have our own advantages."
Gaz nodded, before his eyes widened as he saw a huge Tomb Sentinel crawling along the wall, it's massive, multiple legs magnetizing to the metal surface. For roughly an hour, the group walked through the tomb complex, the guardsmen staring in awe at the massive constructs. At one point they even reached an area where a massive Sereptek heavy construction stood dormant. In Gaz's opinion, nothing short of an Imperial knight could even hope to defeat such a thing.
He was very glad that Jarod had convinced them to ally themselves with the Necrons, for if they hadn't, he wasn't sure what it would take to truly defeat them.
[-]
"Chapter Master… are you seeing this?" Gallen said as the two of them looked at the bridge's view screen.
The enhanced auspex of the Astartes had detected several ships in the Laphon system, all surrounding the planet of Laphon I. At first, Landon had almost dismissed this as some Inquisitor or reconnaissance ship, but when they got closer and the readings became more accurate, the truth became… disturbing.
A total of six ships had been detected at first, but when they got closer, only three remained. These three were clearly of Imperial origin, but it disturbed them that three of the ships had seemingly disappeared without a trace. No warp signatures, no radiation, nothing. They had considered the possibility of Stealth Drives, but such things were incredibly rare, and if they were indeed being used, then the perpetrators had only used such devices to hide once the Astartes had gotten close enough to be detected.
"I see it, Brother. What I cannot determine is why such a thing would be the case." Landon admitted, "Stay out of range for now. Have the Astropath send a message to the Third and Fifth companies, tell them to remain a fairly long distance from the planet once they arrive in system."
"Very well," Gallen agreed, before walking off to complete his orders.
Landon watched the viewscreen with increasing frustration. Something was going on, that much was for sure, but he didn't know what.
"Ensign," He called, "Send a vox-hail to the lead ship, I want to know what they are doing here." he ordered.
The Ensign complied, and the order was sent. Only time would tell if he would get an answer. Should they ignore a hail from an astartes ship, something would clearly be wrong. Should they answer, he would be able to find out more directly what was going on. He did not sense any corruption in the air, nor did he sense the overwhelming presence of chaos within the warp.
Whatever was going on, he severely doubted it had anything to do with the great enemy, but he would be a fool to rule such a thing out so quickly. Many planets had fallen prey to the Ruinous powers when those watching over them were not vigilant in their duty.
Soon enough, he received a response from the lead ship.
"This is Captain Harper of the Imperial Transport vessel Canals Fury, to whom am I speaking?" the man asked over the vox.
"This is chapter master Landon of the Astral Winds Adeptus Astartes, I am inquiring as to your presence above the planet of Laphon I." he asked. He refrained from asking about the three missing ships. If they truly were hiding something, better to find out the information discreetly rather than using blunt force.
"Uh, please hold, my lord." the man responded, his voice cracking a bit. The vox-link was cut, and the tech-adept in charge of the Auspex reported a vox-link traveling from the ship down to the planet's surface.
It was odd, all things considered. And foolish on the part of Captain Harper. He had hung up on an astartes for Emperor's sake! Had he they been of the Black Templars or Flesh Tearers it was likely the man and his ship would not be staying in orbit for a very long time. Alas, Landon was a member of the Astral Winds, and as such, he held a certain respect for mortals that too few chapters did.
Still, the nervousness in the man's voice made the Chapter Master suspicious, as did the fact that he had immediately called someone on the surface, likely his commanding officer, to ask how to deal with the situation. It was not a poor decision mind you, but the fact that he had the gall to hang up on a space marine was… not, wise.
Of course, the man was likely panicking. The Astartes had not made their presence known until now, and there were very few that would have been able to tell anyone that they would be in this exact system anytime soon. Still, while his panic would be understandable, that did not make it appropriate.
Soon enough, they received a vox-link from the planet's surface, which they accepted.
"This is Planetary Governor-General Gaz, of Cellos IV, to whom am I speaking?" he asked.
"Your subordinate did not inform you?" Landon asked, already noting the man's rank. Why the planetary governor was here, instead of on his home planet, was a mystery he intended to solve.
"I apologize, my lord, the only report I received was that a ship of space marines had made contact. Again I ask, to whom am I speaking?"
"You are addressing Chapter Master Landon of the Astral Winds Adeptus Astartes. I am inquiring as to why your ships are hovering above the planet of Laphon I, and why you and your retinue are currently on the surface of a known Necron Tomb World." He asked.
"Astral Winds…? As in - No, nevermind. We are currently on this world in search of resources, my lord." Gaz explained.
Landon raised an eyebrow, "Resources, governor? Surely your home system has enough, and if not, I am sure there are safer places to gather resources than a Tomb World."
The line remained silent for a moment, then Landon swore he could hear someone talking in the background. Then, just when he was about to cut the transmission off, Gaz's voice came through again.
"I ask that you not interfere, Chapter Master. I have no quarrel with you, and I don't want to cause an incident. Please, leave the system." He said, his tone desperate and solemn.
"I am afraid I cannot do that, governor. We have busiess on this planet, and I intend to see it through." Landon stated, knowing where the conversation was going.
Gaz let out a long sigh, "For what it's worth, I didn't want it to be this way. The Emperor Protects." He said before the transmission cut off.
Landon frowned, before looking at the viewscreen again. The three Imperial ships had moved in the time their conversation had taken place, placing one of Laphon's moons between them and the Astartes vessel.
"Advance on the planet and prepare the landing craft," Landon ordered, "We will find out what they are hiding."
The ship moved, but, when they were only an hour's flight from within the landing range, the ship rocked. Alarms rang throughout the ship as it came to a halt, and when he looked at the viewscreen, he realized instantly why. The three ships that had disappeared, had now reappeared next to his ship. Beams of stable energy held the vessel in place, and when he looked at the readouts, he realized what the governor had been hiding.
The three ships holding his ship in place were of Necron Origin, Shroud class cruisers, each equipped with enough firepower to turn his ship to scrap.
[-]
Michael, Jarod, Matthias, Caliver, Karev all stood around a holo-table, meeting together to discuss what their plan was in total.
"Ok, so I'm pretty sure we're all aware we're not headed straight there, correct?" Michael asked, getting nods from everyone at the table.
"Our first stop, where we are headed now, is the forgeworld of Danloss, where we need to pick up extra ammunition, as well as a weapon I commissioned from them a few months ago." Jarod explained.
"What are we giving them in exchange?" Matthias asked.
"I've already paid them in advance, giving them some of my predecessor's stash of thrones along with some… well, I'm kind of surprised it worked, but I gave them some toasters, of all things." Jarod explained.
Karev blinked, "... Toasters?" he asked.
Matthias groaned, "Just… don't ask, that sect is a part of the mechanicus that I have been trying, and failing, to understand. I don't know what it is, but they seem to have some kind of obsession with the damn things."
Everyone at the table, save Calivar, shrugged.
"In any case, with my Emperor-given mission to destroy Chaos, I asked if they could build me some blessed power armor. Specifically, I asked for some extra defence against Tzeentchian influence." Jarod explained, "Frankly, the only reason I didn't get accused of heresy at that point was because I had Karev with me."
"Did you only get one set?" Micahel asked.
Jarod shook his head, "I got three, one for me, one for you, and one for Karev." He explained, "I'm pretty sure Matthias will be staying on board the ship for the most part, and Calivar, I don't think you'll need new power armor, not that I could get you any to begin with."
The space marine nodded, "My armor is sufficient, and though I have struggled with the influence of Chaos before, my will has been strengthened. I will not be tempted again."
Jarod nodded, "Once we pick that up we should be good to go straight there, though I recommend we send an astropathic message to a shrine world or something and notify them of the Daemon world. Those things are a pretty big issue, and frankly I'm surprised no one's tried to deal with it yet."
Karev frowned, "It is possible that they do not see the daemon world as worth dealing with. Mark it on the map as forbidden, and that usually keeps all but the most insane or corrupted out of it. Worst case scenario set up a blockade around the system." He explained.
"True enough. Anyway, once we reach the system, we're going to set up a staggered retreat method. The Emperor's boot will be the closest to the planet, within landing distance of its moon. The Reverent Purity will remain on the outskirts of the system, with the Golden Path in between them as a form of emergency transport. Should we get into a fight, we can start evacuating to the Golden path and then get out. If all else fails, the Reverent Purity should be able to get out of the system if everything else goes sideways." Jarod explained.
"What do we plan to do when we get in contact with the Traitor Primarch?" Matthias asked, "He's dangerous. We have no hope of even surviving a battle, let alone winning one."
"I am anathema to Chaos, I was able to nuke a greater daemon back into the warp and then proceed to beat the crap out of legions of daemons and traitor marines. I'm kind of hoping my abilities will be enough to hold him off while all of you escape. If not, then… well, we're screwed." Jarod explained, "Then again, all of this could be pointless, and we could end up getting nuked as soon as we exit the warp. Though I kind of doubt that will happen, as Magnus wants something out of this, and he can't very well get it if we're all dead."
The group agreed, noting the logic Jarod was following. Everything following that was mostly a discussion of what Magnus might want, and what ways he might try to stab them in the back. Michael mostly sat out of the conversation, as he was having a different one inside his own mind.
'You've been oftly quiet.' he noted to the Slaaneshi Champion.
'I remain silent because there is little for me to add. I have little opinion of the Sorcerer, and you seem to be quite aware of his abilities.' Lucius spoke.
Michael frowned, 'This isn't the only time you've been quiet. Heck, you've pretty much not spoken a word since Salah had her breakdown.'
Lucius was silent for a moment, and Michael was almost afraid the space marine had gone silent again before he spoke up, 'The reaction to her defeat by your hands was… not what I expected, to put it mildly. To be honest I had expected her to try and stab you in the back, or simply accept the defeat with irritated stoicism. Becoming attached to you was not something I had expected.'
'Well, I'm just glad her emotion's didn't attract some kind of daemon. I mean, if she had gotten possessed, who's to say I could have dealt with that? And no, I wouldn't have decided to turn to Slaanesh and have sex with the thing.' Michael said with a shudder, 'There are lines a sane man does not cross, and even more I won't. That is WAY past the line.'
Lucius scoffed, 'Well, when you put it like that the daemonette's sound outright revolting.'
'They ARE outright revolting. Seriously, what in your twisted mind thinks half-naked, purple-skinned crab ladies is attractive? Let alone pleasing to look at!' Michael asked.
'Hey, don't kink-shame, it's unbecoming of you.'
'I'm kink-shameing you incredibly hard right now. Seriously, we're talking about the personification of evil here! The epitome of disgust! Blegh, my eyes hurt just thinking about it.'
'And having a relationship with an Aeldari isn't the epitome of disgust and shame?' Lucius asked, his grin audible.
'For the record, we're not like that, and on a second note, sex isn't something to be treated with such… causuality. Seriously, that's just… wrong.' Michael said, a shiver running down his spine.
Lucius chuckled again, 'Sometimes I am glad you refuse the pleasures of Slaanesh, your reactions are quite amusing.'
Michael sighed, before shoving Lucius into a mental box. He wasn't anywhere near prepared to deal with the eternal headache at the moment. While he was thankful that the Chaos Champion had trained him in sword fighting, he wasn't keen on his constant innuendoes and attempts to convert him to Slaanesh.
[-]
AN: Another prep chapter, and a look into what Lucius thinks on the situation. Once again, the eternal champion proves his status as a perverted troglodyte.