Shadow of a Doubt
Chapter 12
The town center was packed with its citizens all starring up at the Inquisitor on a stage while the Recce Troop of the Tyven Grenadiers surrounded her. Around them were surviving members of the Imperial Adepts that had hid during the slaughter. The armouries had been opened to these former Adepts and everyone from former Arbites that had survived to even Munitorium clerks clutched autogun rifles and flamers with grim looks on their faces. They had assumed that the best case scenario was Exterminatus, that the worst case was total rule under Chaos.
"Listen up carefully. Those of you willing to die for your sins, those of you who know what you did and had willingly stood by while your planet burned, stand to the right side. You have each committed a crime unforgivable to the Emperor of Mankind, you have torn away your loyalties. Make your choice now!" She yelled out, her voice amplified by the various speakers that had been mounted. A full quarter began moving towards the right after some thought. Most were parents who looked mournful at their cowardice, while many others were ordinary citizens who had done what they had to do in order to survive. The others jeered the Inquisitor, praising Chaos openly. She closed her eyes for a moment, this was to be expected. She quickly gave the order. The ones who openly support Chaos, were quickly gunned down while one side of the former Imperial Servants advanced with flamers, torching those unwilling to die for their crimes. An hour later, more than ninety thousand heretics had been put to the sword, they tried to struggle and fight out but the stubbers from the Tyven Armour Squadron quickly ripping through the crowd while the flamers themselves burned large swathes of the heretics. Those who had volunteered for death, they stared with horror, their eyes ashamed of the sight in front of them as they saw those formerly of their city killed. As the last heretic corpse hit the floor, she looked over at the ones who had wished for death. "You will all be screened for corruption. And once again you WILL serve the Emperor."
"Equinox 1, this is 11Alpha. Priority, large group of civilians with Imperial flags coming over towards the West positions. Interrogative, what are our actions over."
"11Alpha Stand by."
"Sir?" The voxman looked over at the Colonel who had a map of the city spread out. He was processing the message and frowned for a moment. "Have Call signs 32 head over in support. Have the civilians checked before seeing what they want." The voxman nodded and jotted down the command order before transmitting it.
" All call signs 32, all call signs 32, this is Equinox 1, Stand by for FRAGO over."
"32 send over." The crisp voice of Lieutenant Reyna Korvac could be heard with the hum of the Leman Russ Demolisher engine.
"Equinox 1, all call signs 32 is to proceed to west positions in support of call sign 11Alpha. Consider yourself detached from call sign 31 for the moment. Sitrep will be provided by 11 Alpha upon arrival, over."
"32 roger, wilco."
"11Alpha, Equinox 1 over."
"11 Alpha send it over."
"Equinox 1, maintain position. 32 is en route to position to provide support. Break. Orders from Equinox Actual are to check civilians for weapons. Break. Ensure position safety then find out what they want. Over."
"11 Alpha, roger that, out."
Captain Miles Tyrbourne, now in command of a company of well equipped and well drilled Grenadiers quickly gave orders much more concise than his years spent in the PDF.
"All call signs 11, this is 11A Actual. Stand by for orders, over"
"11 B roger over"
"11 C roger over."
"11 D roger over."
"11A Actual, orders are to stop the civilians through minimum force necessary. Break. Await 32 arrival to support. Break. 11A and 11B will stop civilians and conduct search. Break. 11 C and 11 D are to maintain overwatch. Break. If civilians are clean, 11D will escort them in, Equinox Actual will make decision after. Over."
A series of acknowledgments answered over the radio, a communication precision that was unlike anything previous in the PDF. But then again, these troops had been precisely drilled by not just the veterans of the Gamma 6-7 but also had hours of Hypno Indoc to teach them the more mundane skills such as radio operation and the like. Captain Tyrbourne led his platoon outwards to stop the civilians with open palms, rifles held in a non-threatening manner. The lead civilians would stop, those holding the Imperial Aquila flags setting the long plasteel shafts down onto the dirt while the flags fluttered. After a few moments, the Leman Russ tanks rolled into position behind the sandbagged dug outs and trenches held by 1 Commando, and second platoon got out of the trench and moved to where the Captain was.
"We were summoned. A messenger came to us, and asked us if we remained loyal to the Emperor of Mankind. He asked us, if we were willing to serve. We have come as per his summons." The man in front, a white haired steeled eyed older man with a stiffly held spine stated as the Captain approached him. Before the Captain could answer however, a soft thud made by someone who was so quiet but had to make a sound on purpose could be heard from beside him. Appearing out of thin air it seemed, Sergeant Yingr stood there along with Nathun who stood beside him in dusk blue power armour, their cameoline cloaks fluttering a little in the breeze. "Captain. I answer for them for I have trekked to find those worthy and willing to serve the Emperor in a time of need."
"I.. Lord. Your will." The Captain bowed and the two Legionnaires would lead the people past, the Grenadiers moving and opening a path for them as the over five thousand numbered procession walked past.
"Commander. I have returned with my mission complete." Yingr transmitted as the organized file marched past. Behind them followed dozens of trucks, unseen by the Grenadiers due to how far back the civilian formation had reached. The trucks were driven by some of the traders that had arrived with Galya to the city originally, now each hoarding a precious cargo. Commander Kyreg smiled and responded. "Sergeant. Your triumph does credit to the 8th." The Sergeant accepted the compliment wordlessly, although a slight grin appeared underneath his helmet. "I have secured for us as well, one hundred possible initiates. Lowest gene match is at eighty three percent, highest is at ninety four percent." The Alpha Legionnaire geneseed had a much higher acceptance rate than many others, an acceptable standard being seventy five amongst many of the former Legions while due to the better compatibility of the XX Legions geneseeds, the legion only recruited at eighty percent or higher.
"Once again you deserve worthy of your title." Kyreg answered, knowing how much the Sergeant disliked being called the Master of Initiates. "Commander, perhaps a bolt round struck you too hard." Kyreg laughed at the reply as the Sergeants protégé chuckled slightly, earning a turn of the Sergeants helmet as Yingr would glare at him although his eyes were hidden by the helmet.
The Sergeant had been sent out into the country side where research had found that many former Imperial Army Auxilia had settled here, their descendants now taking on the role of farmers while the city themselves were mostly filled with the first traders that had flown out to conduct commerce in the planet and settled there. The farmers and country folks were of a hardy stock, and loyal to the Emperor to a fault. Yingr had spent weeks scouring the country side, ever since his initiates were promoted to full Legionnaires and sought out new Initiates as well as recruiting the descendants of those former Imperial Army soldiers. The descendants still maintained a tale from their ancestors that had devolved more into legend as the planet had not been visited by any Astartes for millennia until now. The tales referenced the Serpentine Angels, those gilded in the chain wearing the colours of the twilight heralding the glorious dawn of the Emperor. The heresy had largely untouched the planet, the last Astartes on the planet were those of the XX Legion who had set up the Outpost. When the Imperium had arrived in a full fleet above the planet in the thirty seventh millennia, they had discovered a planet loyal to the Emperor. Swiftly installing in Imperial Adepts and the like, the fleet had moved on with planets in full on rebellion to suppress, forgetting this planet. The planet paid its tithes, and trade had flourished within the Tyven system and neighbouring planets.
Of course now the Serpentine Angels gilded in the chain had come once again and those descended of the Auxilia had kneeled upon seeing Yingr. And he had told them of the truth, of what had transpired. Of even what the XX Legion itself had done and what was to be done by this small group of the sons of Alpharius who remained loyal to the Golden Throne. Without hesitation, they had offered up those able bodied, those who had fired a weapon before, had served in the PDF previously as well as their sons who had spirit. Out of every single town they went to, they had gathered one hundred recruits, each having been tested by the bioaugar that Yingr always carried and those who had completed their trials the best. The rules had been simple. Out of the five hundred boys who had been tested and competed, many had perished. However groups of boys at random were chosen, a simple test of endurance. Squads of ten were to follow the Astartes at a punishing march across the woodlands, each allowed only a single canteen of water and the only way to be selected was to be selected in the top ten. No food was ever given although breaks were provided for them to hunt down any wild game they could find. No extra water was given although those smart had filled canteens at rivers any chance they got. Fifty miles and two days, without any sleep given and the winners had been chosen. Their training would take care of the rest, out of the one hundred recruits, Yingr would be quite pleased if even twenty made it through the indoctrination and training process. You can teach a man to kill. You can teach a man to obey. You cannot teach a man to endure however, and that is what was sought after. In the end, the one hundred were given food while the boys who had not made it would still be taken as serfs and servants of the 8th. They may have failed the test to be Astartes but it did not mean that they would not provide able bodied recruits to the Gamma 6-7 or to serve the Shrouded in other ways.
Kyreg looked at the men and women who had entered the town square. The trucks had driven in last, all forty of them. The drivers prompted dismounted and bowed to the Astartes Commander who acknowledged them with a nod of his helmed head. The Inquisitor stared at him with surprise on her face, not just at all the civilians who had been gathered here but also at the fact that the Legionnaire and his squads had appeared out of thin air again. At one side, it could be seen with Mytis seeing to the injuries suffered by Oronis. The apothecary was chuckling while picking out the bolter shell pieces out of his side while quickly sealing it with false skin and a dose of medication to force the augmentations of his body to go into overdrive, rapidly healing his cells. The Legionnaire would be healed in a day while it would have taken an ordinary man at least a week. Oronis seeing his wound patched, grunted in thanks before Polaris, his squad mate would seal the armour with a tube of liquid ceramite before torching the liquid, hardening it with a human sized flamer that he set at the lowest setting looking like a welding torch in the Legionnaires hand.
"Who are all these people Commander? And why do you insist on planning behind my back." The Inquisitor asked, although she wasn't quite sure if she really wanted to know the answer as she crossed her arms across her chest. "They are the loyal citizens of the uncorrupted country side, the ones that remained true to the Emperor and are once again here to serve." Laneth sighed loudly. "And what would you have them do then Lord Pompous Commander?" Kyreg chuckled at her tone and gestured towards the trucks. "We arm them. And form regiments from them. And we drill them in war. A storm is coming, Inquisitor." Cyprus looked over and nodded approvingly. "Arming the populace so we can withstand whatever is thrown at us. I like it Lord." Troiey nodded as well, in agreement while Silas had managed to lay himself down on some sandbags and stretched out there like a cat. "I don't like the fact that you plan behind my back. And you don't include me into your mission plannings. I didn't even know you had your own people take over the command center before I stumbled in." Kyreg glanced over at the Inquisitor and snorted slightly. "Legionnaire Astartes do not need to share their plans with an Inquisitor. And I believe that no rank exists amongst my Legion but Lord Pompous Commander maybe a battalion commander rank amongst the Ultramarines." The rest of his squad chuckled at that comment while Silas looked amused at the way the Legionnaire would snub one of the more famous ranks of the Adeptus Astartes so casually. Troiey had a look of mild disbelief on his face while Cyprus laughed a little. The former Elysian Sergeant had met Ultramarines before and fought beside them and decided that the XX Legionnaire was not exactly incorrect in many ways.
Laneth shot a rather dirty look over towards her former drop trooper acolyte before staring back at Kyreg with a look in between being impressed and annoyance. She placed a hand on the plasma pistol at her hip and sighed a little bit. "What do you intend to do with them then Commander?" The XX Legion Commander instead of answering, simply tilted his head and pointed out towards the center of the massive city square. The truck beds would be opened wide and crates upon crates of auto rifles were placed onto the ground, ten of the civilians each grabbing one of them until there were five hundred boxes standing in the middle, ten civilians assigned to each box. They would open them to open freshly stamped Armageddon pattern auto guns that they each opened up and slung over their shoulders. Then ammunition was provided. Instead of simple box magazines, crates upon crates of drum magazines were issued, attached to the civilians by a bandolier of multiple pouches, each pouch holding a drum magazine. Then last but not least, ammunition was issued. Shining brass cartridges were revealed as massive wooden boxes were offloaded from the remainder of the trucks and the militia began loading their magazines awkwardly but with a familiarity.
"Are they even trained?" The Inquisitor wondered while Kyreg simply waved Sergeant Yingr forward. "Of course they are Lady Inquisitor. It was a long journey. Two weeks is enough to show a civilian how to aim and fire an autogun. And more importantly, how to take cover." The Legionnaire Sergeant looked at the Inquisitor with a frown to his face that was hidden by his helmet. However, Kyreg had known the Sergeant for millennia and could tell his moods by his simple posture. "Sergeant Yingr trains Astartes Legionnaires, Inquisitor. I think he is more than capable of training militia." The Inquisitor flustered a little as the Sergeant simply walked away from her and turned to glare at the Commander again. "You know that's not what I meant Commander." The Commander simply smiled and turned away to deal with other more important business.
"Just imagine…" Cyprus looked over at the city center for a moment before trailing off. Troiey looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" The Elysian Sergeant gestured towards everything going on around them and then looked pointedly at the Legionnaires. "Just imagine Troiey, if this was all an effort against us. If we were their enemies right now. Less than twenty Astartes have their own special operations unit, set up an entire grenadier battalion with armour, and found a way to produce a five thousand man militia. That's what, two regiments? Elysian standard anyway. Or one Cadian regiment. And we still don't know why they came here in the first place." Troiey thought about it for a moment and sighed. "You're right. This is why you have to be careful of them. This… I can only imagine. No. I can't. I can't imagine how they have come here and fought this war so brutally and from the shadows. How.. how much death and destruction they've caused. I've never seen so much destruction even from one of the Astartes Chapters gone to war. An entire company but you can set up a sandbag, a trench against them. I've seen cultists hold off Astartes simply by numbers alone but not this." Cyprus laid a hand on the las carbine slung around his shoulders and shook his head. "Makes me feel like a child, Troiey. It makes me feel like I just graduated from the Elysian Schola yesterday."
Illiths Moon
The Eldar Cruiser glided towards Tyven V slowly, its Corsair Prince in no hurry to get there even as Galamon Loros sat there on the throne and looked at the Aeldari standing in front of him. "Tell me Farseer, why should an outcast like myself render any assistance at all to a Craftworlder?" His regal face was betrayed in his bearing by the scar running across his finely sculpted nose. "I am not welcome at the Craftworlds. Nor am I truly welcome even amongst the Exodites so I travel the stars, and create my own path. Now in your time of need, a Farseer no less accompanied by honoured Exarchs and the many warriors of your Craftworld teleported onto my ship by locking on to my webway. Perhaps I should simply have you all voided." He leaned forward, a look of amusement on his face as he crossed his thin fingers and rested his chin delicately upon them.
"We come in our time of need because it is not our own needs but that of the Aledari as a whole." Lilithfeon replied, the Farseer stepping forward and bowing slightly. Galamon looked at her with some interest and nodded, gesturing for her to go on. "Corsair Prince, you have seen the galaxy. You know what has happened since the Great Fall. You have seen Craftworlds destroyed and butchered by the mon'keigh, by Chaos, even by the Greenskins. However, today I ask you to assist us not for our own gain but because of what could be lost. Millenia ago, a mon'keigh warship crashed into a lost Craftworld, and while most of it was destroyed, a most important piece fell into that world. A piece of the infinity circuit was lost down belong and now, mon'keigh corrupted by Chaos seek to recover it. My first effort has failed, and I will have much to answer for but they must not be able to hold on to it. There are soulstones, hundreds of them that will be lost to us if we were to give up. So I ask you Corsair Prince to assist us, to look past our own quibbling factions and instead look towards us as a race once again."
Galamon nodded at her words and then leaned back. "You still have not told me Farseer, what I can gain out of this. You have told me why you require my assistance but as for payment, I have not yet heard your bid." The various Exarchs of the Aspect Warriors hissed at such a disrespectful tone towards a Farseer but the Bladesworn squad standing beside the throne with Direswords sheathed but carrying Spinneret Rifles stopped them from attempting anything further. "What is it then Corsair Prince, that you wish as payment." The Farseer replied flatly. Galamon leaned forward again and looked at the Farseer. "You are Farseer Lilithfeon are you not?" The Farseer nodded, wondering where the Outcast was going with his question. "My only demand for payment is this. Should we both survive the incoming storm, you will stay aboard my ship for one hundred years. My ship is named Liliths Moon, and I wish for a true Lilith on board." The Farseer looked at him, shocked while the Exarchs stepped forward, their hands on their weapons even as the Bladesworn bodyguards raised their rifles towards them. The Farseer put a hand up in order to stop the conflict before it got any further. "I agree to your terms." Everyone, including the Corsair Prince looked at her slightly stunned.
"I am gratified Farseer, but I did not believe you to be swayed so easily." The Farseer simpled look at him in the eye. "As I said before, this is not about what I wish, it is about the recovery of our peoples spirit stones, lost for millennia finally recovered to us. I will not let personal feelings stop their rescue, they have suffered away from an active infinity circuit for long enough." The Corsair Prince nodded, a look of respect in his eyes this time and stood up. "Very well then. To all crew members, the Liliths Moon go to war. Ready all battle stations."
The Farseer bowed and stepped back to where the Aspect Warriors stood. "Are you sure this is a wise move, Farseer?" Yiliea, the Dire Avenger Exarch asked even as she eyed the Bladesworn with a suspicious look in her eye. "We have little choice. We must go to war not as a Craftworld but as Aeldari." The reply came from Wrafenblyde who looked over at the multitudes of Outcast Rangers around. "I believe the Pathfinder to be correct as well." Constafrenin replied. The Farseer nodded in response to both the question and to the answers. "We have little choice, we do not have time to return back to the Craftworld to seek reinforcements. We must strike now. Did you not remember the storm of explosions and death the Mon'keigh launched at us? Even after they betrayed each other, the vision I had.. they must be the fire burning away at the planet." Wrafenblyde bowed his head in thought. "I believe Farseer, that the one we should watch is the Serpent that has not yet appeared to us. That is what concerns me about your vision." The Farseer sighed softly and closed her eyes for a moment. "Honoured Pathfinder, I must confess the truth. The serpent I saw, I could not discern anything of it. I tried to divine further into what it represents but I saw nothing, just utter blackness. Whatever it is, I foretell that the serpent shall be my doom."
Sushenge
"Make sure you get all the details." Sergeant Rythor commanded in a soft whisper as Brachus showed him what he saw through a small screen that popped up in his helmet tactical display. It showed an armoured column slowly travelling through the only road in the region; the Iron Warriors were here. Brachus replied with a blip over the vox and the scope cam scanned slowly from the start of the convoy to the end. There were human troops, cultists armoured with flak jackets and iron skulled helmets while behind the trucks came the armoured Rhinos and the tanks. There were two Landraiders, no doubt the expeditions commander and honour guard. Then behind it followed the Castellan pattern Rhinos, almost unique to the Iron Warriors. And before the Landraider trekked six tanks, two Vindicator Destroyers and four Deimos Predators. It was an armoured force that would be more than a match for the defences at the capital. Of course they had the element of surprise on their hands. The four members of Gungnir were hidden in the tall grasses as they scanned the convoy while Rythor came up with a plan in his head.
"Commander. Sending you details of what we are seeing. There are no Angels Evermore present it seems, only Iron Warriors. There is a lot of heavy armour though.." Kyreg looked through the video clip sent to him and frowned slightly. "It seems we may have to Enact Silver Blue." The Commander replied. Rythor chewed on his tongue slightly, a habit he has had as an Initiate that no amount of hypno indoctrination would get rid of. "I have an idea Commander, I can slow them down and do some damage. Weaken them before they hit the capital." Kyreg thought about it for a few moments. "Do it. Keep me updated." The veteran Sergeant blipped an affirmative before voxing his squad members. "We're going to follow them. Thankfully they can't move very fast due to the roads here but we will stalk them until they make a stop."
As night fell, the convoy rolled to a stop and pulled off to the road so the mortal troops can set up fires and eat. Even the Astartes on board would dismount and head to the supply trucks in order to pick up nutrient packages. While the Astartes did not have to eat very often, the Warsmith had established a policy of at least twice a week nutrient packages. The last time the Ironwights had fought on a separate planet, the Astartes had replied on the reconstition system of their power armour but that had proved inefficient in the atmosphere on the planet. As the convoy settled down for night time routine, Rythor gave the signal. The roads up ahead were rigged with melta charges buried underneath the road itself and aimed upwards. Lacking true mines, they were forced to improvise with remote detonated systems. Once that was done, Rythor made a note of the supply vehicles and marked them with yellow outlines as targets, the human troop carriers and the Astarte armoured vehicles were low priority. The troop carriers were low priority because they did not pose as much of a threat, while the Astarte vehicles were low priority because they possessed very little weaponry to actually destroy them. At the same time, the convoy was too heavily guarded to attack right now. Even at night time as many Astartes sat in their armoured transports and went to sleep for a few hours, there were still sentries set up to cover every angle. This was no chaos insanity, it was a neat defensive stop made by some of the finest siege warriors the Imperium had ever seen and fought against.
At dawn, the convoy proceeded again down the curves of the road. Pintle mounted heavy weapons were aimed to cover all angles as the convoy began the long journey back to the capital city. However as the convoy proceed a few more kilometers down the road, melta blasts were triggered. Supply trucks were hit hard, as well as a few of the Rhinos. The melta bombs were shaped charged shots that forced its blast upwards, going through the hulls of armoured vehicles and destroying the contents of the trucks. As the Ironsworn human troops jumped out of their vehicles in a well drilled manner, they could see no opponents. No enemies waiting to launch ambushes upon them. Warsmith Gryshun growled as he saw the results of the attack, while his force was previously completely mobilized, they would now have to march back as a few of the vehicles were disabled, and it would take too long to conduct repairs.
"Leave the damaged vehicles here. We will recover them later." A few dozen of the human troops had been killed which made very little difference to him. They had plenty to spare. However, the full squad of Astartes in one of the Rhino had been almost flash cooked in their suits as the melta blasts had ripped through the hull of the vehicle and cooked the inside of the armoured vehicle, welding the power suits into the metal benches on the Rhino. This angered him greatly, the Iron Warrior Warsmith seething before he ordered the convoy to resume. Recovery crafts from the Golden Wrath warship will be here to recover the two wrecked Rhinos. The other squad riding inside had been quite luckier, only losing a few limbs. They would be going back to the strike cruiser to get refit with prosthetics.
In less than fifteen minutes, the efficiency of the Iron Warriors had resulted in the now convoy marching off while the rest of the vehicles accompanied them. The human troops were needed as bolter shields while the elite Astartes would strike a killing blow. Gryshun was quite sure that whoever remained of Viprus mob would have secured the city quite firmly. He was just lucky that none of the armour had been hit, but insurgent attacks were to be expected. Whether it was a dog of the corpse emperor or an attack by one of the Angels Evermore survivors, it mattered little. What he was quite sure of, was that he had his prize and the former Blood Angel Terminator Captain now fought on his side. As he sat inside the Landraider, he quickly made some adjustments to the battle plan to account for the battle damaged vehicles and knew that the efficiency would be reduced only a little.
Two hours later, a two gunships painted in the grey of the Iron Warriors landed beside the wreckages of the one dead and one damaged Rhino. Castellan Rhinos were quite hard to come by now, but that was going to be changed once the Warsmith had his triumph. The two Iron Warriors who accompanied the expedition grunted and directly both Rhinos to be loaded on board. They had checked the first few power armoured bodies and saw that they had been flash welded on and decided not to attempt extraction now, as the entire interior compartment would have to be taken apart to weld on a new floor plate and replace the damaged electrical components inside. The chaos slave-cultists worked quickly and used the tow winch in the Thunderhawk gunship to pull both vehicles into the holding bay while the two Iron Warriors sat inside as an escort. The gunships took off and headed up towards orbit to dock with the Strike Cruiser.
"Two Astartes outside. Three chapter serfs piloting and manning the weapon systems. On my mark." The command came as a whisper through the vox helms of the four torched power armours deepest inside the blown out Rhino. Rythor looked through the Rhino viewing port and saw that one of the Astartes was on the left side and one was on the right. Mychil and the Sergeant both quickly activated their stealth camouflage and climbed out of the Rhinos as silent as can be. Thankfully, the noise of the Thunderhawk engines hid their approach. Striking at the same time, both veteran Legionnaires struck with their power daggers, the daggers easily penetrating the neck seals of both traitor Astartes straight into their spines and up into their brains, ceasing their movements instantly. As each struck, they also reached out and grasped a hold of the bodies and dragged them back into the Rhino where helmets were unsealed removed, and skulls were cut open. "I really dislike this part." Mychil stated, making a face while Rythor looked at the dead traitor with disgust after cutting his skull apart and both made use of their omophagea implants with disgust. "Alright Brother Holstrin. And I am Brother Breins. Disgusting." Rythor remarked while helmets were re-attached, for themselves and the dead traitors. The dead traitors were stuck back into the Rhino, and an under barrel Melta welded the power armour into the metal bench seats again while the two Legionnaires sat down and took their positions inside the Thunderhawk. Phase two was about to begin.