Almost forgot about this OC, I hope you guys can still remember that one chapter. Just in case, for reference, it's connected to Chapter 22 " The Enemy of My Enemy ".
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++ Directive Code 108-AE108/
Waking Pilot/ ++
"What the hell?" Maxwell gasped, suddenly torn out of his slumber by that same cool, alien influence that robbed him of his consciousness in the first place. Commands were sent to the Throne Mechanicum, but were instantaneously denied. He was trapped, a prisoner within his own Knight Freeblade. "Release me at once, xeno scum!"
++ I cannot allow that...I do not wish you any harm, pilot, but I cannot have you interfering with my quest to save this sector ++
"Save it?" Maxwell thundered, "What trickery is this?"
++ There is no trickery. Only truth. You remember those machines you've encountered around my transporter's crash site? ++
Maxwell remained silent.
++ They are but a splinter of the whole, sent by the Olamic Quietude to ensure this sector's demise. I know you're not familiar with them, but I have no time to explain everything. Simply put, they are the enemy here, not me. I and my comrades arrived to this sector to prevent their plans from coming to fruition, but we have failed. It is only through a preferable happenstance that you arrived close to my crash site before they could finish me off ++
"I knew I should've stayed away." Maxwell muttered.
++ I'm not finished. You see, their plan does not involve a mere brazen assault like you're probably imagining at the moment. They've stirred the psionic anomalies in this sector, drawing the attention of the alien horde you designate as the Tyranids ++
At this revelation, though taken with a grain of salt, Maxwell felt alarmed. He had faced war bands of the hated foe in brief skirmishes in the past, and there was something about them that really turned his stomach in. He never wished to see them again, and now it seemed like he was getting the opposite of that wish. If they were here now, like this xeno abomination intelligence claimed, the entire sector was doomed.
There was not an Imperial defense fleet for lightyears away.
"And why does this concern you?" Maxwell asked suspiciously.
++ I am not of the Olamic Quietude. Though my flesh is gone and my form alien, I am still human like you ++
"You would dare to make such a claim?"
++ I would, Maxwell Raritan of House Salderas. I am called Isaea of the Visiro. Unlike the Olamic Quietude who have fully embraced the doctrines of the machine heart, we the Visiro maintain our human roots. That is why they are dedicated to eradicating your Imperium, and we are dedicated to preserving it ++
"How do you know me?" The pilot asked.
++ You mumbled in your sleep. I may not be a mind-reader, but I have good ears. You still don't trust me, that is expected, but I'm willing to go to great lengths to prove my intentions as pure. Oh, and brace yourself, we're about to enter a battle ++
"What!?"
Maxwell didn't brace himself in time, and he soon found himself shaken violently as the Braveheart collided with something as large as itself. The shroud covering the view of the pilot lifted, and revealed the devastated land before him. Flames danced in the ground as birth pods broke through the planet's atmosphere and collided with the earth, unleashing hordes upon hordes of chitin-covered horrors of Hivefleet Numosa.
Before him stood a towering behemoth, a monstrously large Tyranid bioform intended to counter the greatest war engines deployed by the other intelligent species of the Milky Way Galaxy. Towering above the battlefields, leading the swarms of lesser Tyranid creatures, stand the vast forms of the Bio-Titans. These massive biomechanical war-machines stalk the warzones of the Imperium spitting death and destruction, cutting down their foes with potent bio-weapons.
++ Stay calm, let me handle this ++
"NO!" Maxwell cried, "Give me control! You're going to kill us both!"
It wasn't that he wanted the AI to survive this battle. In fact, the pilot wished a number of horrifying fates upon the abomination. It was simply because his life was now tied to it, and such an ignoble end was something he wished to avoid entirely. Seizing control of his Freeblade would improve the odds of survival, even though this world was condemned to the maw of the Tyranids.
The beast crouched low and snarled at the Freeblade, bombarding it with a steady hail of pyro-acid from the glands stemming from its gaping maw. The Freeblade's shields soaked up the attack, and the Visiro AI commanded it to move back and charge up Deathsinger. The chain-grinder revved up and launched itself across the Tyranid titan's neck, tearing off a large amount of hard chitinous armor in a single strike!
"Why are you putting us in this spot?" Maxwell said, "It's a killzone, too open and indefensible!"
++ I've launched a distress signal for a pickup ship to take us offworld. If you think I've chosen a poor spot, I'll have you know there are worse spots out there than here ++
The ground beneath them shook as the Tyranid titan swept in for another go, only to be met with equal force by the Freeblade as the AI commanded the ancient war machine to tackle it along the midriff and knock it back with a solid hit to the torso. The titan did not let up at this, and with a swivel of its elongated neck it chomped down hard on the Braveheart's chestpiece.
The HUD blared orange, warning the pilot that the Freeblade took some internal damage from the attack. Maxwell winced at the surge of information flooding his mind as his mount screamed for him to return to command, but knew he was powerless to do so. This angered and frustrated him to no end, and he in turn kept on with his demands to retake the reins from the AI.
Deathsinger roared again, its carbide teeth tore at the beast's back as the Freeblade dragged the massive chainsword down upon its enemy. Flesh and green blood shot out in heavy torrents, and the Tyranid squealed in agony as the blades sawed deeper and deeper until they at last severed through its spine. Doomsayer was plunged into its belly, and with the AI's command it fired two shots that busted a massive gash across the alien's middle.
More blood, more gore.
The beast was laid at last to rest, and the Freeblade stood above the amassing Tyranid lessers as they moved to overwhelm what their titan could not kill outright.
"They will overcome us!" Maxwell cried.
++ Peace, pilot. I will not allow you to die before your time ++
"Only the Emperor will dictate my death day, not you!" Maxwell spat. "And I will not suffer the Abomination Intelligence's influence-
++ Very well, it seems that you need time away from this source of stress. Worry not, I know just the thing ++
"Don't you dare-
Maxwell felt it again, that relaxing call to sleep. With his mind hooked up to the cables of the Throne Mechanicum, there was no way to escape the influence of the AI. At the very least, the AI kept its promise and did not kill him. Instead, it chose to avoid further confrontations between them at the time and knocked him out.
Freed for now from the rantings of the furious pilot, the Visiro AI took full control of the Freeblade and launched attacks left and right. Minutes passed, the horde of Tyranids grew ever larger and threatened to swallow the machine whole as they did the planet it stood upon. Before they could succeed, however, the ship broke through the atmosphere of the doomed world and hovered above the Freeblade's battered form. Iron tendrils swooped down and hooked onto the armpits of the titan, then carried it offworld as the ship sped away to escape the clutches of the Hivefleet Numosa.
Isaea spoke to the unconscious form of the pilot nestled safely within the titan's shell.
++ Sleep, pilot. Soon, you will awaken and the danger to this sector will pass. Your people, my people, shall prosper as they are meant to be ++
Fenrisians were hard drinkers, that was no secret. It takes a lot to topple a spacemarine, but somehow the liquor of that frozen death-world always manages to render many a Space Wolf tipsy after half a dozen tankards of the noxious substance. With drink in hand, the overall atmosphere turned rowdier by the second as the Space Wolves traded stories, bellowed challenges and ensued brawls across every table.
Only the Old Wolf Lord Logan Grimnar kept a level and sober head, as did the Primarch Horus Lupercal. They had to, for there was much to talk about that could go without the influence of ale to ruin the evening. After reluctantly regaling the Wolf Lord with his own take on the Battle for Cadia, Horus diverted the conversation towards the matter at hand and the whole purpose of his visit to Fenris- the revelations on the whereabouts of his brother, the Primarch Leman Russ.
"I didn't come all this way for a feast, Lord Grimnar."
"Oh? I suspected as much." The ancient warrior replied.
"It is not the day for celebration, for our enemies still plague the borders of the Imperium." Horus said, "I will feast only on the day that they all lie at my feet dead."
"That day is never bound to come." Lord Grimnar said as he set down his goblet, "A word of advice before we proceed; Take what joys come your way, no matter how little they seem. There will always be an enemy for us. Remember this, and you will never grow weary of this war." After he let these words sink in, the Old Wolf leaned back and asked. "Now, what was it you came for?"
"I've requested the gathering of the Space Wolves because I would have need of their strength when I travel through the Eye of Terror." Horus revealed his plan.
"Ah, it was you then? And all this time I thought it was Stormcaller's idea. For what purpose?"
"I am on a mission to save my brother Leman Russ and return him to his rightful place as Primarch of the Space Wolves." At his words, the old patriarch's eyes lit up. "Soon, very soon, the Rune Priests will report their findings and give us his exact location within the Warp."
Logan Grimnar snuffed out the flame of hope as soon as it flared, "An old attempt. The Sea of Souls is ever-shifting, ever changing! I have been on many Hunts for our lost Primarch, and each effort to retrieve him has ended in failure! How do you expect to be any different?"
"Because the Eye has shrunk! The storms have ceased, and we can plot a direct course without having to suffer the battering waves of the Empyrean as we have before!" Horus replied, "I have been very busy these months away, I and my allies have done our research. All the astropaths say the same thing- this is our best chance to wrest Leman out of the Warp."
"My lord, Horus!" The thundering voice of the Stormcaller bellowed above the din of the drinking hall, "It is done! We have what you require!"
Horus nodded and turned back to Logan Grimnar, "But that is not the sole purpose of my mission, Old Wolf. Aside from rescuing Leman, I am heading over to the Warp on a task directly borne from the lips of my father, the Emperor. Leman has been searching for a way to resurrect my father's ailing form, but never found one for he knew not what to seek."
"But he did. What was it called again? The Tree of Life? A font of uncorrupted psychic energy, one that I doubt exists today even in that hellish place."
"It is not just any font of energy, my lord. It is an Eldar Goddess, one of the few remaining deities of the aeldari pantheon. She lies trapped under the power of the Dark God Nurgle."
At this revelation, Logan Grimnar went slack-jawed for a second and blurted out his confusion. "What?"
"I know your thoughts, and at first hearing them rendered me as confused as you are now. But this is the only way for the Emperor to return, that reason alone was enough to remove all doubts in my mind. Revealing it to you, I do hope it does as well."
Logan Grimnar stood up and tightened his lips, "It is an order from the Emperor, and I have no cause to think otherwise. The Allfather's wisdom is beyond me, and if he sends you to gather us for his tasks, then we shall rally to you." He turned to address the drunken rabble, leaving Horus bewildered at how easy it was to convince the Space Wolves to join him in his mission. Truly, their duty to the Emperor mattered more than their hate for the xenos and the fear of the Dark God's realm.
"Brothers! Listen to me!" Grimnar roared, "I have news that will lift up the hearts of every fenrisian in this room! The time of waiting is over! The Primarch, our beloved leader Leman Russ has been found!" His sentence was drowned out by a chorus of yips, yowls, and a cacophony of incoherent cheers from all who listened. The Old Wolf slammed a fist down on the table to call for quiet, effectively breaking the hardwood furniture and launching plates and tankards to clutter the floor. "And even better! The Primarch Horus Lupercal bears a message of hope for not only us, but for the Imperium as well! The Emperor has found a solution, to allow his return to mankind!"
This announcement was met with an unexpected stunned silence, and there were looks exchanged amongst the rabble.
"What the fekk did he just say?"
"The Allfather's coming back, I think."
"Now that's a Great Hunt I'm going on!"
"Shut it, let him speak!"
Logan Grimnar pointed at Horus, "Lord Horus needs our help to retrieve the Primarch Leman Russ, and we shall give it to him! Furthermore, we will assist in all his endeavors to retrieve the artifact for the Emperor's resurrection! We will leave immediately with all due haste, so grab a tankard and drink on your way out! WE RIDE FOR THE RUSS!"
The Space Wolves cheered once and scrambled for the kegs. They downed their last drinks and raced for the doors, nearly trampling on the Rune Priests as they stood in the way of the herd of stampeding warriors and leaped to the side to avoid an embarrassing death.
"You failed to tell them it was an Eldar Goddess they were retrieving." Horus said later.
"I'll break the news to them in time. It's best to get them excited now than face their wrathful outbursts at the same time." Grimnar replied, "Once they're onboard their ships, that's the opportune moment for me to reveal the true nature of our mission. Trust me, it's more amusing that way. Now, Stormcaller, where is our missing Primarch?"
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Happy New Year, boys and girls! I do hope you've enjoyed the holidays, I know I did! Have a nice start to 2019!