36. When fate changes (Part 1)
Fate is a fickle thing, if the timing is just a millisecond off then it all falls apart, a man who should have been kill by a stray round instead has it clip his helm or someone who should have survived a disaster unharmed is left burned and scarred. The weaver of fate knows this, he only needs a second to have all his plans come to fruition but on the inverse his enemies also only need a second to tear them all down. So at what point does fate change.
The Viax were a xenos with a small interstellar kingdom, ruled by some petty king, they had been so insignificant that the Imperium had entirely ignored them, opting to focus efforts on what they saw as actual threats instead. They could have survived and continued on for centuries before the Imperium decided to sweep them away but in a cruel twist of fate 2 brothers needed an excuse not to part and the xenos were the perfect excuse.
The combined fleet of the 2nd and 11th legions exited in a system at the edge of Viax space, the ships of the 11th immediately moved forward to engage the xenos fleet. Their fast escorts darting between the capital ships of the Viax, wearing down their shields while firing off torpedoes that would cripple them, the great battleships of the 11th moved forward to engage the xenos fleet as it tried to swat at the escorts flying amongst them, the Viax ships were no match for humanity's ships and certainly no match for the primarch of the 11th legion.
Ovis sat on the bridge, Aeoran close by watching him command hundreds of ships without faltering for a second. It wasn't like when he commanded on the ground, having his legion charge and butcher his enemies, it was like a dance or a complex surgery Ovis could see exactly where each of his ships were needed and exactly when they needed to strike, it reminded Aeoran of how he commanded his legion on the ground, it was almost like Ovis could tell the future.
The Viax ships were swept away and their worlds were invaded, Aeoran led the two legions down to the surface commanding both, the Viax's ground defences were as weak as their space born ones, the 2nd primarch barely had to use his precognition, his inherent command skill being enough to overcome the xenos. In about a month the few dozen worlds that the Viax ruled were cleansed of life and the Imperium was upon their homeworld.
The two brothers had set up a command centre outside the Viax main stronghold, neither was actually needed on the battlefield personally and so directed the battle from the command centre. The two primarchs sat around a hololith, icons showing the movements of squads through the combat area, Aeoran directed squads to key points of weakness in the xenos lines while Ovis directed fleet and air action, choosing targets for limited orbital bombardment or directing wings of bombers against stubborn points of resistance or mustered forces.
The two legions were consistently pushing the xenos back and stifling every attempt they made at counterattacking, the time to the end of the war was being measured in hours instead of days or weeks.
"Carodean squad follow the back streets, you will come out behind the enemy defensive position, Aldiel squad hold the positions keep them focused on you with suppressive fire until Carodean gets in to position to attack" Aeoran watched the squad icons, each showing the name of the squad and the status of each of its members
"Yes, my lord" the squad sergeants confirmed their orders and their icons immediately started to move
"Skyfisher 73, divert squadron to sector I-15, enemy armour is mustering in that sector, mind for anti-air" Ovis spoke to a squadron leader over the vox
"Confirmed, request to have Swift trident 21 act as escort and diversion"
"Swift trident 21 is already on route, rendezvous sector J-12"
"Confirmed"
Aeoran looked up from the hololith to his brother, "Why are you diverting that squadron? They were heading to conduct bombing runs against the main xenos stronghold"
Ovis shrugged, "I really like the architecture so I want to preserve it"
"What do you do with all the trinkets you steal?"
"I sell many of them but most are transported back to Krake and put on display in various museums and palaces"
"And how are you going to display an entire xenos fortress?"
"I put all the buildings on the 4th planet out; mostly just palaces, museums or military installations although there was this one xenos species, Kandrites, that gave up without a fight and so I was able to take their entire capital city, Kandor, intact and I put it in a giant glass dome"
Aeoran gave his brother a curious look, he could never understand Ovis' fascination with trophies and trinkets but he just assumed it was an intrinsic part of him given by the Emperor like many of his brother's personalities were.
"So you collect these trinkets for no other reason other than to display and boast of your own power?"
"Partially" Ovis seemed introspective for a moment, "Although I also don't like the idea of something being completely eradicated, I have no love for the xenos but nothing deserves to be gone completely, forgotten in its entirety, something of it should always exist"
"Wow that was very philosophical of you, you're much more complex that I first through"
"Well when you become a father you tend to start thinking about the future and what of yourself will be left behind"
Aeoran thought on his own fate for a second, he had spoken to his brothers Konrad and Sanguinius about their visions of the future and although they were cryptic about the details he was sure they had both seen their own ends, although what they had maybe seen they had given no clues. Aeoran had never seen his end, he had looked far in to the future but he could never quite see his end, it was always shrouded from his gaze.
Aeoran shook that thought from his head, "Well I am almost certain we are immortal but if I am ever to die then can I ask you to promise me that you will protect and shepherd whatever is left of my legion and see to it that I am remembered"
Ovis looked at his brother for a second before he drew a knife and cut his palm, letting some of his blood flow out, "I'm fine with that promise as long as you promise the same in return" Ovis offered Aeoran the knife and his hand
Aeoran took the knife and removed his gauntlet, cutting his palm in the same fashion and then taking his brother's hand so their blood mixed, sealing their promise as a blood pact.
"Now let's focus back on this war" Aeoran could see the cut in his palm had already clotted and was quickly closing up
The Viax frontline soon collapsed under the strain of two legions and the rest of the war was just slaughter, with no way for the xenos to organise themselves the primarchs and their legions prepared to leave and let the human regiments scour the world of xenos life.
The two brothers stood at the foot of a hill with transports waiting nearby to take them to their fleets that were already preparing to depart. Their position overlooked the xenos city with the sounds of sporadic fighting coming from it, a long train of xenos civilians could be seen being marched out of the city under the guard of human soldiers, being herded in to camps where they would be starved and forced to produce weapons for the Imperium until they keeled over dead.
"I'll see you soon brother" Ovis pat Aeoran on the shoulder
"I'll make sure of it but you seem to be forgetting something" Aeoran gestured to the great xenos fortress that still dominated the city, still completely intact but cleansed of xenos none the less
"I'll have someone come and collect it, I know a nice crater it can sit in"
Aeoran chuckled before the two primarchs turned from each other and headed to their transports, Ovis started climbing the hill to his transport that waited at the top while Aeoran's transport sat only a few feet away. This would be the last time the two brothers saw each other. Or at least it was supposed to be the last time.
But fate can change at a whim, an instant that no one thinks about but that changes the course of an empire. Ovis crested the hill and stopped for a moment, looking at the xenos fortress and city and thinking back on his life. He thought about growing up, his parents and brother, hunting the traitors across Krake, defeating the other pirate lords and conquering his world.
Ovis reached in to his coat and pulled out something he always kept on him, it was an obsidian orb with a ruby embedded in it, the eye of Evis, he had kept it all these years as a memento of the greatest battle he ever fought, none of his later conquests ever compared in his mind.
Ovis reached in to his coat to put the eye back but the pirate emperor loosened his grip a second too early and started a chain of events not meant to happen. The eye missed the primarch's inside pocket, falling to the ground and quickly rolling down the hill. It rolled and bounced down the hill until it finally came to rest at Aeoran's foot, the mist king knelt down and picked it up just as Ovis reached the bottom of the hill.
"Yours, I assume" Aeoran held the eye out, "What is it?"
"It's the eye of my greatest enemy, he gave it to me before he committed suicide" Ovis took the eye, "Proof of my conquest"
The two were about to part once again when a marine in the colours of the 2nd legion ran up to Aeoran, the marine knelt before his primarch, "My lord, word from your brother, the Lion, an old xenos threat has reared its head again. The Rangdan invade in the galactic north, worlds are besieged and fall as we speak, the 1st legion call for your aid"
"Not like the Lion to ask for help" Ovis smirked, "Must be serious"
"Have you read the reports on the first war with the Rangdan?" Aeoran looked to his brother
"Disgusting things that twist the bodies of the people they conquered in to armies to fight for them"
Aeoran smirked, "Yes quite a formidable foe, I don't believe two legions will be enough"
"The Lion isn't my biggest fan but I'm sure he will see reason"
The two brothers laughed and set to wage war together once more, setting destiny on a different path.
The Imperium had sent fleets forward to stem the tide of the Rangdan advance, the 5th and 19th legions attacked the xenos with hit and run attacks while a counter attack mustered over the world of Itrex, the Dark angels and their primarch had gathered in force along with the Death guard and their progenitor.
The Lion stood tall in his gleaming black armour, with a great winged helm under his arm he looked like a knight from ancient Terra, the first son looked over a holographic image of the galaxy, drawing up offensive plans as his brother stood beside him. The hooded Mortarion stood slightly hunched, seeming to support himself with his massive scythe that stood as tall as him, his thin figure was covered by his bulky brass armour and his hairless face was covered by a rebreather that expelled noxious gasses with his every exhale.
A messenger entered the room, kneeling before the two sons of the Emperor, "My lords the 2nd legion has entered the system"
"Good, the 5th and 19th are struggling, they've been cornered on the world of Xana, we'll head for it immediately" the Lion was speaking to his brother and had barely noticed that the messenger was still present, "What is it?"
"The 2nd has arrived but the 11th legion is also in tow"
The Lion betrayed no emotions as he dismissed the messenger, "I suppose the more men we have the better equipped we'll be" Mortarion made that comment as he moved to exit the room
The Lion sighed slightly, "I guess you're right"
A truly colossal fleet hung over Itrex, thousands of ships from multiple expedition fleets, Mechanicus fleets and space marine legion fleets, it was the single largest concentration of power the Imperium had ever mustered with four of the Emperor's own sons being present to lead the force.
The four brothers stood around a hololith, their legion's high command standing at their backs, as the Lion explained the plan of attack. The combined force would force its way to Xana and relieve the besieged 5th and 19th legions and from there they would split up and scour any fallen worlds clean.
"You've faced the Rangdan before, what can you tell us about them?" Aeoran asked
The Lion seemed reluctant to answer, carefully thinking about his answer, "You are unlikely to meet a true Rangdan, they stay hidden and if they are about to lose a planet they will retreat rather than fight"
"So they're cowards" Ovis commented
"No, they are conniving, they mutate entire worlds in to armies, each world that falls to them adds millions of new soldiers to their forces"
"How were they defeated before?" Aeoran asked
The Lion remained silent clearly not willing to answer that question although Aeoran wasn't surprised by his brother's silence.
"Have you fought a true Rangdan or even seen one?" Ovis was the one who asked
"You won't run in to one, they will retreat before you do" the Lion left the strategium to prepare his fleet for departure
Ovis leaned over to Aeoran and whispered to him, "Told you he didn't like me"
"He's like that with everyone"
The world of Xana had become a death trap for the 5th and 19th legions, detachments of the legions had been sent ahead of the main Imperial force to disrupt the xenos war effort and sabotage them where ever possible but they had been tricked. The vanguard force had pulled back to the forge world of Xana to resupply before heading back in to xenos territory.
As the combined force of the 5th and 19th hung in orbit over Xana a truly colossal Rangdan fleet appeared in the system and attacked, the Imperial fleet was destroyed and the marines were trapped on the surface as the planet was invaded. They tried to repel the invasion but the xenos quickly established a foothold and started converting the populous of Xana in to soldiers. The siege of Xana would go on for months and claim many lives as the marines and the few mortals that managed to evade the Rangdan attempted to hold out until the main Imperial fleet could muster and attack.
Tengri Khan of the brotherhood of the crimson fox ran his power sword through the chest of some monstrosity that might have been human once, it was almost as tall as him with five arms and three legs, some of its muscles were grown well beyond natural size and others were shrivelled and atrophied.
Tengri pulled his blade free and the thing still didn't die as it lashed out with thin arms that shouldn't have had enough muscle to move but move they did. He ducked under one and sliced clean through another, the cross section showing no bone inside, the thing was bleeding from a dozen wounds but it would not go down. It lashed out again, this time with its large muscular arms but Tengri simply dodged them and lunged at the thing, running his blade through its throat before grabbing the few strands of hair left on its head and tearing its head free.
Tengri looked at the things mutated face, it looked like it was melted with sagging cheeks and forehead and only a few strands of blonde hair left on its head. It wasn't difficult to see that the thing had once been human, a woman, Tengri spared her only a moments thought before throwing the head away and moving on to the next monstrosity.
The brotherhood of the crimson fox had been stuck on the planet for months along with the shadow wing chapter of the 19th legion, they had managed to get their forces from orbit to the planet before their fleet was destroyed but they could barely hold out against the Rangdan's relentless attacks. Day and night the twisted slave soldiers attacked and each attack the astartes barely managed to repel them, slowly losing their strength.
There was a lull in the fighting and Commander Ald Alyze of the shadow wing chapter approached Tengri, both their armours were scuffed and dented caked with gore and covered in claw marks. The besieged imperials were hunkered down in one of the forges but it had been reduced to ruins by the constant attacks.
"How much longer can we hold out?" Ald asked as he looked around at the rag tag group consisting of space marines from the two legions along with the men at arms and crew that managed to flee the doomed fleet
The marines were standing fast but the mortal men were starting to waver and their food and water was running dangerously low, they had been lucky since Xana had been a forge world before the Rangdan arrived so they had an abundance of ammunition but food was running scarce, they would starve before they ran out of ammunition.
"The 1st legion will have started the main push by now, they will be here soon" Ald reassured his comrade
"I fear soon may not be soon enough"
A great roar caught the astartes attention, a giant monster appeared over the horizon, it looked like a giant hairless ape at distance but the astartes eyes could see more detail, it was clearly made up of the stitched together flesh of multiple humans and xenos. Large tentacles burst from its back as it drew closer, scooping up the smaller war forms that marched at its feet and flinging them at the Imperial forces.
The Rangdan slave soldiers rained down with the astartes and their mortal allies firing up at them without care, several of the monsters landed, crushing the mortal men and bouncing off the astartes armour. The defenders had no way to take down such a large beast, their bolters would be useless and they had no artillery.
Tengri looked at Alyze, even with his face hidden Tengri could see he knew that it was the end, they both drew their power swords.
"For the Emperor!" Alyze roared
"For the Khan!" Tengri followed
The two charged forward, resolved to die killing as many of the twisted monsters as they could, they hacked and slashed their way through the heavy shower of Rangdan monstrosities, pulling their brothers from dog piles and throwing off any that landed on them. The bodies piled up high as the Imperials found themselves fighting in small cut off pockets, astartes or mortal it didn't matter anymore only those that could kill and survive mattered.
Tengri fought back to back with Alyze and a handful of battle brothers, their armour was so worn that it was impossible to tell their legion. A bone blade pierced Tengri's thigh and forced him to his knee, he looked up in time to see a blade heading for his face, Alyze parried it at the last second and allowed Tengri to strike the monster that tried to kill him but that was just one of a million as more continued to rain down.
The hope was almost gone from the Imperials, even the astartes were starting to feel the weight of constant war and their arms felt heavy, it was at that moment that a blazing fire struck across the sky reigniting the defenders hopes. One of the bio-ships of the Rangdan fell from orbit and to the ground, Imperial ships came in to low orbit and started to bombard Rangdan positions.
The defenders let out a cheer as Imperial ships cast a shadow over them, the rain of Rangdan slave soldiers was replaced with a rain of space marines, thousands of them descending on blazing jump packs. Bolter fire rained down and flattened the mutant soldiers as the new arrivals turned the tide completely.
Tengri looked towards the giant that had been throwing the soldiers at them, he could make out two figures on the things back cutting the tentacles off with effortless slashes of their weapons, Tengri could tell even from as far away as he was that he was watching two sons of the Emperor.
Ovis rolled to the side as a tentacle that was as thick as a tree trunk came down on him, Aeoran quickly raised his axe and cut clean through it with a single swing. The two ran up the giant monsters back, heading for the things neck, human arms burst from the things flesh and tried to grab at the primarchs but they easily tore free from any hands that grabbed at them.
They reach the nape of the giant's neck, Ovis raised his clawed hand and drove it deep in to the giant monster, he knelt there with his head down and eyes closed. Aeoran wasn't sure what he was doing but he stood between his brother and the new tentacle bursting from the monster's back, they speared towards Ovis but Aeoran wouldn't let them pass, he spun his axe like a whirlwind as he cut the tentacle to ribbons, not letting one a single inch past him.
Ovis focused as he sought out the monster's soul, a predator on the hunt for prey to devour. The monster had been made of the bodies of thousands of individuals but they had all been killed before being grafted to the monster so their souls were long gone, he needed to find the soul that animated the monster. Ovis followed his hunter's instinct until he finally found it, the blazing fire that gave the monster life. He pounced without hesitation, snuffing out the flames of life, taking the power which once fuelled it and adding it to his own.
The tentacles stopped suddenly, freezing in mid air before falling slack. Aeoran felt the entire monster go limp, stabbing the shaft of his axe in to it as it fell to the ground, hitting the dirt with a crash as it crushed the legion of slave soldiers marching in its shadow.
"Did you do that?" Aeoran asked as Ovis ripped his arm free of the dead monster's flesh
"I don't know what gave you that idea" Ovis flicked the blood and gore off his claw as the two of them started to see the Rangdan slave soldiers summiting the monster to get to them
"Can you do it to them?" Aeoran asked
"It's much harder with multiple targets"
The two brother's charged the mounting horde, slaughtering the twisted things that were once human as they climbed up the monster.
The defenders and the newly arrived legions fought their way to the giant monster and the two primarch's fighting on its back, vehicle mounted heavy flamers made up the tip of the spear as they doused the sea of slave soldiers before them in fire and ground their charred corpses to fine ash under their treads. Astartes of the 2nd and 11th legion came up behind the vehicles, firing their bolters between them and laying waste to any slave soldier that managed to avoid the wall of fire.
The relief of Xana was a stunning victory, as the 2nd and 11th went to rescue the beleaguered defenders the 1st and 14th legion attacked the heart of the Rangdan on Xana, the two legions primarchs managing to slay the true Rangdan present on the world and incapacitating the slave army.
Next time: When fate changes (Part 2)