Arrival of the Astartes

by TheLunarWolf

Something has happened, Existences are changed and the circle is shattered. Warhammer 40k Babylon 5

5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Past Future and the Present made Past.

Geneva, formerly Earthdome, Memorial site.

10 years had past…10 years to the day of their arrival, 10 years since the death of millions of innocents, when completed the site of their memory consisted of a vast marble foundation lain with such precision it would appear to any aerial observer as a single circle of white marble 17 square miles in diameter, in the centre of the grand complex stood in 4 staggered rings of 12, 48 great red granite obelisks, each measuring 32 meters tall, capped with gold and each inscribed with the names of an even number of victims.

In the centre of this circle of blood red obelisks stood a massive golden statue of the Archangel Michael, the statue stood tall looking at the world with an expression of determined fury, its massive eagle like pinions unfurled and extending 12 feet to each side, a massive golden blade held high.

Master Chaplain Devinian of the Word Bearers Legion looked on the finished site with pride in his hearts; this was a very good memorial and the symbolism was stunning, the massive complex stood in the centre of the Geneva ruins, a city never to be rebuilt, a memorial unto itself.

He knew that the Primarchs had balked at using the image of their beloved brother Sanguinus, as a model for the memorial; he had however been able to talk them into it knowing that the humans of this Terra knew nought of the Lord of Angels.

It had been 10 years of progress, 10 years of rebuilding and it had been 10 years on the small planet Terra in an almost forgotten sector of the galaxy bordering unknown space, that one of the most fateful meetings had taken place, what was said is not very important what followed it is what shocked the people of Terra.

The Great Rebirth and the coming of the 8th and 17th, Terra, 154.M3

The Great Culling and the Meaning of Terror, Earth, AD 2154

To the men and women of the Astartes, the Imperial Army and Imperial Navy what the Lord Horus and Magnus had been able to accomplish meant a lot, it meant a return to normal duties it meant increased shelters it meant a new level of infrastructure and it meant a clean up of criminality on Terra.

It marked the true beginning for the takeover by the Imperium in this place.

To the people of Earth when the announcement went out that the majority of criminals on death row in all nations affiliated with the Terran Alliance, would be sent to Astartes to serve the remainder of their existence in a useful manner, there was chaos on the streets, as the press got a hold of information saying that the prisoners would be processed into being servitors and others were slated for the Revival project.

Now the people of Earth had no true idea of just what the Revival project was but they had seen Servitors, so a number of petitions went out over the net, requesting retrials for all but the most violent sociopathic offenders, in the nations not enjoying membership in the EA things were becoming bad.

Despite the misgivings and outright protests of the public, the prisoner transfers were made as scheduled aswell the inhabitants of several orphanages; many thousands of boys between the ages of 6 and 8 were chosen and became wards of the Astartes, all in all nearly 80000 men and boys of the EA were sent to the Fortress Astartes never to return.

The Coming of the Dark.

It was during this time that many smaller nations decided to seek Protection from the only force truly strong enough to provide it, many Micronesian and Polynesian countries applied to the Astartes for alliance treaties and mutual defence pacts, Horus and Magnus knew that these nations would be of no use militarily but they could be used to provide the Fortress Continent with food and fresh recruits.

The world was heading for a war, a war none of the alien powers in the galaxy would ever know about, it was a war that would spread the legend of the Dark Justice of the Astartes thru out the Terran Domains and onto the traders and well in to the other galactic powers, it was a war that would give birth to the Cult of the Emperor on the EA Terra, and it was a war that would show the world.

The True Meaning of Terror.

It was in the countries of Lebanon and Israel a war that had been raging for nearly a century and a half between the Israeli Defence Forces and the freedom fighters known as Hezbollah had flared up, once again the media were sending out pictures of children killed by advanced Israeli munitions, bodies burned to unrecognisable crisps by 8th generation DIMEs and the Hezbollah militia sending rocket propelled grenades and launching long range rockets bought from Islamic nations such as Islamic Republic of Iran and the Shiite Republic of Iraq slamming into Israeli holdings along the south bank of the Nahr el Litani. The Earth Alliance Senate and Military were fed up and decided they would do nothing except use embargoes to stop it; nothing they had done militarily for nearly 150 years had helped.

Horus was greatly angered by this inactivity but knew he could not interfere with the running of things in countries that had nothing to do with the EA or the Astartes forces; it would ruin the quiet takeover.

So it was with great joy and happiness that the message sent by the Lebanese government requesting help to stop the conflict by anyone out there was received, as the strategic command centre had been monitoring the situation for the past couple of weeks, they had plenty of data, and he had just the people to solve this little Crisis, he would send a small force consisting of 100 servitors, a single army regiment ceded to the 17th Legion; The Word Bearers, The 20 Initiate Chaplains of the Word Bearers aswell as the Master Chaplain Devinian, and the sum total of the Honour Guard, his brother had posted with him, 126 Astartes of the 8th Legion; The Night Lords.

Horus quickly responded to the Lebanese governments request and convinced that the lands running along the north bank of the Nahr el Lîtâni and 10 km's north of the river should be ceded to the military jurisdiction of the Astartes.

The Religious mindset of the Word Bearer Chaplain and his retinue of initiates took the name of the river as a good omen for the campaign and during the 3 day cease fire during the 8th yearly remembrance of Geneva, the Astartes made their move, a chain of outposts and military bunkers were quickly set up along the Nahr el Lîtâni and the area between it and the Jordanian border became host to the main stronghold of the combined forces of the 8th and 17th Legions.

On the 1st day of the Holy month Ramadan, the world woke to a great calamity, 21 Israeli strike craft that had crossed over into the airspace of Lebanon had been lost.

IDF Command Post, 16km's south of the Nahr el Lîtâni, Israeli Occupied Territories, Lebanon

General Aviel Yachiel of the IDF was not having a good dawn, the entire strike force had been destroyed just seconds after entering Lebanese air space, The Hezbollah didn't have the firepower for that so that meant Lebanon had to have gotten help, probably from the Jordanians or the Syrians and on top of all this the command centre had called him and said they had something he really really should see.

As he entered the command centre it was silent as the grave, the monitors where not showing the tactical maps like they should, and instead they were showing one of three things: some where showing a banner bearing a flame superimposed over a book on a dark grey backing, others were showing a banner bearing the image of a skull with a spiked blood red halo and two large red bat wings. The third item shown was a loop replaying the same message over and over:

Behold the Coming of the Lords of Night

To all who fight in Lebanon and Northern Israel

know that from this day any man of Israel found

north of the Nahr el Lîtâni will be given justice in

in the shadows of the Night, and should more

then a score of the men of Israel die in the Night

Then by the 7th day shall the City of Kings

Become a City of Flame

When the message had played thru it showed the banners side by side with the Roman numerals for 17 and 8 underneath.

While the Israeli army had received this friendly message the situation north of the Lîtâni had during the night taken a decidedly different turn, several teams of rocketeers had been found and told in no uncertain terms that from this night they would cease their attacks and the next team found would be set as an example to the land of the Law of The Night Haunter.

As the second day's back broke into night both Hezbollah and the Israeli Defence Forces decided to wage open war on the streets of the Lîtâni's north bank, that was the first mistake, the second and last mistake was doing it at night, when the sons of Konrad Curze, The Legion who's Father-Primarchs very name inspired fear in most of a Segmentum, had the full advantage.

It began with screams, and the sound of revving motors as the sons and daughters of Israel moved into the cities they found places that seemed like judgement come early, men ripped to shreds and walls covered in gruesome texts and symbols, the texts were written in the blood of the Hezbollah fighters and written in Hebrew and Arabic was the simple message.

You have broken the Law and you will be given Justice, prepare yourselves.

Half an hour after they passed the warning, the column of the sons and daughters of Israel heard a soft ominous whisper coming from the shadows all around them "We… have… come… for… you..." seconds later the screaming began anew, this time the screams for mercy and blood that painted the walls and streets were Hebrew not Arabic.

General Yachiel paled as the sounds of motors and ripping flesh echoed softly under the screams of the soldiers put under his command, he looked at the transcript of the message that been displayed a day earlier, He looked to the north wondering if he had doomed them all.

That morning the world's news agencies reported from the Lîtâni river, on the north bank of the river stood 620 crosses And adorning those crosses were the bloody remains of nearly 600 men and women, many barely recognizable as once having been human. Many were missing limbs, and others had their internal organs exposed and glistening in the early moring sun, among the soldiers of Israel were fighters of Hezbollah but all were wrapped in the bloodied and torn banners of their countries and the idols of their faiths, the gruesome sight played itself out across the world.

In the middle of the river, sat a large barge, burnt into its deck was the message.

In this place the Laws of the Night Haunter apply.

2 days for the leaders of Hezbollah in their bunkers,

3 days for the leaders of Israel in their halls of power.

Seven Days for the City of Kings

On the barge stood 25 empty crosses in a circle, 15 for the cabinet of Israel and 10 for the leaders of Hezbollah, in the middle of this macabre display stood five midnight blue armoured giants one of them bore no helm, and his armour was decorated with gold emblems, he was Legion Master Sahaal, and had been a trusted captain of Lord Primarch Curze, having grown up on Nostramo he was a pale man with the large dark adapted eyes of his kind, yet he was unusual in that he had always been able to stand the sunlight of the many imperial worlds.

And today he was preparing to bring the law of the Night Haunter, to a lawless part of Terra.

The images of the crucified soldiers and the reports of ominous messages sent shockwaves throughout the world, and in the great halls of politics in the New Earthdome in Brussels, the worlds leaders grew enraged at Horus and at the same times they wondered what else his associates where capable of, many of them asked if these messages were for real, the only answer the Astartes representatives gave on the matter were "you will see in seven days".

T-2 Day(s)

Five days had passed and as the gruesome messages given, had told the world the leaders of Hezbollah had on the second day been ripped out of their bunkers and crucified at high noon for the entire world to see it.

On the third day the entire IDF regiment guarding the Israeli Cabinet had been slaughtered, ripped apart by the Night Lords' Chainswords and Bolters, the regiment had included a tank division, that when dawn broke had been rendered inoperable by having the crews become afflicted with Acute lead poisoning sometime during the pre-dawn hours, at noon on the third day, the political masters of Israel found themselves crucified next to the dying leaders of Hezbollah.

As this was occurring the twenty newly minted Neophytes of the Word Bearers, were steadily moving towards the main plazas and religious sites of Jerusalem spreading a dread message of coming Flame.

T-1 Day(s)

While the word was born from the pages of the Epistles of Lorgar the Master Chaplain had called the media and told them to assemble at the Temple mount, he had sent messages to the leaders of the three main regional religions asking them to come and view his proclamation, as the time for the meeting drew near he donned his armor and robes, looked once at the dread visage of his skull like Battle-Mask before pulling it on, and grabbing his Crozius and a a handwritten copy of the Epistles of Lorgar

The book he attached to a gold chain on his belt, to the Crozius he attached an incense burner on a long silver chain and after lighting the incense he calmly ordered to be teleported.

Imam Muhammad Azziz was an old man, born in Gaza during the liberation years of the 2090's he had reached a venerable age in the service of Allah when Palestine had managed to procure much of the Sinai region and fully the southern half of Palestine up to the UN enforced border at Jerusalem. Since the coming of these Astartes he had taken a deep interest in them even going as far as meeting a man titled Master Chaplain, the title Chaplain was used by the followers of the Prophet Isa, but this man and these Astartes followed different faiths but all seemed to revolve around War and this Emperor of theirs, whom his new friend the Chaplain claimed to be a true flesh and blood God.

He was quickly roused from his ruminations as the very air on the dais before started to hum and sing before exploding in a flash of light and leaving a large armoured figure standing there.

Chaplain Devinian looked at the assembly and smirked softly behind his battle-mask.

He had their attention.

Touching one of the controls on his gauntlets caused a second flash, and a holo-projector to appear behind him, a second touch caused it to activate to a glorious orbital view above Palestine and Israel.

Devinian turned to the press and his esteemed colleagues, and started his speech.

"Seven days ago, The Leaders of the nation Israel and the leaders of the fighting force Hezbollah were given a warning by the Night Lords legion, a warning stating that any war on the north bank of the Nahr el Lîtâni or in the 10 km zone north of the river would result in the City of Kings becoming a City of Fire, we hoped that a stern warning and the regrettable acts at the battle of Geneva a decade ago would have been enough to make them listen to this warning, but yet again, no one listens, all over the world people are watching, waiting with bated breaths for the end of the seventh day, and it is come.

Quietly touching a third button he summoned his neophytes to him through preset teleport beacons, before the growing warpforged storm clouds completely jammed the teleports.

As his twenty neophytes blinked into existence behind him, and the darkening sky started to rumble he spoke again.

"I give The City of Kings this farewell,

The time is at hand, in preparation for today we have spoken to the clerics of this land, and all holy sites in the city are to be spared the coming fire. To end this meeting, I will speak the words of faith.

As these words had been spoken a great rumble was felt, and the earth shook and heaved under the black burning storm clouds. As the holoscreen shut down, the clerics calmly got up and retired into the Qubbat al-Sakrah (Dome of the Rock) for prayer together with the Neophytes, the press once told that they would be safe on the mountain began filming the city views nobody wanting to miss out on the coming end.

Devinian cleared his throat and uttered the final words.

"In the words of Primarch Lorgar, Ruler of Colchis. The Time is Come, The stars shall fall onto the earth and sweep away the unworthy. In Nomine Deus Imperator"

As the Chaplain finished he slammed the end of his staff once upon the great stones of the Temple mount and around the city the black skies were torn asunder as pillars of orange reddish light slammed into residential areas and industrial zones tearing them asunder and starting a great firestorm that would ravage the city and destroy everything but the holy places which during the preceding days had been outfitted with voidshield generators to protect them.

As the City of Kings burned, the press teams were filming it and sending out live, the world now truly understood what it meant to cross an edict set by "Death's Apprentices" and as the city was consumed, the bright shield domes around synagogues, churches and mosques began glowing easily battling the flames and protecting the people within.

During the following months, the Senate experienced enormous high and lows as it became clearer and clearer that the Jerusalem incident had done its job admirably, the world now existed in brittle harmony and many new trade agreements had been brokered, aswell the ranks of the Word Bearers had swelled by the hundreds as Palestinian boys by the thousands had volunteered for the service.

But the greatest change came late during the year 2160, as the majority of the Senate quietly and without much fanfare appointed Warmaster Horus, Dictator for Life.

The Imperium was Reborn.

The Great Expansion M3.160

With Earth under Imperium control, the Adeptus Mechanicus quickly turned their gaze to Mars. The eternal home of the Machine God in their home galaxy, the senior Magi were able to negotiate several treaties which gave them control of the planet, and offered employment to any who wished to stay. Surprisingly most of the Martian corporations elected to remain and work with the Mechanicus, knowing the results would likely fetch them a good profit. They were soon proven right.

Within the span of a year the great Temple of the Machine God was completed at Syria Planum, and work was begun on the manufactoria and orbital facilities. Many thousands of people displaced by the San Francisco disaster were allowed to immigrate to Mars, where they found jobs working in the factories, producing everything from weapons to prefabricated shelters to allow the construction of large domed cities to house the ever growing populace of Mars.

With the growth of the Martian population, large farming domes were constructed to produce food for the colony and would eventually be expanded to grow food for the trading ship being constructed in orbit, which would transport it to many worlds under the protection of the Empire, chief along them the worlds of the Drazi and Narn races. With settlements being constructed on many of the moons and outer planets of the Sol system, Mars quickly became the outer system's chief supply installation while Terra itself rebuilt and expanded its own industry.

When the Centauri Treaties were signed, Mars quickly expanded its industries, constructing numerous Quantium-40 refineries and manufactoria for lesser technologies to be traded with the Centauri. Several high security facilities were also built underground to analyze technology brought back by the Explorer fleets. The greatest discovery however, was already waiting for the Mechanicus beneath the surface of Mars.

…

Mars: Power conduit 7A

"Watch the plasma flow in drill two!" Tech Adept Masuko shouted over the incredible noise of the machines around him. The underground power relays had by now been completed over most of Mars, but with the Edgar Industries titan works due to come online in two months it had been decided that a secondary grid to built between the Machine Temple and the outlying manufactoria. It was hot, dangerous work, but if the Omnissiah willed it then Masuko would see it done.

"Adept!" One of the menials cried out from ahead, where the drilling teams were melting their way through a dense formation of granite. "Our auspex readings are picking up an organic mass ahead. The readings are different from any our surveyors detected from orbit."

"How far is it from our current position?" Masuko asked as he moved towards the front of the developing tunnel.

"Approximately thirty meters adept," the menial replied as he maintained his hunched position, not daring to glance up at the face of his lord.

"Very well; order the drill teams to reduce their beam intensity, I will contact the surface and request a biologis team."

"Yes Lord," the menial replied, his tattered cloths whipping about him as he ran forward, his goggles pulled protectively over his eyes.

…

Just over an hour after the detection of the biomass, the Mechanicus drill team powered down their plasma drills and menials moved in with hand implements to dig through the last meter or two of rock my hand. Gradually the tip of an obsidian black tendril was revealed. Strands of silver, seemingly meshed into the biomass, gave the material the appearance of web covered rock.

As more of the biomass was revealed one of the menials leaned in to bush the collected dust off of it, but the instant his hand touched the material he slumped forward. "Medic!" Came the cry from the foreman. An adept carrying a medical case rushed forward and ran a scanner over the fallen adept's body.

"Dead," the adept pronounced. "Cause unknown."

Suddenly a cold wave of air seemed to rush down the corridor, causing everyone, even the augment covered tech priests to involuntarily shiver. But that was nothing compared to the reactions taking place on the surface.

…

Astropath Varin was walking slowly down the still unfamiliar corridors of the Machine Temple on his way to the eyrie when a shrill wail lanced into his mind. It dashed through his mental defences, filling him with a cry of both sadness and overwhelming anger. "AWAKE! ALONE! AWAKE! ALONE!" The words repeated themselves several more times before mercifully ceasing and leaving Varin lying on the cold metal floor, a trickle of blood leaking from his ears and the empty sockets of his long dead eyes.

…

Fabricator General Talus entered caught his first glimpse of the alien vessel as the lift opened its doors at the fifth level of the research complex. Since its discovery five weeks before, the alien vessel had been mostly uncovered, and its strange, half-arachnid shape sent a shiver down the General's spine.

"Fabricator General," Techpriest Masuko greeted, making the symbol of the Machine God across his chest. "We have completed our tests on the material the ship is comprised of."

"What have you learned?" The Fabricator General inquired. As he gazed at the black ship, he briefly felt a cold wind rushing by him. "Is it alive?"

"In a sense yes; the ship is composed of some sort of energy absorbing material. It is somehow able to absorb any type of energy it encounters, including the electrical energy which allows our bodies to function."

"I see. Have you learned anything about how it was constructed or by whom?"

"I am afraid not. Primarch Magnus has dispatched one of his Librarians to attempt a psychic link with the vessel. Hopefully that should provide us with more information."

"Very well. For now continue your analysis of the vessel."

"Yes Fabricator General," Masuko replied, bowing as his master exited. Turning back to the black vessel he patiently watched as plasma cutters sliced the end off of one of the vessel's protruding spines. A viscous black liquid dripped from the severed end and a menial collected a small amount in a steel jar. "May the Omnissiah watch over us," he whispered as the cold phantom wind brushed by him again.

Librarian Iglantus took the hand the Fabricator General held out for him, pleased at the strength of the man's augmetic grip. "Fabricator General, I am Librarian Ignaltus."

"Thank you coming Librarian. As you likely know, one of our excavator teams uncovered an alien vessel beneath the surface. Further testing has shown it to be organic, and when one of our menials was killed by touching it several of our astropaths reported hearing words coming from underground," Talus explained.

"You believe the ship to be sentient?" The Librarian asked.

"That is why I asked you here. You are much stronger than any of our psykers here. We hope you will be able to determine if the vessel is indeed alive," the Fabricator General explained.

"Very well. I will need to be close to the ship."

"Follow me." The Fabricator General led Ignaltus into the sterile containment chamber. The black ship loomed over them, its spines giving it the appearance of a predatory spider.

Ignaltus could feel the ship's power in the room. His mind read it as a chilling wind. The ship was definitely alive. Now he would see if it truly was awake. Slowly walking forward, he stopped a meter from the vessel. Reaching out with his mind, Ignaltus felt inside the vessel. Almost immediately something pushed back and Ignaltus was assaulted by a barrage of images and emotions. He saw purple beams sliced to pieces, felt the pain of impacts to his skin, the joy of the hunt and the sorrow for lost companions.

With a concentrated effort Ignaltus pulled him mind back, feeling the soul of the ship, empty and reaching, follow him. Grasping his force staff, he struck the ship directly at its center, sending a tendril of warp lightning flashing up its mass. A piercing scream, heard in both ear and mind, filled the room, causing Ignaltus to take a step back. The entire ship rose a meter into the air before dropping back to the floor with a crash.

"Librarian, are you all right!" Talus asked as he and thirty tech guard hurried into the room.

"I am fine. The ship is indeed alive, but it does not posses a true soul. I sensed emptiness within it. I believe it requires the soul of another to operate and act as its core. Fabricator General, I sensed the ship had many companions. One is close, the others spread across known space."

"Are they a threat to us?" Talus asked, suddenly feeling a strong chill up his augmetic spine.

"I believe so. Their power is great, but ours is likely much greater. Perhaps if we can find more of these ships we can discover their origin and how to destroy them."

"I will speak to Primarch Magnus of this. Good day Fabricator General."

"Good day Librarian," Talus replied. Once the Librarian had departed he called over tech priest Masuko. "Order two of our scout ships to begin detailed surveys of every stellar body in the system. If there is another of these black ships near I want it found."

"I will see to it at once Fabricator General," Masuko replied.

"May the Machine God protect us all," Talus said to himself as his thoughts turned to dark places.

After several months of testing, the Mechanicus had learned enough from the black ship, and it was towed into orbit and destroyed. The ships dispatched by Masuko soon located a second black ship on the moon of Ganymede, where it was destroyed by orbital lance fire. Explorer fleets were given the objective of locating and destroying as many Shadow vessels as they could.

Several years after the destruction of the black ships, Mars was almost completely covered by mechanical constructs. Orbital yards and defensive installations surrounded the planet with concentric rings of firepower, making it utterly impenetrable. Mars also became home to a growing cybernetics movement. Many people, especially those in the military, had been awed by the power of the Mechanicus Tech Guard. Though many opposed the creation of cyborgs, a compromise was eventually reached. The process was of course voluntary, and any who wished to have their implants removed would be allowed to do so and have cloned organs implanted. These cloned organs also laid the foundation for accelerated growth of space marine zygotes, allowing for the new legions, The Word Bearers, the Night Lords and the Blood Angels, to build up their numbers far quicker than previously thought.

Though there were issues with the Blood Angel geneseed which required the genetors to graft segments of Horus' DNA onto since he was the closest match to the original geneseed template, this alteration led to a standard mutation occurring in all implanted Blood Angel zygotes, all initiates upon reaching their 15th year as an Astartes were overcome with visions of Primarch Sanguinus, and during the weeks following the visions, Angel like wings sprouted from their shoulders. Though small at first, they grew into mighty pinions able to carry the marines into the air within a year.

As the Terran Empire continued to expand, Mars sent detachments of men and machines to begin the construction of the first Forge Worlds in this new galaxy. As the population of Mars began to decrease, immigrants from several colonies began coming to Mars to learn from the tech priests, and soon the first Mechanicus University was established to train the next generation of the Cult Mechanics. Many of the new arrivals found life on Mars to be harsh but rewarding. With the constantly advancing technology, several new fields were established and took their place among the Mechanicus, among them the Bio-technology division, the Hyperspace Study Council and the First Ones Mysteria, dedicated to unlocking the histories and power of the mythical and ancient races of the galaxy. Many of these students joined the explorer fleets in excavating alien worlds and succeeded in bringing back many fascinating artefacts to Mars to study.

Proxima was the first. The nearest world to Earth with a breathable atmosphere despite its outwardly harsh appearance. The surveyors and augers logged it of a place of interest and slated it for immediate colonization. Within a week a vast colony ship had arrived crammed with eager settlers and a small army or servitors and construction bots to set up living space. As the surface of the world began to be shaped by humanity for humanity, so to did the space above the world change. The tranquillity of space was interrupted by heavily armed platforms and a pair of immense stations springing up over night. Within a few months Proxima was impenetrable to any known race, within a few years it was home to ten million people and climbing and a bastion of the new Terran Empire.

Humanity began acting in the galaxy, and in turn the galaxy took notice of this race, both new yet old at the same time.

The Centauri Royal court was filled with apprehension and the Centaurum burned with debate for a fortnight as the real power of these humans became more and more apparent. Fingers were pointed and blame laid, how had they avoided the exploration fleets? Why had they not being encountered earlier? What would happen if they turned into a hostile power and threatened the Lion of the Galaxy?
The conclusion was quite simple. In open war the Centauri Navy would last a couple of days at best, the Centauri army even less time. In a rare moment of crystal clarity the Centauri recognized that they were no longer the biggest child in this playground and if they wanted to remain competitive they had to side with the Terrans, before their enemies did the same thing.

The Emperor sent leaders from House Jaddo and House Mollari to the human homeworld to negotiate a peaceful treaty of friendship and trade with the Terran Empire. They were directed to Proxima colony, with the location of Sol being a highly guarded secret, and the arrival was as sombre as it was spectacular, the Centauri shuttle passing by the Terran battlefleet close enough to get a real sense of their size and power. If it was built to intimidate as well as destroy then it had the desired affect on the Centauri. For a long time the Minbari had been the cautionary tale, now it was looking like the humans would be the reason given whenever caution was needed among the people of Centauri Prime.
They were met at the landing site by recognizably human soldiers who politely escorted them to the local governmental centre itself. Here they found something a little more disturbing in the form of two giant red clad warriors flanking the door. They largely ignored the Centauri and carried simple looking but huge guns held across their chest. A troubling and formidable sight that justified the Emperors wisdom in approaching Earth in peace.

For their part the humans were very open and approachable, happily signing treaties with the Centauri for trade, offering large amounts of Quantium 40 taken from Proxima.
"We have little need for it." An imposing yet charming super human being had said with a smile. "We only use it for weapons experiments, we can offer you this element fully refined at a very reasonable price."
"What do you wish in return?" Mollari had asked.
"Above all else, information." The man replied. "You have been in this galaxy a long time, explored many places. We want to know what you know so we may understand this place better, and our role in it."
The terms were a pleasant surprise, one the Centauri entered into eagerly. The Empire learned the location and disposition of every alien race in the sector while the Centauri Republic acquired cheap Quantium 40 and a selection of lesser technologies the Terrans deemed to be mostly harmless.

With the new information Terra expanded into unclaimed space and settled colonies at Deneb, Orion and Altair among others, two dozen worlds populated and fortified in surprisingly quick time. The Terrans pulled in resources in vast quantities; mighty orbital yards and facilities sprung up across the growing Empire and began creating a new generation of battleships to serve Earth. Immensely powerful and armed with the best both sides of humanity could manage, mostly Imperium technology but with certain computer, control and most notable interceptor batteries deployed and developed by the old Earth Alliance.
The Empire moved into the League worlds quietly and peacefully, forming bonds of friendship and trade that took most by surprise, and while those huge Earth ships were constantly on the minds of the League powers the fact they came as friends not conquerors gave them immense relief.

With humanity's star rapidly on the ascendant in the galaxy, Mars became a shining beacon in space, constantly advancing the technology of the Empire as well as the quality of life for all of Mankind's allies.

One distant world was Omelos, home to a race known as the Dilgar. Unceasing war had made their world almost a wasteland with many areas uninhabitable from Radiation poisoning and resources running out. They were a closed people who had little interest in anything more than basic contact, fearful of the power wielded by the Terrans.
As a gesture the Terran Empire sent a team to clean up the Radiation affecting large portions of Omelos, and while the population almost attacked the teams their escorts made them think twice. The silent warriors of the Adeptus Astartes aided by a troop of Baneblades made a tremendous show of power; the first glimpse most of the League had of Earths ground based might.
When the results came through the Dilgar had to admit the Terrans had been right and over years Omelos became habitable again, while economic aide went a long way towards fixing the Dilgar economy and making the world competitive with the League again. While the Dilgar remained distrustful of their League neighbours, they recognised the strength of humanity and maintained open relations with the worthy warrior race. A main event which caused the Dilgar to trust the Terrans happened in the Rohric system, the home of a mighty pirate leader who had cut a bloody swathe into Dilgar Trade.

Rohric System M3.170

Combat Leader Re'las dropped down behind the packing crate as blue and red energy bolts slammed into it with a hiss. He checked the hollowed out corridor around him for alternate cover but found nothing. The specialist beside opened up with a burst of automatic fire to keep the enemy back but it was only prolonging the inevitable.
The fledgling Dilgar navy had a lot of trouble with Pirates striking its shipping lines, and while when they were caught the Dilgar Navy made short work of the opportunists they had too few ships to cover every merchant convoy on every route. It was therefore quite a coup to find an asteroid based used by pirates in Dilgar space and an assault was immediately deployed.
Unfortunately the Raiders had proven more numerous than expected, with the Dilgar frigate conducting the operation crippled and Re'las' strike team on the base now cut off and surrounded. And it had started as such a good day as well.

"I'm on my last clip sir."
"Me too, Specialist." Re'las admitted. "Fix bayonets."
The Dilgar were one of the few races who still appreciated the application of some cold steel in close quarters combat. However against a numerous and dug in enemy it wasn't going to do much. They fired the last of their ammunition, bringing down a Drazi and a Narn Pirate but doing little to lessen the overall strength of the enemy.
"We die well." Re'las nodded. "As fits a Dilgar warrior."
He crouched on his haunches and readied to jump up. "For the Imperium!" he yelled.
As he did so he was surprised and blinded by a flash of light, regaining his vision just in time to avoid running into a small mountain of a being.
"For the Imperium." The new figure repeated.

"I'm getting sick of this." T'skat snarled, the burly Narn staring accusingly at his subordinates. "I built this cartel from nothing, we messed up the Dilgar and the League, and thanks to me we made some cash."
"Look boss, we lost contact with the fire teams, probably just equipment failure."
"Don't be a moron! Grab a gun and come with me, all of you!"
"Yes boss." His Cartel heads reluctantly agreed before departing to see what was happening.

Re'las was so taken aback he didn't notice nobody was shooting anymore. Four immense figures in midnight blue and silver armour were just stood in the corridor facing the pirate positions, one of them with somewhat more ornate armour looked to the Combat officer.
"Dilgar soldier?"
Re'las nodded.
"The Terran Empire sends its compliments. I am Captain Thanos, Night Lords Legion. We have been sent to assist you in this mission against injustice."
"Okay." Re'las nodded; impressed they could speak his language. They probably had translators. "Thanks."
"You are welcome." Thanos turned to his associates. "Brother Astartes, seek and destroy."
The three other warriors moved in unison filling the corridor and advancing steadily on the embedded Pirates. Expectedly they opened fire with every weapon they had.

The Astartes' Aquila armour took the punishment, absorbing energy bolts and stopping metal rounds without complaint. In return the Night Lord warriors unleashed a piercing battle cry and flung themselves forward, energy blasts haloing their figures as they swung the most vicious weapons Re'las had yet seen down on the foes, oversized sword like chainsaws.
The far end of the corridor exploded in sticky red liquid as the churning blades eviscerated the luckless pirates, the three Marines glorying in a job well done as unrecognisable pieces of their alien quarry slid down to the slick floor.
They stepped over the mangled line and continued on deeper into the base, the echo of gunfire and screams marking their progress.

T'skat also heard the sudden increase in gunfire and panic.
"Team six, what is it?" he asked on a commlink.
"Boss? Boss!"
"Calm the hell down and report."
"We can't kill them! I don't know what they are! Why can't we kill it!"
"Look, make sense or I'll throw you outside!" T'skat grunted. "More Dilgar?"
He was answered by a scream and a crunch, and then the link went dead.
Every one of his cadre looked at him with distinct unease.
"Maybe we should leave." T'skat suggested.
As he did all the lights went out.
"Yeah, time to go."

The group broke out a couple of personal lights and began snaking through the corridors, dark oppressive and now remarkably cold. T'skat could see their breath misting as it left their lips. Every little sound drew them nearer panic, swinging their rifles and sometimes even shooting at nothing.
"Hold your fire!" the leader hissed. "You'll draw them here!"
"They've already been." The pointman winced. "Look."
Across their path in the corridor were a pile of bodies in various mangled states, the floor around mixed with various alien blood types.
"Team six." T'skat recognized the clothes of one less mangled individual. "Looks like they went through a mincer."
"Where's Alon?" one of the cartel suddenly noticed. "He was here a second ago."
T'skat snapped back, weapon primed. "Leave him, we go, now!"
"But.."
"Now, or stay here and die like them!"

They set off at a brisker pace, the lights in front bobbing as they broke into a jog and then finally a sprint, the cold night around them feeling like icy fingers grabbing for them. One of them fell and was left behind, no one stopped for him. A few seconds later they heard screams.
"behind us!" T'skat yelled. "Shoot!"
The cartel fired at nothing, energy pulses shooting into the empty corridor behind them. As they did the two men at the front with lights suddenly vanished, taking the only stable light with them.
"In front!" One of them yelled, swinging his rifle wildly and cutting down one of his own comrades..
The group fell apart, some running, some cowering. T'skat and two other Narns held firm firing in both directions stood back to back, their only view flashes of illumination as their weapons discharged. He could see fleeting shapes, shadows within shadows huge and silent getting closer.
The fire behind him stopped, the pirates watching that side just gone without time to even wail. As he turned his head back he saw the last of his cartel yanked through the air by a great clawed hand and disappear into the gloom. In a heartbeat he found himself alone, surrounded in utter dark with an absolutely petrifying feeling of dread overcoming him.
"What the hell are you!"
"Not what." A whisper came from nowhere, apparently talking his language. "Who."
A light blinked on revealing a dark and huge armoured soldier.
"Who…" T'skat managed.
"We are the night." The warrior displayed a hellish weapon, a sword with no true blade but many curved bloodstained teeth. "We come from the cold and dark, and we leave only cold and dark."
T'skats Pirate Empire ended as it had begun in screams of death and blood.

"My Masters in the Empire have taken an interest in this area." Thanos spoke conversationally. "Shall we walk to the main hangar?"
Re'las and his subordinate agreed and joined the Astartes Captain.
"I heard reports of your people." Re'las said. "They were true."
"And we know of yours. You show potential." Thanos stated. "My Masters are willing to assist your world in its rebuilding and in securing its territory."
"And as part of this aid we will crush the pirate problem in your territory." Taos stated.
They arrived in the hangar to be met with more dark armoured soldiers and a number of other Dilgar troops.
"Captain, we have recovered all surviving Dilgar warriors."
"Good Sergeant." Thanos nodded. "We will depart here. Prepare to teleport."
Re'las frowned. "What do you mean by…."

His speech was cut short as he lost his senses for a moment of bright light, then recovered enough to see he was in a massive ornate room with a vast window looking onto the Asteroid base.
"Welcome aboard my cruiser, the Shadowed Blade." Thanos said beside them. "We have taken your ship aboard and will be leaving for Omelos shortly."
The Dilgar Frigate was over three hundred meters long; he couldn't imagine how big this ship would have to be to take it into a cargo hold. And this wasn't even a battleship.
"But first I thought you would like to witness the removal of the Pirate threat." He nodded to a crew member who relayed his orders. A few moments later the ships decks hummed. From the windows Re'las watched as 3 bright lances of energy swept out from the ship and gently touched the base, blasting both it and several cubic miles of asteroid into fragments.

"Both our missions are now complete." Thanos stated.
"Very much so." The Dilgar officer agreed, still catching up mentally with the experience.
"We hope this is the beginning of a beneficial union built on respect." Thanos stated. "We are not conquerors of your people, though you see our might and know we have the power to do so if we wished. We extend our hand to you, and it would please my Masters if you accepted it in friendship."
"I expect we will." Re'las said. "After this I see no one turning down such a powerful ally."
"Good." Thanos nodded. "In Terra's name, this is how it shall be."

War and Peace, oh right can't forget...Order too.

Only one race acted aggressively to Earth, the Ch'lonas who engaged an Earth explorer unit and destroyed it. Thinking the small ship was the limit of human technology their fleet crossed humanities border and attempted to take the Delta system. An attempt which lasted eight seconds in the face of the planetary defences.
Terra lashed out and annihilated their navy and planetary defences, the homeworld was found and it was reduced to a cinder by an hour long bombardment, a message to the galaxy that humanity had the power to do this to any world, and that this would be the price of war.

The Mars facilities soon began construction of defensive installations to be placed on other worlds. The first Ramilies class Starfort was completed within two years and was stationed it geosynchronous orbit over Europe. After three more Ramilies were placed throughout the Sol System, others, along with the smaller Babylon class orbital forts, were shipped to other Terran systems. It was these stations which annihilated the Ch'lonas fleet when it invaded the Delta system.

Terra began expanding outward into totally unexplored space towards the galactic rim.

Terran transports became the freighter of choice for business, and human shipping companies became vastly wealthy overnight. The armed freighters were impervious to raider attack and dwarfed the space stations they delivered to, allowing vast quantities of material to be shipped relatively cheaply. Slowly but surely all of Earths trading partners began to see prosperity rise as Trade between worlds increased thanks to humanity. Earth itself was growing richer and richer by the hour, all the wealth and resources being funnelled back into the ship yards.

All of this did not go unnoticed. From the edges of known space eyes watched the new Empire with curiosity and some apprehension. For the Anla'shok it was a religious duty, the possible fulfilment of prophecy. For other creatures it was something far more monumental. Races that most considered no more than legend and tall tales watched the new giant arise, some analysing how they fitted into the great plan of the universe, others revelling in the huge upset they could cause to the balance of time and the universe.
"They should not be here." Ulkesh intoned. "They cause disruption, they break our circle."
"No." Kosh replied calmly. "They are the circle, it is our understanding that must change."
"Humanity is our weapon against the dark ones."
"They serve the universe, as we serve the universe." Kosh remained calm. "Our purpose is to show the way."
"Our purpose is to defeat the darkness however we can."
"No." The other Vorlon said simply.
"We will not change our ways for them."
"We must change, or we will be defeated."
"Evolve or be destroyed?" Ulkesh sounded harsh. "You speak like a dark one."
Kosh flared in anger, his brightness increasing momentarily as his ire rose. "Do not challenge me!"
"Do not stray from the path." Was Ulkesh's reply. "You will watch them, and try to see if the circle is broken."
"It is never broken." Kosh said. "Only changed."
"It will serve our needs." The militant Vorlon said. "Or we will break it ourselves."

The Terran Empire slowly established itself as the great power of the known galaxy, a slumbering Leviathan happy to exert influence through trade and industry rather than the steel arm of the army and navy. Most of the galaxy became dependant on Earth ships for trade, and on trade for their economic prosperity. The small seemingly unimportant home of humanity had become the centre of the universe quietly taking the title from Centauri Prime and acting as insurer, bank and peacemaker for the worlds and races around it.
The arrival of Earth in the galaxy was marked with a new prosperity and a period of peace as each government grew more satisfied with its trade and friendship with Earth which strictly forbade war between trading partners. It was a new time, and those who shared in it rejoiced, though not all was well.

Terra. M3.175

The universe had become near to fully dependant on the Astra Aquila class freighters, Horus had conquered the better part of known space without ever firing a shot in true war, but today all the plans Horus had, went awry, there could be no annexing of the league until they could figure out if this evidence meant friend or foe.

Horus gently picked up the near translucent fabric and watched it shimmer and adapt to the colours of its surroundings. There was only one thing on Horus' mind…..Where in all the Chaos-spawned Hells had the Vree gotten a Cameleoline Cloak.