"Chaplain Mikelus. I am glad to see so many of you alive and well."

Captain Thule and his Command Squad were standing outside the Thunderhawk's bay doors as Akileus and his squad disembarked. They were all decked in their decorated power armor, and they carried a variety of weapons, though it was Captain Thule who was the most recognizable. Though he wore the same suit of gilded Artificer Armor that he had worn throughout the whole campaign, today the armor was not only fitted with every medal, honor and purity seal Captain Thule had earned throughout his long campaign, but it seemed that long hours with sacred unguents and maintenance had granted the armor and almost unnatural shine. If there was any doubt that Davian Thule would be leading this charge from the front, it had completely evaporated from Akileus' mind.

On Captain Thule's right stood Endymion, his protegée and second in command of the Fourth Company, leaning against his inactive Thunder Hammer. Draped around his shoulders was a long crimson cloak. Though some might see that as a display of extravaganze or vanity that a man in Endymion's position should not bear, nobody disagreed with the results of having an adamantine mantle when you were attempting to charge into close combat with an already heavy weapon.

Behind Endymion, draped in the armor fit for his rank, stood Ajas, the company champion, combat shield placed on his back and his custom-crafted power sword was sheathed on his hip. Ajas had served as company champion for almost as long as Davian Thule had held the captaincy, an unusually long lifespan for a company champion, who were often forced to fight the greatest fighters amongst the enemy so the Captain would be free to coordinate the battle. However, no-one could deny that Ajas was a superb warrior.

The warrior who stood on Davian Thule's left side needed no introduction to any man of the Fourth Company. Gordian was another long-lived addition to the legacy of the Fourth Company, both as the medical officer attached to the command squad, as well as in his capacity as the master of the Strike Cruiser Retribution's Apothecarion. Akileus contemplated the instrument on Gordian's arm, the tool of an Apothecary's trade, and melancholy seemed to strike him for a second. No doubt Gordian would have use for his reductor many a time before this battle was over.

Rounding up the group were Hector and Castor, the Standard Carrier and the last veteran rounding up the Command Squad respectively. Hector was a ponderous marine, his armor almost completely without ornament. Not a single purity seal or honor badge was visible on his body. Hector had always shunned such ornamentation, calling it unnecessary when stories of the squad's exploits would be shared amongst the Fourth Company regardless. All the honors he wanted to display, he said, were those of the Fourth Company.

Castor was chosen for the command squad primarily because of the Marksman's Honor that he proudly displayed on his shoulder. Castor's accuracy with a plasma gun was the stuff of legends, and the tally of enemies he's left in his wake with short bursts from his weapon of choice had become the stuff of Fourth Company legend, and the only thing keeping Castor from a promotion to the ranks of the Chapter's Sternguard was the fact that he was serving in the Command Squad, and that he seemed content to keep his position in it. In contrast to Hector, Castor showed every medal earned on his campaigns with pride, having proudly boasted that one day his armor would outshine his Captain's.

Mikelus was the first out of the Thunderhawk, nodding at Captain Thule as he exited. Mikelus was another protegée of Thule's, and before Mikelus had been seconded to the Reclusiam, he seemed to be his natural successor, as well. It was only natural, then, that he had been chosen as the Fourth Company's Chaplain when his training had finished not long ago.

"I'm glad to see so many of you returned alive. Of course, I'd expected nothing short of a miracle from the First Company."

Captain Gaius stepped out of the Thunderhawk that moment, briefly nodding to Captain Thule before marching off, his accompanying Vanguard Veterans in tow.

"No doubt he's looking to replace his losses. Perhaps after today's fighting, we'll have the making of at least one Vanguard Veteran to substitute for the ones lost. Of course, they will not be the only casualties today."

"Such are the demands of war, Captain Thule. I believe it's only worse because this war is pointless" Akileus said, his distorted voice melancholic.

"Aye, aye, I believe you're right. I believe you should head to the armory, the Techmarines will no doubt want to run maintenance on your armor and weaponry before the attack, and I'd like to have a word with you and your squad mates."

Akileus nodded. Though their armor had held and was largely intact, parts of them were charred from flame and large volumes of las-fire. However, Akileus held no doubts that the Techmarines would do their utmost to repair the suits. Davian Thule's message had been all too clear. The big push was about to begin. Tonight, Governor-Militant Lukas Alexander would die.


Thule's plan was simple, but genius. The Governor's Palace had been installed on top of a heavily fortified hill. On the left was an impassable forest, on the right was the crater of the now-defunct Titan Cannon. Upwards was an army of Imperial Guardsmen, dug in with heavy weapons, tanks, and artillery. This was exactly the sort of combat Space Marines were trained for.
Akileus was no stranger to war, but even a veteran like he had to feel the awe of two Space Marine companies working as tightly interwoven. Tactical Squads advanced, covering any Guardsmen who dared stick their heads up in heaps of bolter fire, seeking cover only when they had to reload, or an Assault Squad flew in to engage and destroy the last remnant of the Guard squad unlucky enough to feel the Tactical Marines' wrath. Devastator Squads laid down complex webs of suppression fire, heavy bolter shells more than encouraging the guardsmen to seek cover whenever possible, leaving them easy pray for assaults from overhead.

Though it was not only here that the great synergy of this type of warfare made itself evident. Behind the advancing line of Space Marines rapidly moving up, engaging anything in their path, Whirlwinds sent incendiary Castellan missiles flying into the air, finding dug-in heavy weapon emplacements and flushing their operators out of cover, often incinerating them in the process. The ones not killed by this barrage of flame were finished off quickly by autocannon fire from the Chapter's Predators once they left their cover. A single Vindicator tank, a Tactical Squad on each flank, had already claimed three bunkers, its Demolisher Cannon making short work of the heavy rockrete buildings and their occupants.

However, the most inspiring sight was Davian Thule himself. His Command Squad and himself, along with the remaining Assault Veterans, now all clad in Terminator Armor and armed with thunder hammers and storm shields, were at the very front of the advancing army of Marines, each of them reaping a bloody tally on anyone foolish enough to engage him. When he was not cutting down enemies underfoot with his power sword, Captain Thule's plasma pistol found its mark. Castor fired blast after blast of plasma, each one finding a mark, and each one a certain kill. Mikelus and Endymion stood on each side of their Captain, cutting down anyone attempting to flank him, Mikelus shouting oaths throughout the whole ordeal, though his words were lost on Akileus from this far away. Ajas stood next to Mikelus, his strikes as precise and deadly as ever.

"Squad Akileus, Squad Nicolaus, lascannon emplacements three hundred yards in front of you. See that they are eliminated."

Captain Thule's voice rouse Akileus from his moment of awe, and the Terminator saw his sergeant waving him along. He turned around and nodded to Nicolaus' squad, though he was certain that the Scout Sergeant had gotten the message. And sure enough, the Sergeant and his squad moved up, careful to constantly be moving behind Akileus and his squad, the heavily armored Terminators acting as walking cover for the less-armored Scouts.

A moment later, Nicolaus and his squad were poised to shoot, and as their volley went off, Akileus saw the Guardsman operating the heavy weapon fall down, a shot from an Astartes sniper rifle through his skull. When faced with marksmanship of that calibre, the surviving Guardsmen immediately took cover, and the lascannon emplacement fell silent. Moments later, a nearby Assault Squad jumped into the trench to silence any remaining heavy weapons, and soon enough, the advance was cleared.

Yet Akileus was wary. Though the Guard had put up heavy resistance, they had yet to engage them with anything but artillery. Though the artillery had already caused losses amongst his brothers, Akileus knew that they were not even firing on full capacity. The Governor-Militant was biding his time, sending his men in as a distraction. There was something else going on - perhaps a tank push?

"Captain Thule, I notice a disturbing absence of tanks in the enemy's ranks" he exclaimed over his vox-unit.

"Confirmed, brother Akileus. Our airborne Thunderhawk just informed me that there are tanks moving along the Titan Cannon's crater. Do not worry, I have accounted for their presence, and the Techmarines and I have prepared a surprise for the Governor-Militant. We are just waiting for his entire armored convoy to pass into the crater. You needn't concern yourself with the tanks yet. Focus on moving up and taking out any heavy weapon emplacements who could be a threat to the armored spearhead or your Scouts. Thule out." Davian Thule's reply came swiftly, and the audio was clear enough for Akileus to hear the death screams of the Guardsmen the Captain had been engaged in combat with. He even caught a bit of one of Mikelus' impromptu battle cries, the words "AND THEY SHALL KNOW NO FEAR" being quite audible.

Akileus shook his head and motioned for Nicolaus and his squad to follow. Five carapace-armored bodies, barely visible underneath the expertly crafted camo-cloaks every Scout was draped in. The Chapter would have to thank the Ghost Walkers for their generous donation to the Blood Ravens at some point.

"What now, brother Akileus?" Nicolaus asked, the fires of battle raging all around them. Another bunker just behind them was demolished by the Vindicator, and the Assault Squads were busy finishing up another trench.

"We stand before an impasse, my friend. We have two choices on how to proceed here" Akileus said. Then, he pointed to the forest on the west, directly across the battle lines. "Your squad can move through the battlezone to the outer treeline and proceed to eliminate heavy weapon emplacements from there." He then pointed towards the main line. "Or you can join me and my squad on the offensive. We've been ordered to join our fellow First Company Veterans, currently engaging the enemy as Sternguard. We plan to cover their advance while they eliminate the enemy Stormtrooper regiments. Their Kraken bolts are strong enough to penetrate the enemy's carapace armor, and with our formidable suits of armor in front, we should be able to halt the Stormtroopers before they find a solid defensible position from which to wreak havoc upon our forces. I believe we even have a Librarian with us."

"In that case, I opt to go with you, brother. We will continue with our task of taking the heads of any enemy heavy weapons or leader sticking their heads out too far" Nicolaus said, a hint of a smile on his face.


"Brother Akileus, how glad I am to see you." The Sternguard veteran's face was covered by a red-grey veteran's helmet, painted with laurels on his head, but his voice spoke of great strain. Even the might of the First Company could be sorely tested, and this seemed to be one of those times.

The Guardsmen in front of them had had too much time to dig in. A squad of Kasrkin Stormtroopers had added their fire to that of their Guard brethren, and the Sternguard were forced to take cover and fire pot-shots at the enemy, knowing that one solid volley of hot-shot lasgun fire could easily bring them down. They needed a break.

Akileus lifted his assault cannon that instant, but before he even got the launch his first volley, three Kasrkin went down, holes through their flimsy face-masks dripping blood after being faced with the impact of of sniper fire. The remaining Stormtroopers were now the ones to keep their heads down, giving the Sternguard a chance to switch ammunition.

The volley of dragonfire rounds that followed was devastating to the Guardsmen. Dragonfire bolts were named as such because of the gout of flame each bolt released upon detonation. Such rounds cared little for cover, and soon enough, many a Guardsman who had not been incinerated by the impact of the bolts desperately attempted to quench themselves. Grisly screams were heard from the trench.

Before Akileus even had time to fire his first volley, storm bolter fire from his squad had killed the remaining Stormtroopers. The Sternguard used his opportunity to break from cover, nodding to Akileus and his squad as they moved up to wipe the next trench clean. Akileus' squad followed suit, marching in front of Nicolaus' scouts, who had already packed up their sniper rifles, awaiting a new target.


Akileus stormed further up the entrenched hill. The Governor's palace were coming up on them, a massive rockrete fortress with the Imperial aquila nestled on the top, bristling with firepower that could rival a Baneblade. This would not be easy.

"Scout Squad Ahzek reporting massive formation of both light and heavy Imperial Guard tanks moving through the crater on the west."

Akileus' heart started racing. He'd forgotten about the tank push! He only hoped that Captain Thule had made appropriate arrangements.

"Very well. Techmarines, prepare the counter-push. Brother Akileus, deep-striking reinforcements to your location."

Akileus blinked for a second, and as he finished, a Librarian stood before him, his face covered by a helmet. Like Akileus and his brothers, the Librarian donned Terminator armor, though his was coated in the blue of the Lexicanum. In his hands he brandished a great Force Staff, a storm bolter attached to his arm. He nodded at Akileus and his brothers and lifted his palms.

Light enveloped Akileus and his brothers, and his guts began to wrench as the world around him spun. Moments later, Akileus arrived at the east side of the battlefield, on the hill overlooking the crater, the wide pathway ahead of them one of the last remaining entry points for the Leman Russ tanks, should they opt to attack the Blood Ravens from the front.

Akileus quickly scanned his surroundings, noticing the presence of the squad of Assault Terminators as well. Though they had seen the most heavy fighting, judging by the status of their armor, the squad numbered as many as it had at the dawn of the battle. With them stood Jerosus, still in his power armor, force sword held in his hand, psychic energy dancing around the blade, plasma pistol still smoking after a recent kill. He looked dourly at the assembled marines.

Captain Gaius stood amongst them, storm shield hefted and the Fist of the Father already slick with blood. He looked ready for battle as ever.

"Our mission will be to hold off any advancing reconnaisance vehicles long enough for our Techmarines to finish convincing the Titan Cannon's machine spirit to fight with us. Akileus, your squad will take position on the high ground. Anything that exposes its flank armor for so much as a second, send a barrage down on their heads. Sergeant, your squad will take position in the breach itself. Your thunder hammers should at the very least hold any vehicle that comes within range. Jerosus will remain with you to screen you against attacks that could potentially penetrate your heavy armor." He pointed at the other Terminator sergeant and Jerosus, who took up position behind his brothers. Gaius marched out in front, confident that his artificer armor would keep him as safe as any suit of heavy armor.

The other Librarian, his face still distorted by the helmet, took place with Akileus' squad. Akileus guessed he was there to clean up any infantry that would be marching with the tanks. The Librarians commanded fearsome psychic might, and just a few demonstrations of their power should kill or rout nearly any enemy.

Soon enough, Captain Thule's concerns were valided with a rattle of engines. Soon enough, two Bane Wolves came up, their main cannon dripping with poisonous chemicals already. They were closing distance with the marines fast, a dozen Guardsmen using the heavy tanks as cover on their advance.

The Librarian lifted his palm then, and jolts of lightning began to spring from his palm, flying down towards the unfortunate Guardsmen. Four of them were instantly electrocuted, three more stopped and jerked awkwardly, and the rest stopped to take stock of the situation. This would turn out to be a mistake, as four storm bolters and Akileus' assault cannon made mincemeat out of the rest of them.

The Assault Terminators had moved up on the Bane Wolves now, and the first one lifted his Thunder Hammer to strike, bringing the concussive power weapon down on the weapon's hull. The force of the impact with the immovable Space Marine made the Bane Wolf tip forward, one of its crewmembers falling out of the gaping hole left in the tank. The frightened crew member quickly abandoned his tank and rain away. A shot from Jerosus' plasma pistol finished him off for good. Even from this distance Akileus could see the contemptuous sneer on Jerosus' face.

The second Bane Wolf came up now, and soon enough, its chem cannon opened up, hoping to bathe the Terminators in poisonous chemicals. An effective tactic, had the Terminators been alone. In that instant, Jerosus lifted his force sword and chanted, and soon enough the Terminators and himself were enveloped in a powerful barrier, the chemicals splashing off the shield, striking the environment around them. In that moment, Akileus opened fire on the weakened side armor of the tank. Though each slug from his assault cannon was little more than the sting of a fly against even the side armor of a Bane Wolf, quantity had a quality all of its own, and soon enough, the furious roar of his assault cannon had struck something critical. The Bane Wolf exploded then, its toxic chemicals mixing with the promethium in its ruptured fuel tank. A massive cloud of red and green sparked up from the wreckage of the tank. However, Akileus knew that these were only the advance waves. Soon, the Leman Russ tanks would come, and with them would come the plasma weaponry that was anathema to Terminators. He hoped the Techmarines could fix the cannon fast.

"Stand back, Space Marines. The Titan cannon is about to fire" came Davian Thule's voice from the vox. Instantly, Akileus' eyes diverted themselves towards the crater, and soon enough, he noticed an eerie sound in the air, like a thousand humming voices in some disharmonious choir.

Then, the flash.

Akileus had fought alongside Titans before. He knew very well what sort of terrifying power the sacred vehicles of the Adeptus Mechanicus could muster. Yet nothing in all his centuries of experience as a Space Marine could prepare him for this.

Like the roar of an angry god, the Imperator Titan's weapon fired. With it followed a brief, bright flash, completely blinding Akileus, in spite of both his auto-senses and the protection of his helmet. When the flash disappeared and Akileus once more opened his eyes, he saw nothing. Where before, there had been roars of tanks, revving of engines and the angry cries of hundreds of Guardsmen crying out for vengeance, there was nothing.

It is as if there was never a threat to begin with, Akileus thought to himself, his eyes wide open in awe.

"Enemy tanks terminated", Akileus heard Captain Gaius say, no doubt addressing Captain Thule through the vox. Soon enough, the Terminator-armored arm of the nameless Librarian was on his shoulder, and once more they were wisked away. When Akileus had regained his composure, he was on the battlefront.


There was not much resistance left now. Davian Thule and his company had cleaned up the remaining resistance near the Governor's palace. When Akileus finally found Davian Thule, he found him outside of the Governor's palace. Six figures kneeled underneath him, their hands tied. One of them was unmistakably Lukas Alexander. The short-cropped blonde hair, the cybernetic in place of his right eye and the medals on his chest betrayed him before his general's uniform did. He was a pitiful sight then, his eyes fixated on the ground, his body visibly trembling, almost as if he was about to break into tears. The five others, Akileus assumed, were his command staff. Each one carried a score of medals, and each looked as frightened as their commander. Smoke rose from the Governor's palace, and everything within range had been razed to the ground. The Emperor's work had been done this day. It was finally over.

Hector and Castor flanked Captain Thule this time, Ajas standing behind. Endymion was engaged in conversation with Mikelus, no doubt arranging a post-battle sermon, and Gordian was no doubt overseeing a construction of a medical bay.

"Governor-Militant Lukas Alexander, you are charged with attempting to interfere with the autonomy of the Space Marines, as dictated by the Primarch Roboute Guilliman at the end of the Horus Heresy. What have you to say in your defense?"

"What are you hiding?", the Governor-Militant said, attempting to mask his shaking voice as best he could. He looked up at Davian Thule with the last shred of defiance in his body.

"A question I should be asking you, Governor-Militant. You broke the laws of military conduct, not us. Had you requested our aid instead of demanding it, we would gladly have helped you conquer this system. Unfortunately, your pride forced us to do this. I assure you that there is not a single man under my direct command who -wished- for this confrontation."

The Governor-Militant contemplated the ground again. Then, his body started shaking uncontrollably, and a tear fell from his face.

"How could I have let this happen? This was my first solo operation. Sturmm thought I was ready for this. My first chance to show my full competency, to show everyone that I was ready for my promotion, and history will remember me as a failure who ired a Space Marine chapter and paid for it."

"History will remember you for what you were, Governor-Militant. Foolish, but a great speaker. Though you may have lost, you nonetheless mustered your men for an attack on their angels, their saviors. Though there can still only be one mercy for the traitor." Hector, who stood by the Captain's side, handed him his sidearm, and Thule pointed it at the Governor-Militant's head.

"The mercy of death" he said, the bolt round exploding inside the skull of Lukas Alexander, sending blood and brain matter flying in all sides. His staff all averted their eyes in that moment, a look of disgust replacing their earlier looks of fear.

"Captain Gaius, I want you to oversee the execution of the remnants of the platoon that rebelled against their general. I also want you to see to it that the Guardsmen who remained, as well as all of their remaining equipment, is shipped off-world. Perhaps they can be folded into another regiment. Brother Akileus, please execute the rest of the command staff." Thule began moving towards Endymion and Mikelus himself, looking away from his bloody handiwork.

Akileus nodded and revved his assault cannon. Seconds later, only bloody giblets remained to remind Akileus that there had once been people in front of him. He sighed deeply. He hated doing headsman's work like this.

In the distance, Akileus heard more death screams. Captain Gaius worked efficiently, it seemed. He'd already started the executions of the men who betrayed their commander.

Akileus did not want to think more on this. Right now, he wanted to find Nicolaus' squad, tell the Scouts a tale or two, and calm down. The events of this day had left him more melancholic than he thought, and he had no wish to see any more of the grisly executions that followed unnecessary battles like these.

However, the roar of a gunship engine quickly made him regain his composure. He looked skyward, the auspex in his helmet desperately searching for whatever made the noise, and soon enough, something came into view.

By Imperial standards, it was a slick craft. Clearly built on the model of the Thunderhawk, albeit significantly smaller, the gunship was gunmetal grey, and on its wings were painted the stylized I that marked it as belonging to the Holy Order of the Emperor's Inquisition.

Never a dull moment, Akileus thought, as his sergeant motioned for them to greet the Inquisitorial ship as it made its descent.


The passenger aboard the ship was an even greater enigma. Clad in a suit of heavy gilded Artificer Armor created for a human, a middle-aged looking man stepped out of the craft, arms behind his back. The right side of his face was a complex pattern of tattoos that seemed to spell something out, though Akileus was not sure what.
Behind the man marched two Stormtroopers, hellguns at the ready. Their faces were distorted by gas masks.

"Blood Ravens", the man said, his voice deep and authoritative.

"Inquisitor" Davian Thule replied. Behind him, Ajas kept a hand on the pommel of his power sword.

"My name is Aeneas. As you no doubt discerned from my craft, I am a member of the Holy Order of the Emperor's Inquisition. More specifically, I am a representative of the Ordo Malleus, eternal enemies of the Enemy Beyond." He shook his head disapprovingly at Ajas, who nodded slightly and removed his hand from his power sword. There was no need to appear as if they were threatening the Inquisitor.

"I must say, Inquisitor, your timing is uncanny. Minutes after we execute a traitor general and his forces, you appear."

"Oh, rest assured, I have no quarrel with you over this. I merely wanted to contact you because you are now the only remaining Imperial forces on this planet. And whether or not the Governor-Militant was a traitor is not a relevant part of this discussion. The fact remains that you are not just dealing with Chaos insurgents on this planet, Captain Thule. You face Eliphas the Inheritor, a leader of a particularly large band of the treacherous Word Bearers, and a particularly large thorn in the side of my Ordo."

"No matter the size of his warband, he will nonetheless be defeated." Captain Thule retorted, giving the Inquisitor a reassuring nod.

"Perhaps. But there is no reason for you to go alone when I can call in specialists to help you." The Inquisitor brought a vox to his ear.

"Deploy the Hammer."

Moments later, in a bright flash of light, six warriors stood before the Blood Ravens. Each of them was clad in gunmetal grey power armor of a pattern that Akileus knew was exceedingly rare amongst the Imperium. Their helmets had been shaped into great masks, and their eyes shone bright blue. Four of them carried great two-handed weapons, sheathed over their shoulders, and one carried a strange-looking weapon, no doubt a heavy weapon of similar functionality to a heavy bolter."

The last of them stood almost a head taller than the others, clad in a suit of what Akileus could only assume was Terminator Armor. In his hands, he carried a great hammer of similar pattern to the swords, and on his hand was a great flamer-looking weapon, the two igniters shining with a bright blue flame.
"The warriors of the Inquisition are yours to command", the front Grey Knight said to the Inquisitor.

The Inquisitor nodded at the Grey Knight. "Paladin, I am leaving you and your squad with the Blood Ravens. You will march for the Deimos Peninsula immediately to do battle with the heretics on this planet." He looked over at Captain Thule. "When we caught word of the reappearance of the Word Bearers in this sector, I called for some additional assistance. Thankfully, a Strike Squad of Grey Knights lead by paladin Gawain here were in range to respond. They'll be with you for the remainder in this campaign. I trust you will not waste their potential."

Davian Thule frowned slightly at the Grey Knights, and then nodded at Aeneas. "I will not, Inquisitor. After our post-battle sermon, we will move for the Deimos Plateau immediately."

"Thank you, Captain Thule. I leave the safety of Kronus in your hands."

"It will be in good hands, then", Castor burst out. No doubt he had a slight smile on his face underneath his helmet. The Inquisitor looked back at him with furrowed brows.

"So I hope, Sergeant. So I sincerely hope."


Commentary:

Whoo, this thing took longer than expected. Sorry for the long wait.

So, as I said, this wraps up the Imperial Guard part of the story. Next time this story updates, it'll be on to Chaos!