A/N: See first chapter for disclaimer. I'm back folks. Good news, within two more chapters we get into more combat action. Let me tell you that it will have some real epic action, after the first campaign I will be about either a third or a quarter of the way done with this story. Don't worry, I've plans for a prequels and sequels, also I may work on converting some Draconian mini's, which may appear on DA. Well enough of my plans, onto the story. Also Empmass in July?
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999969. M41. Ultima Segmentum- Space Fortress Holis
The Space Fortress was abuzz with activity in the final preparations for The Feast of the Emperors Ascension, or Empmass as it was shorten to for the average Imperial citizen and soldier. It was a rare Imperial wide Holiday, in which its citizens were given a day off from their work schedule, unless it was vital to the Imperium or if that person was servitor/serf. Aboard the space fortress over six million Imperial subjects were moving to either one of two places. For the vast majority they were moving towards the ship board chapels and cathedrals to give thanks to the Emperor for protecting His loyal subjects. A minority though were heading to the mess halls and kitchens to prepare for the virtual tsunami of Imperial subjects after mass finished. The kitchen crews were also given special blessings and prayers of protection against the coming flood of hungry mouths.
Commissar Bracket, his son and sectary were part of the first group, though they were not part of the mob of Imperial Guardsmen. Due to Brackets status he was given an invitation to have mass with the various Generals and Commanders of Imperial vessels, with their families in one of the Cathedral's throughout the fortress. It was an honor that a year ago he would not of have because of his status as a simple regimental commissar, but as a Lord-Commissar he was given more privileges, which he had been just beginning to enjoy.
While the trio walked into the cathedral, Julius held onto his father's hand and looked around." Dad, why are there so many generals? I never saw so many of them when we were with the Kreigys." Julius was dressed in a small simple Imperial Guard uniform, based on the Cadian kit. Though this was specially tailored to the boy. Danolov looked down and said." Ya kiddo. I've never seen this many higher up's in one place as well. The reason why there gathered here is for the coming campaign."
"Campaign? How big of a campaign?" Julius asked." Fairly big." Bracket answered. Kaci turned to him, she was dressed in her best fatigues, and asked with a raised eyebrow." How 'fairly big'… sir?" Danolov groaned inside and thought.' Not you to.' He answered her." We'll find out at the diner. Just wait an hour when its announced, please you two stop asking me." He hoped that might satisfy their curiosity, especially his son's. He did not want Julius to go into a 'why' phase again." Yes sir." Kaci replied a moment before Julius said." Sure thing dad."
They found some seats with other lord-commissars and some general staff attached commissars. This was one of the smaller groups since they had less family then the other Imperial officials, besides the Bracket's there were only three other commissariat families, though most of the other commissar's had their aids with them. All together there were about a hundred people in the row of seats, not even filling out the entirety of the row, which could hold twice as many that sat there now.
Bracket sat next to Lord-Commissar Mabuto, an old friend. His father was an colonel from an obscure planet named Shaka, an exporter of cattle to the Imperium, much like the world of Peco's. Bracket had served with Pecosians some fifteen years earlier, and got a repeater bullet to the back and a revolver to the throat. The Shaka's though were not as rebellious and built permanent settlements rather than the wild and free ranged Peco's.
Mabuto had inherited his father's dark skin and looked to be the same age as Bracket, his actual age not the re-juv created young man he was now. Mabuto had a wife and children, his wife Nora was from Xenoian stock and though she was a mother two and in her forty's, she had a wild pink Mohawk and rocked a tight blue jumpsuit from her days as a guardswoman. His daughter was six and had skin just as dark as her father, had spiky red hair and her brother was a little younger at four, he had slightly lighter shade of brown and had black hair, they were talking to Julius. Betha was playing with his ears as her brother Leken was asking him why he had those ears.
As Nora was sharing tips of being a warrior woman and sharing stories with Kaci, Bracket was talking to Mubuto." So what do you know about the sector were going to be taking back?" Bracket asked Mabuto." I know only two worlds in the Forhul zone." Mabuto replied with his deep, rich accent." There's the world of Suliman, I was assigned to a regiment from there when I graduated from the Schola." He closed his eyes to think." I remember that it's a world of about a billion with only two hives, one named City of Angels and the other… ah yes, Tehcaln hive. Their society was just above industrial level and provided their soldiers with auto-guns. They fought fairly well, but after five worlds they were disbanded since there was only a few hundred guardsmen left. Their still loyal to the Imperium, though they have reported some xeno probes over the years."
"And the other one?" Asked Bracket." The other one is called Helios Prime, though the Tau now call it Sha'vish. I don't know much beyond it being occupied by the Tau fifty years ago and it being a jungle world. Which explains why we have Catachan's." He non-chalantry pointed to the Catachan command, over fifty thousand guardsmen from the jungle planet were assigned to this campaign. It made Bracket a little uneasy and feel sorry for the commissars attached to the regiments of the jungle fighters. The black clad agents of the Imperium had a much higher rate of causalities then other regiments, due to 'accidents' and 'friendly fire' incidents. He was going to find out in a few moments if the Zodiac forces were going to be assigned to the same army group.
If his section of Zodiac guard was assigned to the Catachans then he was going to have his hands full just watching his own back and that's not even getting into having the forces adjust each other.
"Now I've a question for you." Mabuto asked." You know Zodiacs better than any other commissar I can think of." His eyes drifted to Julius for a moment." How do they fight and do you know how well?" It took a moment for Bracket to respond, he had to gather together his thoughts and memories of his time serving with the Canenid and the stories Kaci had shared with him, in addition to the stylings of equipment he had seen from the zodiac worlds." Well the Zodiacs are just as varied as any other regiment of guardsmen. They aren't like the ogyrns or ratlings, who have specialized roles, they can adapt and change to situations. When I first meet the Canenid they fought in formation, 10 across and 8 deep… after their first battle they quickly learned to spread out and separate into squads. They were originally specialized troops, who would try and get into combat as quickly as possible to use their short swords and pike las-guns."
"Pike las-guns?" Mabuto questioned." The Canenids call them pilums. Their just below two meters long, but they can be extended, or shorten, since it can break down or add more length, up to 4 meters. Some of the better shots use them as sniper weapons while most of the time their fixed with bayonets and used as pikes." Mabuto chuckled." That's explains why they fight in the formation you said they did. I'm sure against feral and feudal worlder's they would be terrifying. But against anything else." Bracket finished for him." And their perfect targets. If it wasn't for Misty then their trial run would have been cut extremely short." Mabuto raised an eye brow." Misty?" He questioned.
As Bracket was to give his answer the choirs began to sing, 'Ave Dios Imperitor', as the day of The Feast of the Emperors Ascension officially began. For several long minutes the choirs sang beautifully, the attention of the thousands of Imperial officials, their lackeys and families were drawn to the well carved pulpit at the base of a stain glass window, of the Emperor upon his golden throne. As the song ended Cardinal MacKerney took the stand behind the pulpit, his ridiculously small servo hands, were to either side of the stand. The hands would be of no use on their own in a fight, but since he lost his actual ones to Dark Eldar slavers decades ago, MacKerney had a special eviscerator built that would allow him to use the weapon like a literal extension to himself, when his hands locked into place. Since that run in with the Dark Eldar he had earned the title 'MacKerney the Chain Fisted'. MacKerney waited a moment after the song finished before he began to give his address to the mass of humanity that sat before him.
"Men and women of the Imperium. Today we gather here, in humble shrine, for two reasons. The first is to pay homage to his Devine Holiness, He who dwells on Earth and Our Protector. The Emperor of Mankind, on this the day of his ascension to lead the Imperium. The second is a prayer for the souls that will be lost in the coming campaign to take back the worlds of the Forhul sector, from vile Xeno's and traitorous heretics." MacKerney spoke in a soft version of his native Eiresian accent, that was understandable. Bracket had seen pic-casters of the priest in action against the enemies of man though and knew that when raised to fury, the elderly man could become nearly indecipherable in a madness that drove his soldiers to bloody awesomeness.
"Please stand for the prayer." Ten thousand pair's of feet stood as The Sign of the Aquilla were made across chests." Our Emperor who are thou on Terra, halo be his name…."
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A few hours later Kaci was sitting down at a table with the Brackets and Mabuto family in an up scaled version dining hall for the higher up brass. Like everything else she had seen with Bracket this was another surprise, though the impact was lessened after so many times. It was now nearly normal for her to expect some humanity (Though he did kill when needed and for moral) from the Lord-Commissar, but she thought him to be a one off from the other black coated agents. She was delightfully mistaken when she met the Mabuto's. Kaci had enjoyed their company and they seemed like a normal family back on her world… but not quite.
Mabuto and Bracket were hitting it off fairly well and were talking like a pair of executives of a company, though instead of company retreat adventures, they discussed more about troop disputations. The kids also seemed to be enjoying each other's company. Though they liked torturing Julius about his ears, tail and as they put it 'old man hair'. Kaci also found a friend in the family in the form of Nora, they traded combat stories, though mostly Kaci heard Nora's tails since her own experience with combat was limited. Not that Nora minded she liked to boast of her time as a guardswoman and give both Kaci and her daughter tips of the battle trade.
As Kaci opened her menu a female Feleinus general walked up to the table." Is this seat taken?" She asked pointing at the only empty seat left." Sure General…?" Bracket asked of the young general." Safir Maraan, former Lady-Protectess of Baalkpan and General of the First Feleinus army." She took her seat and Kaci got a good look at the cat girl. The first two things she noticed was that her fur was nearly pitched black and her eyes were silver, an odd combination on her world, but the few people of Feleinus she had seen were hardly this… strong of single coloring. 'Noble blood? Royals and governors families are weird like that… it would explain that little extra title.' Kaci thought. Then she looked at what the general was wearing and could be forgiven if she thought Safir was Imperial naval officer at first. The general wore a kilt, of blue and white plaid while having a tunic of pure white. A tunic that had little in the way of badges and decoration, though showed of a pair of… large assets. It didn't help that she was either rthe same age or a little younger then Kaci.
" Well general let me introduce myself. My name is Lord-Commissar Danolov Bracket, this is my fellow Lord-Commissar Mabuto with his wife Nora and their two children, who are torturing my own son, Beta and Leken. The boy with the wolf ears and tail is my son Julius and to my immediate left is Corporal Kaci Narabi, my sectary." Bracket finished." So what brings you to this little table set of paradise?" Danolov broke the ice.
" You looked like you were having a good time and I didn't want to sit next to a bunch of officers who looked like they couldn't decide to let me sit next to them or throw me out of the airlock." Safir replied. Bracket nodded in understanding, he and the other commissars were going to have a hard time integrating the new, almost abhuman, regiments into the Imperial Guard. Especially since Imperial's were taught from a young age that if it walked on two legs and spoke like a man, but if it had more in common with an animal, then it was a mutant or heretic and had to be burned. This was going to be proven hard since commissars regularly encouraged this idea and he knew that there were going to be commissars he'll have to rein in, before they started shooting Zodiacs for the slightest infracthments. Which was hard to do with regular guard, let alone those who may have more in common with a house cat or garden snake.
"Yeah, I give them a couple of 'glares' later on." He smiled." So former lady-protectess of… Baalkpan eh? Let me take a wild guess, volunteered for the position and left that title behind?" Danolov asked. Kaci nearly dropped her menu and thought.' Is he really asking those questions after meeting the girl?' Safir was just as taken aback by this question, blinking quickly." Uh… yes. I was a commander of the 600, a ceremonial guard for my father the governor. Though now it's not so ceremonial as they are… the closet we have to an elite force in the Feleinus guard."
"That makes sense." Bracket said." So, have you met Haus, if so how's the old grump doing?" Asked Mabuto with a smile, deciding to change the subject from the young general to a general topic." He is doing well… I'm amazed that the Imperium has allowed him to continue to fight since he has to be in his 100's, even with the re-juves." Mabuto chuckled." The Emperor won't take him yet. He is to much of a grumbler and complainer to allow at his table, till he is sure to have some proper seating far enough away." Mabuto, Nora and Bracket gave a small chuckle at the thought of the afterlife's seating plan
Maraan decided to speak freely now that she was sure that these two commissars wouldn't be so judgmental on her own thoughts."May I be allowed a question?" She asked of them." Sure." "Yes." "Yeah." The three elder humans replied. Safir took a breath before asking." I noticed that you two, haven't been… so… well bloodthirsty and brooding like other commissars, let alone having an awkward time with Zodiac troops."
Mabuto and Bracket looked at each other." Should I go first, or do you want that honor?" Asked Bracket." I'll take that honor." Mabuto replied and turned to the cat girl." I can speak only of myself on this matter. You see the Imperium is a big place… even I don't know how far the Imperium of Man spans. Each world is different and has its own traditions, gene-heritage and even weather systems. I was raised that even though there are differences between the worlds, they all serve the Emperor of Man and that all men are created equal. So as long as a person stays loyal to the Emperor, be they human or abhuman, then they are still a citizen. Unless they were touched by Chaos or Xeno filth, then they have to be put down."
After he finished, Bracket spoke." And now it's my turn." He took a sip of water before he continued." Me and Mabuto were raised at the same Schola and had the same teachers. I was not so… welcoming to the same ideals he had and was just as any other commissar fresh from the Storm Troopers. I killed traitors and xeno's and saw the destruction in their wake, I never wanted my regiment to turn when I was eventually assigned to one. So when I was assigned to a regiment I was… to put it lightly harsh and did not try to gain respect from my troops, instead I tried to put the fear of Emperor in them."
He pulled down his collar, showing a small round scar on his throat." My regiment turned on me and left me for dead in the middle of a grass plain. After that I learned my lesson and treated any other regiment I was assigned to with respect and tried to earn theirs."
"Ohh, I see." Safir said in understanding. Then after a brief pause asked Bracket." So what happened to that regiment that turned on you?" He didn't miss a beat." I caught up with the survivors on their home world a few years later. To cut the details short, the Emperors justice was delivered on to them. And they served the Imperium as examples in deat-" The waiter walked up." May I take your orders sirs and misses?"
They ordered their meals and after they did, Nora decided to take the initiative again." So what type of hilarious injuries have you folks suffered?" Kaci perked up and said." I once broke my back when I slipped on a toy chimera when I was kid." Several pairs of eyes turned to her, intrigued at the story." How'd that happen?" Asked Julius? Kaci then explained how it happened. She got some laughs out of her story, the others shared their own tales and for the rest of the evening they had good time.
That was till near the end of the dinner when an announcement was made regarding the coming campaign, it came with an emergency transmission. The world of Suliman had just been invaded by Xeno forces.
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A/N: Well folks another chapter down. To those few fans off Destroyermen… I could not resist including at least one shout out to the series.