Chapter 33
Within the Shadows
Writers Note - I have to admit that Revanor has a point, I have been picturing it that the Jedi and the Alliance seem superior, I hope that I can fix that in later chapters because any way you look at it the Imperium probably has larger fleets, deadlier Psykers and so on.
A tear opened up between realspace and warpspace and the 12km long battleship Emperors Benevolence soared through the opening, its black hull covered with hundreds of deadly gun barrels and torpedo tubes, as it finished its journey between dimensions there was a flash of dark light as its Gellar fields deactivated, and a secondary blue flash as the warships newly installed Alliance defence shields took its place.
Lord Inquisitor Silvermaine stood on the bridge of the Emperors Benevolence. He had read up on the Hoth system and found that although it was a desolate ice planet, covered in snowfields and ice covered mountains, it had an interesting history, it was the site of a rebel base during the Galactic Civil War and was also the site of a massive battle between the Galactic Empire and the heavily entrenched forces of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Where the Imperial forces under Darth Vader soundly defeated and routed the Rebel Alliances ground army.
"Full scans of the entire area" he ordered briskly "Are there any ships in the region?"
There were a few moments of silence as the bridges serfs set to work, their hands dancing along the keypads of their control consoles, initiating powerful scans that even the Alliance vessels could not compete with. He waited patiently, his fingers drumming on the tough wood of his staff.
"Milord there are three vessels in the system" one of the serfs reported "Approximately five hundred kilometres ahead, one Executer-class Dreadnought and two escorts, looks like Clone Wars era Venator-class Star Destroyers"
A holographic image appeared on the command deck, showing the impressive silhouette of the star dreadnought, its two sleek escorts looking like flies in comparison, small dancing lights showed small groups of starfighters patrolling around them.
"This can't be right" he heard another serf mumble.
"What is it?" Silvermaine asked as he walked towards the serf's station.
"Milord, according to the ship information that the Alliance gave us the dreadnought is known as the Executer" the serf replied "The Executer was destroyed over thirty years ago during the battle of Endor"
"Then that can't be the same vessel" Silvermaine replied simply "It's just not possible"
The small cluster of warships were within visual range know and as the Lord Inquisitor looked at them closely he saw that the colour scheme for the star dreadnought was the same as the old Imperial design of light and dark grey during the Galactic Civil War, by first glance it looked just like the ship from the history vids, the two smaller Venators had a different colour scheme of gold, red and white, the same as the Old Republics warships had.
"We are being hailed milord" a communications serf said from his station.
"Put it through" Silvermaine replied.
A holographic image of a being appeared, dressed in flowing brown robes, the hood was down around her slender shoulders showing a xeno woman with cerulean blue skin and two long head tails, the Lord Inquisitor heard a few sounds of disgust from around the bridge as a few serfs looked up, the alien however didn't seem to care, her dark brown eyes were fixed on the Inquisitor.
"Your ship will dock with the dreadnought milord" she stated calmly.
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Meanwhile back at Denon the first Inquisition black-ships were exiting through the wormhole, carrying entire companies of Inquisitors, battlesisters, storm troopers, daemon hunters and Grey Knights, a score of Adeptus Astartes vessels followed them ranging in size from small strike cruisers to one enormous 18km long battlebarge, their hulls painted in the colours and covered with the emblems of the chapters known as the Blood Ravens and the Ultramarines.
From the deck of the Leviathan Supreme Commander Pallaeon, Grand Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and recently made Grand Admiral Halos looked out at the recently arrived taskforce with awe, they had never seen Adeptus Astartes ships before and they had to admit, they were impressive, the strike cruisers were said to be able to go toe to toe with vessels twice their size and the battlebarge was said to have the firepower of three Retribution-class Battleships.
The stories of the Space Marines were equally impressive and terrifying, the elites of the Imperium, beings dressed in intimidating power armor and armed with some of the deadliest weapons that the Imperium had at their disposal, they were relieved however that they sent the Blood Ravens and the Ultramarines, they were both considered more open minded than many of their brethren chapters.
On a lighter note the Imperium and the Alliance had gotten on pretty well over the last few weeks with the Imperium already finished building an embassy on the planets surface, the few companies of Imperial Guard who were stationed on the Alliances capital were luckily quite well behaved, there were a few incidents of fighting between them and alien civilians but they were broken up quickly by the Commissars and Alliance Commanders before anyone got hurt.
The Jedi order and the Inquisition were also behaving themselves with the Inquisitors and sanctioned Psykers teaching the Jedi the techniques that they would need to fight off the daemons of the warp, including strengthening their bodies and minds against the corrupting whispers that the Eye of Terror would be unleashing once the war began, the Inquisition were more than happy with their counterparts quick progress with several Jedi masters including Luke Skywalker mastering the techniques in near record time.
"Sir we are being hailed by the Battlebarge Emperors Watch" he heard one of the officers below say.
"Put it through" The Supreme Commander ordered.
The image of a large, intimidating man appeared before them, dressed in the red power-armor of the blood ravens his head was weathered and rugged with clipped white hair and piercing silver eyes. Latched to his waist was a deadly looking bolt pistol engraved with red markings and the majestic well designed hilt of a power-sword, the top of the hilt forming a raven with its wings stretched, its holy blade encased in a well made sheath.
"Greetings in the name of the Emperor" he bellowed, his right hand forming the sign of an aquilla across the breast plate "I am Brother-Captain Gabriel Angelos"
"Greetings Brother-Captain" Joseph said as he and his fellows executed crisp salutes "It has been a long time"
"Yes it has Admiral Halos" Gabriel replied, a wisp of a smile touching his lips "It would appear that the shoe is on the other foot, now I am a visitor in your territories"
"Welcome to our turf Brother-Captain" Joseph replied with a smile of his own "And its Grand Admiral now"
"Ah you got a promotion" Gabriel replied "Congratulations"
"Thank you"
"I heard of what you did at Helios and Scorpios Grand Admiral" the space marine said, his voice suddenly sounding serious "And you have my and the men under my commands respect, you and your fleet proved themselves more than worthy in the eyes of the Blood Ravens"
"Thank you Brother-Captain" Halos replied with a nod before gesturing to the people beside them "This is Supreme Commander Gilad Pallaeon of the GACF and Grand Jedi Master Luke Skywalker" Luke bowed deeply before the Brother-Captain while the Supreme Commander executed a crisp salute.
"Supreme Commander" Gabriel greeted "I hope you have more officers like Halos in your Admiralty, your going to need the best you have if we are going to defeat the forces of Chaos, and Grand Jedi Master, it is an honor"
"Thank you" Luke replied while Gilad simply nodded.
"I take it Brother-Captain that your men would like to get to Bakura with all haste?" the Supreme Commander asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
"Yes we do" Angelos replied "My men's numbers have just been replenished with raw recruits that need to be properly tested"
"Well Brother-Captain you and your men have full military access to the Alliances territories" the Supreme Commander explained "And you will have a full Alliance battle group under the Grand Admiral accompanying your men to Bakura"
"Thank you Supreme Commander" Gabriel replied, the Space Marines head bowed and his right hand tracing another sign of an aquilla along his chest "We will be ready when you are, may the emperor guide us" at that his image flickered and vanished, leaving the breathtaking view of the Inquisition/Astartes taskforce filling up the dreadnoughts frontal viewscreens.
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The young Jedi stood in a defensive position, her lightsabre ignited in her hands, she was breathing heavily and her body was covered in a fresh layer of sweat, she had been dueling this Psyker for well over an hour now and still couldn't find a way through his defenses, every time she got close he would unleash a powerful blast of warp energy, making her dodge and retreat further back.
She broke into a run yet again, her lightsabres emerald blade spinning in her hands, immediately the Psyker began mumbling incantations and prayers, his mouth moving wordlessly and with a great thrust he telekinetically wrenched several trees from their places and threw them at her, the Jedi was prepared this time and gathering the force around her jumped onto one of the trees, running along it entire diameter and jumping onto another, then another, finally she force-jumped high into the air, her lightsabre held over her head, ready for a downward slice.
Only she never reached him as the Psyker bent his knees, his hands held at his sides and shaped in the forms of claws, warp energy encompassed his hands and in a quick move he fired a volley of warp fire at her, his motions looking like he was performing palm strikes, the Jedi was forced to break off the attack, using a well timed force-push to throw her clear of the eerie red fireballs. She corkscrewed in midair and landed in a crouch, only to be forced to move again as another volley of warp fire cascaded towards her, charring the ground.
Watching on the sidelines of the duel was the smug form of Inquisitor Cyprus, one of the first Inquisitors to be allowed into the Alliances territories, he had been tasked with overseeing the training of these Jedi by the Master Inquisitor himself, while he had his reserves about teaching the aliens he quickly found that the humans of this order had an all for one and one for all stance, considering that an insult to their brethren was like spitting on the Jedi order as a whole, so reluctantly he taught the alien knights as well.
This fight between the Jedi and the Psyker was a simple sparring match, testing these force-sensitive's abilities against a real Psyker and he had to admit the girl was doing well, she was strong willed and stubborn, but also smart, learning from her past mistakes and not making them twice, she hadn't even touched the Psyker yet though and she was tiring, even the force it seemed could only strengthen them for so long.
The Psyker fired another wave of warp fire, finally catching the tired girl head on in the chest and throwing her clear across the sparring ground, landing roughly on the ground and skidding backwards, kicking up dirt. There were several gasps of horror and worry as the few other Jedi who were watching the match saw what happened, even Cyprus had a worried expression, he hoped that Psyker Carthas hadn't overdone it, his worry turned out to be unfounded as he saw the girl stir, he hit her with a stunning strike, nothing more.
He and the Jedi around him began moving towards the girl, some quicker than others, only to find that Carthas had beaten them to it, he leaned over her and offering his hand pulled her back to her feet, using his own body as a pillar to keep her steady.
"An impressive display of ability Tahiri Veila" Cyprus said as he approached "Your rank of Jedi Knight is well deserved"
She could barely speak, almost desperately taking in gulps of air, her chest rising and falling heavily, so instead the blond haired girl managed a tired smile and a nod before wincing, he put a hand on her shoulder "An excellent display" he said before turning to the others, looking down at the datapad he held in his hands "Right, who wishes to fight Psyker Carthas next?"
As the young generation of knights gathered together to see who would face the Psyker next Cyprus went over the data he had gathered from the battles so far, it was mostly guesswork but he considered that many of these Jedi were Epsilon level or lower with at small percentage of them strong enough to become Delta's, he wasn't very impressed with the overall talent, then again these Jedi hadn't unleashed anything devastating, relying instead on more subtle techniques like using their force to rejuvenate and strengthen their bodies, making them stronger, faster, more unpredictable, the only real show of psychic power was mind reading, mind suggestion, slight usage of wind and earth elements, mostly for self-defense.
He continued to read down the scrolls of information that flashed across the datapads screen, showing information on every Jedi in the order, this information included the persons picture, their race, rank, gender, age, blood type, force strength and a chart showing their physical and mental strengths and weaknesses, fairly basic data, but more than enough for him to begin his studies. He typed down Tahiri's Psyker level into the personal information, Delta, before searching for information on the new Jedi who stepped forward.
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Lord Inquisitor Silvermaine scowled at the back of the xeno Jedi as she lead him through the densely packed corridors of the Star Dreadnought, he an his guards had been forced to surrender their weapons for this meeting which left him a little uneasy, but he didn't really mind, the battlesisters behind him were experts in hand to hand and finally the Gamma level Psyker he had brought along could more than deal with this mysterious being who wished to meet them. He was almost certain that this woman was the same alien who had stowed aboard his ship and delivered the message, disarming him with ease in the process; he gritted his teeth at the memory and silently cursed himself.
He had mentally contacted Psyker Gervais and asked him what level this little xeno was at, she was hiding her ability quite well but the Psyker guessed that she may be Epsilon level, powerful, but Gervais could crush her with a thought, his mind danced along the idea of giving him the order but he knew that even Gervais couldn't deal with a 12km long Dreadnought full of angry Jedi and Emperor knew what else.
His mind was brought out of his train of thought as the xeno stopped in front of a large double door, its transparisteel surface inscribed with some strange language, he knew for certain that it wasn't a Jedi dialect, or any of the other force orders he had meet over the last month, it could have belonged to the Jensaarai, an allied order of the Jedi who were known to practice both the light and dark aspects of the force, but they didn't have the resources for such a vessel, that only left…no, they were extinct.
With a creek the doors slowly began to open, revealing the dark confines of what looked like a library, its computer terminals and storage units flaring with dim blue light, as they walked into the chamber he saw Psyker Gervais visibly tense, there were Jedi here, dozens stood at either side of them as they walked by, their cloaks and robes either brown, grey or pure black in color, their features all hidden within the shadows of their hoods, some he felt as Jedi but others had a darkness about them that made him cringe, nowhere near as powerful as a Chaos taint but still powerful.
Milord
What is it?
I sense a presence up ahead
How powerful?
I do not know sire, he hides his presence well, I am just getting slight stirrings
Could be nothing but a warp tear
There are more than one, I sense another five
Can you handle them?
Most likely
Then stop sounding so worried, what level are these?
Those around us? most are either Epsilon or Delta level sire
Good
Eventually they came to another set of double doors, also inscribed with the same runes as the first, but the xeno didn't stand and wait this time, she walked to the side of the great doors, to some kind of wall terminal, she raised her cerulean hands into the shapes of claws and unleashed a charge or force lightning, the Lord Inquisitor could only stare in wonder, he had never seen the force used in such a way before.
Milord her level is rising Gervais sent to him, his telepathic voice tense
What is she know?
She just reached high Delta level
Interesting, she hid her presence well
Finally the force lightning encompassed the control pad and snaked up the veins engraved into the doors, flowing across the surface like rushing blood, he heard the xeno growl in concentration as the strain began to build, she was using as much force energy as her body could safely withstand, perhaps more. Eventually he heard the clicking of a dozen locks and the doors began to creek open, she let her arms drop to her sides, the force lightning dispersing, she moved through the doors, the Imperium delegation following into a dark chamber, there were no dim lights this time, aside from the viewport at the end it was completely dark.
At the end of the round chamber was the large viewport, showing a breathtaking view of space, the Inquisitor gritted his teeth, more ships had arrived, dozens of capital ships including Providence Carriers, Venator Star Destroyers and Mediator Star Cruisers, all old vessels from the Clone Wars but more than enough to destroy his battleship and the flotilla he had placed outside of the system. What gave him more cause for concern were the three massive silhouettes of Star Dreadnoughts, slightly smaller than an Executer, but there was no mistaking the superlasers built into their spines, Eclipse-class Star Dreadnoughts.
In front of the viewport was the long backs of a throne, completely black compared to the stars and running lights outside, at either side of it was the dark forms of four figures, dressed in either black or brown robes, finally the chair began to rotate around to face them and for the first time he heard the sounds of mechanical breathing, the throne finally finished its spin and the Lord Inquisitor could only stare at the black armored figure sitting in it…no, it wasn't possible!
"I see you got my message" the mechanical voice of the figure bellowed throughout the chamber, making the Lord Inquisitor and his guards involuntarily flinch "It would appear that we have much to discuss Lord Inquisitor Silvermaine"
"Who are you?" he heard Psyker Gervais say, his voice and body tense.
"I have many names, the Jedi knew me as their chosen, the Sith knew me as their Sith'ari, I was also known as the Son of the Suns, the Hero with no Fear and finally Darth Vader" he reached up with a black gauntleted hand and grabbing hold of his mask pulled it off, there was a hiss and the Imperium delegates saw a man with ice blue eyes and slightly tanned skin.
Suddenly he undid his psychic cloak and a rush of power washed over them, making Silvermaine wince and Gervais take an involuntary step back, he was no ordinary Jedi, his level was far higher than that, the very chamber, which was made of the galaxies strongest metals began to shake, it was only then that Silvermaine knew what he was, he was the first Alpha level Psyker they had met in this galaxy, he smiled "I am Anakin Skywalker, the Son of the Suns"