Chapter 8: Garden of Eden
Author's Note: Finally resuming this story. It's been way too long. Ah well. But hey, better late than never right?
"Drop the weapons, all of you" one of the Dark Eldar commanded. "You're surrounded and outgunned besides."
"I will never yield to you scum" one of the Eldar Scouts spat. The Dark Eldar responded by wordlessly shooting him dead.
"Anyone else want to be noble?" he asked in a deceptively conversational tone. "Didn't think so. Weapons on the ground now. I will not ask again"
Macha turned to the other Eldar and nodded wordlessly. She and the others reluctantly set all of their weapons on the ground, and the Imperial Fists followed suit. As the Dark Eldar troops moved in to collect the weapons, Sergeant Forge whispered to the Eldar Farseer nearest to him: "I don't suppose you guys have some kind of plan?"
"Pray to whatever being you call a God that help arrives in time." The Farseer replied in a deadpan. "Otherwise hope you die quickly. These monsters love to torture all unfortunate enough to be in their clutches, even each other. It is to them what art and music are to your race"
"…and I thought the covvies were bad"
"Move it out!" one of the Dark Eldar commanded. The Eldar and Imperial Fists did as instructed, being led through the thick jungle by the Dark Eldar troops until eventually they came within sight of a group of Covenant soldiers led by an Elite Zealot. He growled upon seeing the Dark Eldar and their hostages.
"Looks like me and my men succeeded where you failed Rtas." The Dark Eldar leader said smugly.
"Perhaps. But I wouldn't count on getting any other satisfaction out of this. Those prisoners are not going to be taken to your disgusting pens"
"That's a relief" Sergeant Forge whispered under his breath to Ellen Anders.
"Pity" the Dark Eldar leader said. "I've been so eager to see what tortures a human can endure before breaking."
"I doubt they would last long under you and your people's depravations. Come. The other scouting parties are expecting us."
-X-
On board Lord Bale's flagship he received a holographic message from the captain of the fleet's token Dark Eldar ship.
"I just received word from my scouting party. They've captured several of the Eldar Farseers plus several humans besides. That's more than any of your men have accomplished" the Dark Eldar captain said in a voice dripping with smugness.
The Dark Eldar leader was incredibly overweight, his devotion to the Prince of Pleasure readily apparent in how he so grossly indulged himself. It was sickening to look at and even worse, his rotund belly and sallowed skin were adorned with the most gaudy jewelry and trinkets imaginable, including piercings on his ears, nose, and lips. He even had one on one of his eyelids.
As a servant of Khorne at heart, Bale had nothing but contempt for any servant of Slaanesh, and especially one so devoted as the bloated slug he was being forced to stare at for minutes on end. Struggling to resist his natural inclinations and desire to vent his anger out on his own crew in a most lethal manner, Bale said through gritted mandibles: "And would these farseers happen to include Eldrad Ulthran?"
"No. But I believe my Dark Eldar caught all the others. I'd say that's worth something"
"Well you're wrong" Lord Bale snarled. "Now get out of my sight. I have better things to do than watch you rub your minions "accomplishments" in my face. Take your repulsive bloated form somewhere else" And then without even waiting for the Dark Eldar captain to respond Lord Bale cut off communications with him and growled to his helmsman: "If he so much as dares to try and contact this ship again tell the fleet to blow his vessel to smithereens. I detest having servants of Slaanesh in my fleet and that one just destroyed my modicum of tolerance for them."
-X-
Back down on the surface, the captured group of Eldar and Imperial Fists were being led further through the jungle, now with the Covenant troops backing them up.
"Some first off-planet mission this turned out to be" Ellen Anders said glumly.
"Hey, at least we're not going to be left at the mercy of the torture-happy maniacs" Sergeant Forge quipped.
"That's a small miracle I suppose" Ellen Anders conceded.
"Silence Mong-Ki" one of the Dark Eldar barked, interrupting the conversation.
"What does that even mean?" Ellen Anders asked Macha.
"If you must know it means a hairy primitive and upstart who has no business sharing the stars with our race"
"…Oh"
As the Imperial Fists and Eldar continued to be marched through the jungle by the Dark Eldar and Covenant forces, Rtas contacted Lord Bale: "My Lord, we have found the Dark Eldar scouting party and are returning with them to our ships. Once there they will hand the prisoners over to us"
"Very good Rtas" Lord Bale replied on the other end. "Make sure the Dark Eldar scum don't kill them all before you get there"
Rtas nodded before closing communications. As the march through the jungle continued, the humans and some of the Eldar felt a growing sense of trepidation with every step. The Covenant weren't ones for taking prisoners, which in turn made the humans suspect that they weren't destined to last long in their hands. And if what they had been told about the Dark Eldar was true, staying with them would be even worse.
But then, out of the corner of his eye Sergeant Forge could make out what looked almost like a shadow zipping through the trees and foliage. This wound up being a presage to what followed, namely a titanic explosion of lightning that surged through the area, sending out a massive wave of bluish-white colored energy along with arcing bolts that sent several of the Dark Eldar flying through the air and left others charred skeletons in armor that had been melted like wax. Then, as quickly as it had appeared the energy wave dissipated and the lightning was reduced to sparks. And standing there, Witchblade in one hand and Farseer Staff in the other was Eldrad Ulthran. He looked at the grouping of Eldar and Imperial Fists.
"Take up arms!" he commanded. "Send these sadists back to their master!"
Needing no other invitation, the humans and Eldar grabbed their discarded weapons and opened fire on the nearest Dark Eldar, who had been left in disarray by Eldrad's surprise attack and dramatic entrance. Eldrad himself raced into the thick of the battle with a level of speed no human possessed and like a whirling dervish of death cut the nearest group of Dark Eldar to ribbons. Nearby Covenant troops were similarly vivisected by his whirlwind of death. It didn't take much before Rtas was giving the order to fall back, he and those of his men who had survived fleeing into the safety of the deeper jungle.
"Well that takes care of that" Sergeant Forge observed before turning to Eldrad. "Thanks. It's a damn good thing you showed up when you did"
Eldrad nodded. "Yes, it is. Come, we must return to our vessels right away. Be warned though: there are other scouting parties about. Expect more fighting"
Sergeant Forge smiled and cocked his Assault Rifle. "That's fine by me"
-X-
"Sergeant Forge, Doctor Ellen Anders, this is Colonel Dawson. Do you copy? What is your status? I repeat, Sergeant Forge, Doctor Ellen Anders, this is Colonel Dawson. Do you copy? What is your status?"
No response. Letting out at an exasperated sigh, Colonel Dawson ceased in his attempts at making contact with Forge and Anders and sunk back into his seat. It was at that moment that Donald came in with two cups of recafe in his hands. "Hello colonel. Care for a drink?"
Colonel Dawson nodded wordlessly and extended a hand to take one of the cups of recafe. Donald gave it to him and Dawson downed it in but a few gulps.
"No luck reaching Sergeant Forge and the doctor I take it?"
Colonel Dawson shook his head. "I don't like it. Something's wrong, I can feel it…"
"The Sergeant's a tough man Colonel. And so are the Eldar that are with him. I think they'll be okay"
"I wish I shared your optimism" Colonel Dawson replied. "But unfortunately I'm a more cynical kind of man…"
The two's conversation was interrupted by Serena materializing in front of them. "Pardon me gentlemen, but I'm afraid we have something of a…situation"
"What kind of situation Serena?" Colonel Dawson demanded.
"We have company" Serena replied. "Covenant company"
"Shit."
Indeed, encroaching upon the Spirit of Fire at that very moment were a few groups of Covenant, with the Elites leading them wasting no time in ordering their accompanying Wraiths to rain mortar cannon blasts down upon the human vehicle in front of them.
"All due respect sir" Serena said as mortar cannon blasts pounded The Spirit of Fire's hull, "…but I believe that Doctor Anders and the good sergeant may have to fend for themselves a little longer"
-X-
Eldrad Ulthran had not been lying when he had said that there would be more fighting. As the group of humans and Eldar tried to make their way back to their ships, they came under fire from several other scouting parties of Covenant aliens, who made excellent use of the jungle as cover and positions for their snipers to take cheap shots at their enemies, many of which were fatal.
"Damn Kig-Yar snipers…" Macha muttered as another Eldar succumbed to the deadly precise shots of the avian aliens.
"Fall back into the deeper jungle!" Eldrad ordered. "The Farseers will cover you!"
Sergeant Forge nodded and led Ellen Anders and his remaining troops through the dense foliage as Eldrad, Macha, and the Farseers under them unleashed a powerful flurry of attacks of all kinds that managed to force the Kig-Yar snipers back long enough for the retreat to be successful, with Eldrad and his fellow Farseers following the others once they were certain that they were clear. As the group continued their retreat, Eldrad took charge and directed the group through a heavily forested area.
"Follow me" Eldrad said. "I've located the Forerunner ruins on this planet. We will be most safe there"
"But what about meeting back up with our ships?" Sergeant Forge protested.
"The ruins are closer to our current position" Eldrad countered. "Not to mention they are better reinforced, as I have already stressed multiple times. Now keep quiet and follow my lead if you wish to continue drawing breath"
Sergeant Forge grumbled but said nothing further as the group of humans and Eldar continued to press through the jungle, heavy boots leaving deep impressions in the ground as the soil beneath them became muddier. Eventually though they did indeed arrive at a massive fortress standing defiantly amidst a sea of green. So grand and large was the structure, not to mention surprisingly unscathed by several millennia of neglect, that the group of Eldar and Humans couldn't help but be temporarily stunned at the sight.
"Come" Eldrad said finally. "We cannot linger."
The group continued their trek, hurriedly making their way to the fortress, which seemed to grow larger the closer the group got to it, until it looked about ready to swallow them all whole like small plankton swimming into the maw of a massive whale. Eventually the group came to a massive silver-gray pair of double doors. Eldrad called out to it: "I have returned Guardian. Allow me and my companions entrance if you would be so kind"
For a moment, nothing happened. But then, slowly, the doors slid to the sides, allowing entrance into a massive dark blue hallway. Eldrad turned to his companions. "Come. The Guardian is expecting us"
"Guardian? What Guardian?"
"It calls itself a "Monitor". Actually a somewhat irritating little machine, but one that still has complete and utter command over this installation. You would do well to be polite when speaking to it"
As the group cautiously proceeded through the shadowy blue hallways, the surviving Imperial Fists' eyes nervously looked this way and that for any sign of hostile activity, their recent experiences having put them all on edge. Some of the Eldar were doing the same, though notably the surviving Farseers remained as stoic and dispassionate as ever.
Then, a faint sound could be heard, which got everyone's attention. Soon, it became more pronounced until it was clear that the sound was humming of all things. As the humming grew louder, a faint yellowish light could be seen from around a corner, accompanied by a shadow. Then the source of both came into full view. It was a small, floating spherical silver-gray machine with a single "eye" in it's center that glowed with a brilliant golden light.
"Greetings reclaimers. I am 5764801 Suffering Vanguard. I am the Monitor of this Shield World."
"Uh…hi?" Sergeant Forge greeted lamely.
"Silence Mong-Ki" Eldrad snapped before turning to face the Monitor again. "Thank you for your hospitality guardian. My companions and I are most appreciative of it"
"I'm glad" the Monitor replied happily, it's tone unnerving to the ears of the humans and Eldar who found it so inappropriate in light of everything they had been through recently.
"If you will just follow me" the Monitor said, "I will gladly give you a tour of this lovely facility"
"Uh…sure, okay, yeah, that sounds…great" Ellen Anders managed rather awkwardly as the group began to follow the eccentric Monitor through the hallways of the Forerunner stronghold. As they did, the Monitor took it upon himself to share some of it's history with his "guests".
"This facility was created in the later years of the Forerunner-Flood war, during a time of great desperation for my creators. It was meant to be a storage facility for weapons, armor, food, and other supplies. Very specialized weapons and sciences were also kept here so as to keep them from falling into the hands of the decaying armies"
"Wait a minute…" Ellen Anders said. "What kind of "special weapons and sciences" are we talking about here?"
The Monitor turned to face her, and needless to say, being stared at it by it's unblinking artificial golden eye was unnerving to the young doctor. "That I am afraid is information that I am not at a liberty to divulge."
"Of course you're not" Ellen Anders said with a sigh. As the group continued walking, all the while the Monitor continuing to describe the history of the installation, along with some bits and pieces of the Forerunner-Flood war, Ellen Anders turned to Sergeant Forge and whispered: "I don't trust that thing"
"You and me both doc" Sergeant Forge consented. "But according to Eldrad that crazy little thing's the head honcho here, so we may not have any choice but to follow it for now"
"It looks like a ten-year old's toy" Ellen Anders said harshly. "Or something out of a video game for teenagers"
"Look on the bright side doc" Sergeant Forge said reassuringly. "That just means if it turns on us we can take it out easy"
"So long as it doesn't have back-up" Ellen Anders countered.
"Are you always this cynical doc?"
"Not cynical" Ellen Anders countered. "Cautious"
"I'm cautious too" Sergeant Forge replied before adding: "…but you don't see me getting all paranoid and worked up over a floating metal ball"
The Monitor's voice cut through the air once more and interrupted the scientist and the sergeant's conversation. "Please follow me up this lift, and I will show you the other parts of the facility, including the command center and communications…"
"Wait!" Ellen Anders said, cutting the Monitor off. "Did you just say communications?"
"Yes, I did. Is that of relevance reclaimer?"
"Yes it is in fact" Ellen Anders said, her tone taking on just a touch or annoyance. "We need to make contact with our ship, which is out there somewhere in the jungle probably being attacked by Covenant forces right now. We need to send them a message."
"Ah. Well I'm afraid that the communications hub of this installation ceased working long ago. In fact exactly 77.834% of this installation is no longer operational. Most of it's functions were terminated during the final days of my creator's war with the Flood"
"Well that's just great. We find the advanced ancient alien stronghold, and most of it's dead as an old battery. Is there anything here still functional?" Ellen Anders asked.
"Why yes, exactly 33 point…"
"I can do basic math" Ellen Anders interrupted irritated. "But what parts of the facility specifically are still working?"
"The Vaults, Monoliths, Grand Library, lifts, doors, and Sentinels are all still fully functional" the Monitor said matter-of-factly. "All other portions of this facility, including communications, the command center, signal towers, barracks, garrisons, armory, and non-essential fuel deposits have been terminated or rendered completely ineffective."
"And…what are the Sentinels, Vaults, Monoliths, and Grand Library?" Ellen Anders asked, not actually expecting the Monitor to give a satisfactory answer. And in fact he did not.
"I am sorry reclaimer, but I am not at a liberty to divulge information on those specific things, save that the Sentinels are this facility's primary security force. Should we be attacked or accosted by hostiles, they will augment your combat forces, though having said that I strongly recommend that all of you upgrade to at least a Class Twelve combat skin. Your current armors read as only Classes 1, 2, and in one case 3, all of which are ill-suited for dealing with the Flood"
"Thanks for telling us that" Sergeant Forge mumbled sarcastically.
-X-
Following their brutal loss at the hands of their former captors followed by a humiliating retreat, R'tas and the remainder of his forces continued to trudge through the jungle until at last they met up with R'tas' fellow Zealot Thel 'Vadam, who's black eyes frowned upon seeing his old friend approach him with only a handful of troops.
"What happened?" Thel asked. "Where are the rest of your men?"
"Dead" R'tas replied bluntly. "My men and some Dark Eldar found the Farseers and their human allies, but we were taken by surprise by another Farseer, who liberated his companions"
"So now you have come to me" Thel observed emotionlessly. "Very well. We shall combine our forces and together recapture the Farseers and human vermin. Do you at least have an idea on where they may be now?"
R'tas' mouth formed into as much of a smile as the mandibled alien could manage, and he replied slyly: "I had some of my scouts trail the Farseers and humans in secret. They will report back to us very soon"
As R'tas said this, several Elites in service to Tzeentch flew through the jungle towards R'tas, Thel, and their men before landing and approaching them.
"Or rather right now"
"Where are our enemies?" Thel asked the lead Elite.
"They seem to have discovered the Forerunner ruins on this planet" the Elite reported. "They retreated into them and have yet to come out"
"So the Eldar and humans retreat into a decaying stronghold built by the false gods" Thel observed. Ever since embracing the Four Powers, the Sangheili race grew to despise their former deities the Forerunners, with the Four Powers enlightenment showing them quite clearly how they had wasted several millennia worshipping weaklings that the Four Powers had long ago annihilated. For the Covenant's current enemies to hide there was perhaps only fitting in a pathetic sort of way.
"Call in all of the other scouting parties" Thel ordered. "Tell them to come to our position. We will need as many men as we can if we are to storm a Forerunner fortress"
-X-
Having not yet finished it's repairs, The Spirit of Fire was dangerously vulnerable to attack, something the Covenant's Wraiths exploited mercilessly. Knowing that the ship would only be able to take so much abuse, Donald, Alexander, and their men spared no expense in destroying the Wraiths as quickly as they could, directing every Scorpion and Grizzly tank The Spirit of Fire had on it to destroying the Wraiths before their endless hailstorm of mortar fire completely undid all of the repairs that had already been made to the ship.
As this was happening, Donald and Alexander's Gray Knights and Salamanders personally engaged the Covenant's ground forces, who were accompanied by all manner of Daemons of Chaos. The Daemonettes of Slaanesh were familiar to the Gray Knights from their time on Harvest, and the Salamanders recognized the Bloodletters of Khorne. Both were familiar with the Pink Horrors of Tzeentch from their appearance on Arcadia. But the fourth Daemon race caught them off-guard.
"What the hell are these things?" Alexander demanded as he continued to shoot at one of the decaying walking corpses currently accosting him. Several more were following right behind this one, and they all seemed to be able to soak up a distressing amount of Assault Rifle fire.
It didn't help that the monsters themselves were absolutely hideous to behold. Their skin was the color of mucus and infections and they all had a single eye in their center instead of two. Most had a long black horn coming out of the side of their head, but some had two or even three. And they all had other features besides that were too disgusting to describe. All in all their appearances made Alexander and his men all the more desperate to kill them which in turn made them all the more frustrated when they refused to fall to the Assault Rifle and DMR's bullets.
"They look like zombies to me" Donald said as he swapped out his DMR for a shotgun and opened fire on one, completely destroying it with the power and force of his shot. Another one he fired on with his shotgun got it's arm disintegrated and fell over. A second shotgun blast finished it.
"Well at least the shotgun's bullets work" Donald observed.
"Well the Assault Rifle's not doing squat" Alexander said, finally tossing the gun aside and drawing his battle-hammer, the signature weapon of the Salamanders to represent their blacksmith roots. Swinging the hammer as hard as he could he took one of the "zombies" head off with a single blow. Swinging out again he shattered another's black sword with the force of his attack. The monster just stood there dumbfounded and Alexander fatally punished it for it's stupidity. Continuing to attack however, he found his hammer to be of little more use than his Assault Rifle.
"They're too resistant to blunt force" Donald observed as he felled another one with his shotgun before tossing Alexander his sword. "Try that. It might work better"
Nodding, Alexander swung out with the sword and sure enough, the next Daemon that ran at him was cleaved in two. The ease at which he had slain one of the Daemons reinvigorating him, Alexander began to swing the sword around widlly, the blue blade cutting the Daemons to ribbons with every slash, thrust, and pierce.
"I guess it's true what they say" Alexander observed as the last "zombie" fell. "Sometimes the old ways are the best". Turning to Donald, he handed him his sword back. "Thanks. You may want to clean it though"
"Don't mention it" Donald said with a nod before adding: "Looks like more Daemons are coming in. Mostly Devils this time. Ready?"
Alexander smiled underneath his helm. "The Salamanders were fighting those things for almost a year on Charybdis. I've got this"
And before the first one could even shout "Blood for the Blood God" Alexander had shot it in the face.
-X-
Back in the Forerunner fortress, the group of Eldar and Imperial Fists were still getting the tour from the Monitor, who had now told them pretty much everything it knew about the Forerunner's war with the Forces of Chaos, or rather as Ellen Anders suspected everything it was willing to let on. But even with that the good doctor had to admit that the Monitor, annoying as it was, had given quite a bit of interesting history.
Apparently when first met by the Forerunners, the servants and armies of Nurgle were at their most powerful and spewed forth in such numbers that they became known as "The Flood". And though they were not yet at their peak, Khorne and Tzeentch's armies were still mighty indeed, and combined with the Flood proved to be too much for even the Forerunner's highly advanced technology, which going by what the Monitor described was lightyears ahead of everything the UNIM and Eldar had to their names. Curiously, no mention was ever made of the minions of Slaanesh, suggesting that his forces showed up at a later date.
Also curious (and suspicious) was that while the Monitor went to great length to detail what it knew of the Forerunner/Flood war, it never did actually say what specifically happened at the very end of the conflict. Obviously there was the Forerunner's apparent extinction, but even that the Monitor never elaborated on. It described everything except the end.
"Like reading the three little pigs and leaving off when the wolf arrives at the third pig's house" Ellen Anders observed. This in turn made her even less inclined to trust the Monitor than she already was.
But as Ellen Anders thought this, a loud piercing sound suddenly blared out throughout the fortress, echoing in the cavernous halls.
"Oh dear" the Monitor said, it's artificial voice taking on just a hint of urgency. "This facility is under attack. Someone is trying to force their way in! Scanning…." The Monitor seemed to freeze up for a minute after saying this, and then just hovered there wordlessly for a few moments before at last saying: "I detect several parasites" the Monitor said, before bringing up a security feed that showed quite clearly Covenant forces with a loyalty to each of the Four Daemon Lords advancing menacingly on the stronghold, all of them hammering away at it with everything in their arsenals. The doors and walls so far were holding, but only barely. It wouldn't be long before they gave out under the relentless hellstorm of plasma fire, mortar cannons, needle rounds, and other weapons that were being directed against it.
"Oh my…it is worse than I thought. The Parasites have not only managed to evade extinction and rejuvenate, they have now enlisted non-infected organisms to aid them. Tsk, tsk. What a tragedy. I'm afraid now we will have to take more…drastic measures in protecting this installation" as the Monitor said this, it's golden eye suddenly turned a sickly green the color of neon lights. "I will need to call forth the army my creators left behind to deal with this outbreak…"
"Army?" Ellen Anders asked incredulously. "What kind of army?"
-X-
Down in the deepest depths of Eden, where no light ever came and where no living thing dwelled, an imposing skeleton of metal the color of steel gray with a tattered black cloak over it's iron shoulders received a message that went directly to its artificial brain:
Alert: Containment has been breached. Command center contains life-forms with sufficient biomass and proper physiology to facilitate wide-spread infestation. Parasite has not reached Command Center or Grand Library yet, but it is projected they will in 3.14 minutes. Loss of Eden imminent unless parasite is removed in less than 30.81599 minutes.Threat Level: Orange
The steel skeleton processed all of this in a little less than a second. It took even less than that to know what it had to do and also to do it. Accessing the Monoliths...Monoliths accessed.
As a sickly bright green glow began to emanate from the terrifying army that the steel skeleton was summoning into action, it sent the orders directly to their simple artificial intelligences:Objective: Eliminate all Parasites and sources of biomass. The infestation must be contained at all costs.
It received the collective reply immediately: Objective received. Necrons are online.