At the height of a terror alert so high that those members of the Household Division on guard at Buckingham Palace were dressed in body armour and camouflage rather than red tunics and bearskins, the people of London did not need to see massive leviathans cruising over the sky, but the transport craft of the Black Legion and the Imperial Navy had to get to North-West London and get there fast. Indeed, Northolt, a Middlesex town with a small anti-social behaviour problem was full of armed police and the military, since it contained RAF Northolt, a vital Royal Air Force facility allowing the maintenance of air power over London. 2000 people lived there, a few of them civillians. Who cares? RAF Northolt's runways held the last remaining lead and therefore had the Orb of Power buried underneath them.
Lucius the Eternal was the first to burst out of a vortex of Warp power. Without waiting to hear what the mortals with labels such as 'RAF Police' and 'RAF Regiment' had to say, he walked right past a bus stop and up to the perimeter fence. With no delay to momentum, he crashed through the trees and the metal and through the car park. His helmet- something Archaon had insisted he wore- showed him that there were heat signatures everywhere, all coming to him. No, correction, some were heading away, but these were very few. Perhaps these were the civil servants and contractors.
BANG!
Which fool dared to shoot at the Champion of Slaanesh? Whichever dimwit had chosen to launch a few 5.56mm pebbles found that the giant didn't even break his stride. Someone then tried 7.62 rounds and even got out an 12.7mm M2 Browning Heavy Machine Gun. Lucius still didn't notice, or at least that was what the RAF Regiment thought.
In fact, the Emperor's Child decided to give the mortals something to think about. "Dark Prince, though you are not yet born of Eldar mischief, please get these idiots off my back!"
As the Space Marine continued over grass and roads, 7 clouds of purple smoke burst from his armour's bottom. The force protection units halted as the smoke formed into creatures, creatures who looked a bit like human women but were plain grey except for their violet hair, their violet shins, and their metallic bodices & claws. One of them held a standard with the circular Mark of Slaanesh and another blew a trumpet-thing.
The various Regiment Gunners who were attracted to women were paralysed with shock and had gaping jaws, while those who weren't had the exact same reaction. Everyone found their groin start to ache.
Instead off attacking and slaughtering the mortals, as per the wishes of the Chaos Gods, the Daemonettes began a slow dance that steadily speeded up. Their breasts- all 6 of them in the case of some Neverborn- swayed and their hair flew in the wind.
Lucius was about to reach the runway and the spot where the Orb may be when his feet left the ground and he flew back so far that he almost hit one of the Daemonettes. He shook his head and got up again to see that the Grey Knights had arrived. There was no other option- only when the Imperial force was gone could Lucius and Archeon proceed. It was time to get the army in.
In the Pole Hill Open Space and the Old Abbotstonians Football Club Ground next door, the Chaos Space Marines and the Pink Decimators were the first to emerge, each one armoured and looking for loyalists to slaughter. Next came the Beastmen, from Ungors to Minotaurs. Then came the Fimir, a xenos race of one-eyed amphibians who worship Daemons and are led by females called Meargh. Yellow mist swirled around them. Finally, the Chaos Squats arrived, carrying not just their lasguns but numerous machines of destruction. Foremost was a large cannon crewed by 3 Chaos Dwarfs that seemed to be moving on its own. That was because the fleshy Hellcannon was a Daemon machine, ready to shoot soul energy. Mutant Squats with 4 legs- the Boar-Centuars- pushed forward contraptions bearing hammers and scythes. These were the Tenderisers and the Whirlwinds. At the front was a Daemonsmith, a Squat psyker of Hashut who was slowly turning to stone due to the reaction between Squat physiology and the minor God's warp energy. Observers could see that the Sororitas-like Pink Decimators crowded around the Chaos Squats, and that was because some of that Cult also worshipped Hashut as an aspect of Khorne. A few also worshipped Necoho, God of Atheism, but even they saw him as another part of Khorne, the part that reacts against the nonsense of the other three.
The Chaos scum may have arrived near RAF Northolt but the Imperium had the good fortune of actually being in RAF Northolt. The Grey Knights had frozen the base and allowed the rest of the Imperial task force to arrive unopposed. When finally released from the immobilisation, the airmen & airwomen froze when they saw their base suddenly occupied by hundreds of armed strangers, some of them gigantic. However, some of them wore what looked like RAF Number 1 uniforms, with blue-grey jackets and trousers/skirts. However, instead of RAF wings on their shoulders, with a crown and 'RAF' in the middle, they wore a 2-headed eagle. Further, some of the strangers wore either tunics and hose or gowns and veils- like 12th century nobles. They certainly carried similar rifles to the RAF's SA80 L85A2s, but some also had glowing guns. Who were these people?
One of the noblewomen marched up to an confused Leading Airwoman and said, "This base is now under the supervision of the Avrolanc Blitzkrieg and the Imperium of Man. Where is Group Captain Carver?"
"Group Captain Carver is away," was the reply. "Who are you and how did you get in here?"
"I am Air Commodore Lapizi. I come with my army, the Angels of Death, some pyromaniacs who can't shut up about whether Spike or Angel is better, and the very psykers who froze you all. We're still waiting for the Inquisitior."
"Is that all?"
"I did have some Catachans but they're gone. One lot were massacred in Kew Gardens by Rubric Marines and the others lost a fight in Oxford Street to some Beastmen."
"And you think we'll just let you take command?"
"I am in command until Dominic gets here. May I suggest you cooperate as we're your best chance of getting out of this with your sanity intact. We are the ones who caused the terror alert to be raised to critical. Us and the army just across the road."
"Oh. Um..."
"Now call a snap inspection and- Hold on, you're just some peasant with no supervisory powers. Could we have an officer here?"
In came Ofjan & Heron, finally dressed like they were an Ecclesiarchy official and a Departmento Munitorum officer respectively, took a look inside RAF Northolt's billets and were shocked to find that they were quite nice. "Running water, only a few people to a room, how soft," Heron said as she adjusted her cap and cloak.
"Is this a television?" Ofjan asked. Unknown to the RAF, she could see perfectly well through her slave bonnet.
"That is a television, ma'am," said the Airman. "We decide what to watch democratically."
"Demo... Oh my word. No wonder London is so chaotic. Heron, can you believe that this is the world our Imperium was born?"
"What do you watch?" asked a Sacred Grove Celestian.
"Football, rugby, that stuff on Forces TV. Last year, I had to sit through ten weeks of The Handmaid's Tale."
"Pardon?" Ofjan demanded, getting so close to the Airman that her bonnet was scraping his forehead.
"It's a US import that's not trash. It's..."
"Shut up, I want to know more about 'Handmaid'."
"You look like you know, ma'am, you're dressed like one."
"Call me Ofjan, not ma'am. Is this regime called Gilead by any chance?"
"Gilead, yep. After enduring those 3 months, I can tell you all about it. Aunts, Marthas, Wives, Commanders..."
"That'll do. And what was the name of the main character?"
"Offred, though she also called herself June."
"Offred. The Of names. Who wrote this?"
"Margaret Attwood."
"Ah, that explains it. On my world, we found the Commanders had a book from M3, T- Han- Ale by M-Att W-D. We called the author Matt Ward."
"And you were a Handmaid, Ofjan? I'd have thought you'd burn that uniform."
"The others did when the Imperium liberated us before the Necrons arrived, but I'd forgotten who I was. Besides, it was easier to recycle this when I became an Imperial Priest, as we can dress in any way provided it looks holy and insane."
Examining the TV, Heron asked, "What other fiction did you watch?"
"Everything, ma'am. Game of Thrones, Gunsmoke, Battlestar Galactica, 'Allo 'Allo, Buffy."
"Buffy?" asked the Celestian. "How much?"
"The last episode I saw, and I haven't seen much, had a weird scene on a balcony."
To the groans of the Guard officials, the Sister asked, "Can you settle something if possible? Who's better- Angel or Spike?"
"What's this?" Ofjan demanded suddenly. She'd just opened up a locker and taken out a board with letters & numbers all over it.
"A Ouija Board for summoning the dead."
"Is that so?" Ofjan promptly broke the item over her knee. "Celestian, get someone to burn this."
"Is that yours?" Heron asked.
"No, ma'am."
"But you allowed the owner to keep it. This would get you a lot of pain in my army. Unfortunately, I can't execute you,"
"No, ma'am."
"However, I have your mug," the Commissar said as she smashed the thing onto the floor.
"So you're in here too," said an Airwoman who'd just walked in.
"Is this your billet?" Heron asked.
"No, I'm..."
"Stop right there. There is an inspection here for everyone and you are not in your billet. You are late."
"Well, I..."
"If you were one of mine, I'd flog you. In fact, I will flog you."
"I don't live on base!"
"You what?"
"I rent a flat in Edgeware, I have..."
"This is beyond belief," Ofjan said. "How do they stop you deserting?"
"Get outside," Heron told the Airwoman. "Are we sure this is a military base?"
"What are these abominable mockeries?" Captain Jho calmly enquired. He held in his hand a tiny model humanoid, an armoured soldier with an eagle on the breastplate, large pauldrons, and a huge gun.
"A Primaris Marine, sir," said the Corporal. He and his tabletop miniatures collection were there for all to see.
"This is a Dark Angel," said the Dark Angel. "A Dark Angel Primaris Marine, it- What have you done with our symbol? Each wing has 4 spokes, not 3!"
"3 was easier, sir!"
"Easy! Easy! What other crap do you have in here?"
"What is this?" Jho demanded as he pulled out the bright figure a Stormcast Eternal. "I don't recognise this."
"It's from Age of Sigmar, sir. It's a different game with similar rules. It replaced Warhammer Fantasy, which is where 40k comes from,"
"I see. Hello, Beastmen, Chaos Space Marines, Grey Knights, the lot. We even have a few Orks. No, hang on..."
"They're Black Orcs, from Fantasy."
"This foresight is uncanny. Thank you, Corporal, you may put this away."
"Welcome, my Lord," Ofjan said to the Inquisitor as he stepped down from the Star Raja Land Speeder.
"Good morning Ofjan, Heron and Lapizi. Heron, Ofjan, the enemy is sending the first Beastmen wave now. I have something for the pair of you." In his hand were two Inquisition badges.
"Are we now Inquisitors, my Lord?"
"No, you're Acolytes. You both want to leave the Avrolanc Blitzkrieg and here's your way out. You performed impeccably when alone so I'd value your skills."
"We've armed the garrison," Lapizi said. "Some were reluctant but we encouraged them without doing too much damage."
The waves of the Hellcannon shrieked over and buzzed a few more Guardsmen & Guardswoman, but the soldiers of the Emperor shoved bayonets still into Beastmen and slashed glowing blades into Minotaurs. In came the Fimir next, marauding right through walls, tanks, and armoured cars. The yellow cloud surrounding them threw shots off target and messed with electronics. When would the Chaos Space Marines attack?