Here comes the FINALE for Starhammer 50k Season 1! I'm about to make a milestone for my fanfictions!
Episode 6: The Green Tide
Chapter 1: Meet The Team... Again
Just when you thought things couldn't get worse for the United Galactic Republic... a series of unfortunate, ominous and baleful events culminates in what might be the most cataclysmic crisis to strike intergalactic democracy in hundreds of years. The true cost of heroism, the fear of the unknown, and the destructive nature of fungus will all be revealed in time to come. What's more, the mastermind of this unholy calamity is hidden in plain sight.
Now a disastrous ruin weighs upon us, but how did things get to this breaking point? You'll have to follow along and find out...
Current location:
-Gordasha, Republic Forge World-
Aboard the armored military space station Randland, in low orbit
At the forefront of supporting the United Galactic Republic's colossal war machine are its Forge Worlds- entire terrestrial planets, substantially bigger than the Coruscant-Terra standard, which have been entirely devoted to manufacturing all kinds of goods needed throughout interstellar society. Oftentimes they are covered in one giant globe-spanning city, an ecumenopolis, with a staggeringly massive population dedicated to working in its factories, industrial facilities and workshops.
These teeming masses of sapient beings can only be fed and cared for because of nearby worlds that are deliberately terraformed to be agricultural paradises, as well as providing everything else the citizens might need in their day-to-day lives.
Due to their paramount importance to the Republic, Forge Worlds utilize marvels of technology, science and magic unseen in most other places in the Milky Way and beyond.
This includes whole fortified cities that continuously move on tracks or legs (or float on antigravity cushions,) orbital elevators reaching from planetary sea level into the depths of space like gargantuan skeletal fingers, mineral refineries that process arcane materials containing the essence of life and death itself, (such as the Dust Crystals from RWBY and Materia from Final Fantasy,) munitions factories producing a veritable candy shop of destruction every day with hundreds of weapon patterns and brands to supply democracy's armies, energy-shielded space stations maintaining vigilance against invading enemy fleets by operating exquisite arrays of sensors, and chemical laboratories sorting out innumerable types of fluids and gases for equally innumerable practical purposes.
Yet even with the incomprehensibly vast amount of general productivity these planets output, they also have their own favored specialties in what they make and distribute. Ryza is renowned for its diverse selection of directed-energy weapons, Norrongard churns out endless lines of tanks, walkers, repulsorcraft and other armored ground vehicles, and Gordasha, the setting for today's valiant tale, excels at both quantity and quality, with the widest possible range of products.
It was widely feared that Gordasha would feel the ruinous wrath of the Republic's enemies, because of its significance in high-end manufacturing and vital position in the war effort. Everything from RWBY-style mix and match weapons to spaceship components and toilet paper was made here.
And that leads us to the path of the Jedi- well, a specific, very unorthodox Jedi Master, who is looking for clues behind something horrific he saw that could potentially doom democracy and liberty to extinction. His name is of course, Anakin Skywalker, and the first stop he made on his desperate quest was the space station Randland, currently in orbit above Gordasha.
Why here of all places, you ask? He believed the source of the voice he heard in the obelisk, whatever eldritch horror that spoke to him and his select few comrades, would definitely choose to target and strike at something like a valuable Forge World. Anakin wasn't going to fall for his enemy's trap by rushing to locate and confront the monster directly- he wanted to wait for his shadowy foe to make the first move, then take action in an unexpected way. Prep time was his key stratagem.
With his priorities set, Anakin wanted to make a measured, carefully thought-out analysis of the defenses surrounding Gordasha, and speak with the people that were in charge of the overall order of battle. Hopefully they were better prepared and organized than the armies he led at Hoth, which were squashed by the Covenant. That being said, however, asking for bastions sturdier than those on Hoth was a preposterous and outrageous request. How would anyone in the Republic Grand Army be able to meet that kind of standard?
Master Skywalker had to play things extra smart... but first, he had to speak with the people he was going to work with.
Shortly after parking his Jedi Interceptor inside one of Randland Station's five dozen different hangar facilities, he came across a guarded entrance doorway leading directly to the command center of the space station, via elevator.
Two Lizardmen in bulky plate armor, carrying general-purpose machine guns, were standing watch, and they both tensed up when they saw Anakin.
"Halt! No unauthorized perssssonel may enter this part of the sssstation!"
All the Jedi had to do was pull out his lightsaber and ignite it, to signify his authority and high position in the Republic's armies.
"That's all the evidence I needed to ssssee, you're clear to enter!," the second reptilian brute said. "By the way, Beidou sssstoped by earlier, you could ask the troopas where she's headed."
Anakin grimaced when he heard the last words that came out of the guard's mouth. He had specifically ordered the female Tau to notfollow him. But he quickly changed his stance on this, because honestly, he needed as much help with his mission as he could get.
"Wait, Beidou was here? I thought I told her to stay out of this investigation of mine! She was supposed to be tasked with training Padawans in swordsmanship back at the Capitol! Then again, she's a valuable asset, and it's inevitable that other people will have to know the details about the voice we heard in the depths of Hell's Gate..."
He then proceeded to the command center, where he was going to meet some very... interesting people who were in charge of operations aboard Randland. "Interesting" was an understatement of the highest order, though, because this was no ordinary team of super soldiers, like the Spartan-2s, Astartes, or even Mandalorians.
These were members of the Crimson Jaegers, professional mercenaries solely employed to protect Forge Worlds. Think Vox Machina from Critical Role DND, only with different characters from wildly varying franchises.
And in fact, one of them was indeed a half-elf Druid who maintained a gigantic greenhouse aboard the station (that provided the crew with sustenance.)
"Anakin Skywalker," Keyleth said. "What business do you have coming here? Are you looking for the Tau who just left 3 hours ago? Because she's busy recruiting Jedi to bring back to our space station."
"So then she already knows why I'm staying here," the veteran Jedi replied. "We both think Gordasha will eventually be the target of a massive attack conducted by the Republic's worst enemies. I'm here to conduct a survey of the Forge World's defenses."
"Well, in that case, we might want to show you around the place, and introduce you to my comrades."
The command and control center of Randland Station was effectively the brain that ran Gordasha's orbital bulwarks against invasion. Dozens of Yordles- those furry gremlins from the League of Legends game setting with exceptional skill in engineering- managed the computer consoles which in turn helped funnel and coordinate data through a star-system-wide battle network.
Keyleth's comrades were the ones giving the Yordles orders. And thus we must go through another session of "Meet The Team" in the manner of Team Fortress 2:
Thianna Frostborn, the stoic half-giant mercenary from the Thrones and Bones books by author Lou Anders (which also have a dedicated DND campaign setting) has returned from her trip to Faerun where she massacred demons alongside the Doom Slayer.
Noelle, the selfless shieldmaiden from Genshin Impact, is also returning from Episode 2, and she might actually have a use for the Atlas Battlemech she borrowed from House Steiner (one of the factions in Battletech.)
Sidon, the Zora Prince from Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom, has joined the battle too! A plague of mud has struck his homeland, and he has reason to believe it is part of a greater threat coming from the stars. The Republic Grand Army hired him as a volunteer and agreed to help the kingdom of Hyrule with its problems.
Ziggs, the hairy chief of demolitions from League of Legends, is ready to blow his new foes to smithereens! He and several other influential Yordles departed from Bandle City on an interstellar journey to discover and then bring technomagical advancements back to the realm of Runeterra.
Thianna was the next person to engage in dialogue with Anakin, and she pretty much knew what he was thinking.
"Just so you know, we all received news of what happened on Hoth and what you went through. We aren't gonna make the same mistakes here, especially since this is a goddamn Forge World."
Anakin rolled his eyes in disbelief.
"Oh please. I took every step to ensure that Hoth was one of the most well protected worlds under our nation's governance. You're saying I did a bad job? The Covenant overwhelmed us with raw numbers!"
"You should listen to Thianna," Ziggs said. "You know, her father was one of the Grand Army's highest ranking and most respected generals. She's got a lot of experience when it comes to overseeing an order of battle. What I do in explosives, she does for logistics and tactics."
"Alright," Anakin scoffed. "Lemme hear about the errors I made."
To Be Continued...
Author's note: Sorry about the lack of updates for the fanfiction I'm supposed to finish. I was sick and had to take a hiatus for a while. But SH50K Wave 1 is my main priority, so I gotta finish this episode and complete the story. Then I'll move on to other stuff, most likely.