Chapter X
Ryker headed for another Thunderhawk landed some distance away. It was surrounded by various leaders of the Imperial factions. Captain Frainz was there, in animated conversation with Marshal Winulf. Sisters Serrilda and Veridiah stood nearby with their helmets off, hands to their mouths, stifling their laughter. Iona 91A stood with them, with one of her Skitarii supporting her. Her helmet was off and she and her subordinate spoke in gestures. Iona nodded towards Frainz and Winulf, a confused look on her face, but the Skitarii simply shrugged. Commissar Aleron sat on a supply crate near them being attended by a medic. He cleaned his trenching tool all the while listening to the conversation. He alone still wore his helmet.
"What's going on?" asked Ryker, removing his own helmet and maglocking it to his belt.
"It would seem," said Aleron. "That the Marshal and the Captain are not seeing eye-to-eye on the difficulty of our most recent combat action."
"Is that so?"
"According to the Captain, it was an easy victory."
"Easy-ER," corrected Iona.
"Oh yes," agreed Aleron. "An 'easy-er' victory. And the Marshal is convinced that it could not have been 'hard-er'."
"I see," said Ryker.
"What do you think, Brother Sergeant?"
"I care about one thing, victory. Did we win?"
"Of course."
"Were our enemies utterly defeated?"
"Absolutely."
"And are enough of us left to tell the tale?"
"Indeed."
"Then, what does it matter how difficult it was or was not?"
"Well, there are casualties to consider."
"True, but the Imperium is a big place. We can replenish our losses in no time at all. The Eldar and their dark brethren meanwhile, do not value family or child bearing as we of the human race do. Their losses will take far longer to restore and by then, we will outman them, ten to one. It may be a pyrrhic victory, but it is still a victory."
"Yes. And if we are fortunate, Emperor willing, the xenos will bother us no longer. At least, not on this venture."
"I pray that it is so.'
The sound of footsteps drew Ryker's attention. He spotted three individuals, two women and one man, approaching. All three wore the red and gold livery of House Titane and all were dressed in the suits of Imperial Knight pilots. Ryker instantly recognized one of them as the Governor. The other two were far younger than she. The younger woman looked almost identical to the Governor. The same intense stare, the same noble bearing, the same piercing eyes, though she was not nearly so world weary. In place of the short grey hair, she had long brown hair tied back in a single braid.
The young man shared the sharp blue eyes, though his gaze was softer, his features less fiery and his demeanor more casual. He was not a man born to rule, but to serve nobly. He was the one who spoke.
"My fellow Imperial citizens," said the young man. "Governor of Pithia, the Noble Lady Ophelia Zarick, of House Titane, Judge of Traitors and pilot of Ignius Rex, wishes to speak to her liberators."
Ryker knew the voice at once. It was the one spoke from the Armiger. The one the Governor had identified as Sebastian.
"And who, pray tell, asks for her?" asked Ryker.
"Sir Sebastian Anders of House Titane, Acting Herald of Governor Zarick."
"Acting Herald"? So he wasn't the official herald, then? Ryker would need to ask him about it later.
"Of course," said Ryker. "She may approach. One moment, please?"
Ryker went over to Winulf and Frainz who were far too engrossed in their debate to even notice the new arrivals.
"And I'm assuming that you believe that killing those Pain Engines was easy, too?" demanded Winulf.
"Well, they normally take much more effort to defeat!" stated Frainz, exasperated. "And Dreadnaught weapons usually have more difficulty piercing their hide!"
"Gentlemen!" declared Ryker, moving in between them. "I hate to interrupt this 'constructive debate', but we have visitors."
"Who is it?" demanded Winulf, scowling.
"The Governor and her retainers."
There was a beat, and the Marshal and Captain snapped to attention. Both were red in the face.
Ryker signaled for the Governor and her retainers to approach. They did so and the "Acting Herald" introduced the Governor and himself again.
"And who is this?" asked Winulf, pointing to the younger woman.
"She is Knight Apparent Lady Viola Evrett of House Titane," said Sebastian. "Burner of Witches, pilot of Ignacius Ferox, First Heir of her house."
"First Heir"? Now, that explained why she resembled the Governor so much. She was her daughter and, apparently, her eldest child.
"Welcome, noble warriors of House Titane," greeted Winulf, bowing. The knights returned the gesture. "I am Marshal Winulf van der Bourne of the Black Templars. I believe that we have already met, Governor."
"Yes, your forces rescued us from the xenos filth," said the Governor, her voice steady. "And I believe that you said something about 'a matter of utmost importance' before we were so rudely interrupted. Now, what was that matter exactly?"
"Perhaps, we should meet at the Governor's palace to have a more formal discussion?"
"That would be difficult."
"Why?"
"Because…" the Governor trailed off. She could not finish the statement, it was clearly painful for her.
"Because," continued Viola, her voice much like her mother's. "This IS the Governor's palace."
Everyone looked about themselves. How had they not noticed until now? The ground under their feet was not dirt, nor sand, nor any natural kind of earth. It was stone tile! Hundreds upon hundreds of square foundation stones. And the rock formations scattered around, they now saw, were the remains of stone walls and pillars! The structure that had once stood there was utterly destroyed.
"How did this happen?" asked Winulf.
"The xenos began their assault on our world barely a year ago," said the Governor. "The outlying villages fell first. Most were successfully evacuated while our PDF held the invaders off. But then they moved on to larger towns. Thousands of them, then hundreds of thousands. Possibly even millions. We're not a densely populated world. Our last census was three years ago and it put our number at around two billion."
"My home city had more people than that," muttered Aleron.
"And our settlements are not that close together. So we Knights could not respond as quickly as we wished. We did our best, and had some moderate success. Then, some months ago, we went out to do battle, again. My husband, Baron Zarick, and three other Knights remained behind to defend the palace. The xenos had attacked it once before and very nearly seized it."
"So, what happened next?" asked Winulf, when the Governor hesitated.
"We were in the middle of the battle when I received a vox hail from him. It was garbled but the gist of it was that the palace was under attack, again. He assured me that he and the others had everything in hand and not to worry. He wished me good luck and was about to cut vox, when he informed me that the xenos were retreating."
"Retreating?" asked Frainz. "Was that odd?"
"Not at first. But then the Baron said that he didn't understand as they had only just begun attacking. Then, he asked 'What's that?' and a moment later he shouted 'Emperor's mercy, no!' Then, there was an explosion and the signal cut off. I tried to contact him, but there was no response. The next day, we returned home to find the palace and the surrounding city in ruins. Only one of the Knights, Sebastian's elder brother, Antonio, had survived."
"Did he say what happened?" asked Iona.
"According to him it was an orbital bombardment. The xenos had fired their lance batteries directly on top of the palace. It was completely obliterated. And the shockwaves and debris destroyed the rest of the capital. My husband and the other two Knights were killed in the initial explosion."
The Governor put her face in her hands and began to weep softly. Throughout her telling, she had fought to contain her emotions. But now, she could no longer hold back.
"Sadly, we didn't have time to grieve," continued Viola, embracing her mother. "The xenos launched another attack and we were forced to defend our ruined capital. We've been at was with them ever since."
"I see," said Winulf. "Why didn't you abandon the world?"
"Marshal!" chided Serrilda. It was a fair question, but still, a tactless one.
"I meant no disrespect. But it would seem that this world is, for want of a better word, lost. And, seeing as that is the case, why have you not attempted to relocate your people?"
"We have no ships, I'm afraid," said Sebastian. "Our flotilla was either destroyed or commandeered by the Mordians."
"The Mordians?" questioned Frainz. "What could we need your ships for?"
"There was a rebellion on a planet near Baal," said Viola.
"Oh yes, I remember. A force of my compatriots were sent to chase down a flotilla of rebel ships. We heard that they sustained heavy damage and were barely able to transport their survivors."
"That is mostly true. In fact, they had almost no space at all for survivors or their lost vessels. They needed more and we had several sitting in dry dock."
"But didn't you need them?" asked Serrilda. "And how did they end up in your system? Baal is a long way from here."
"We were at peace back then," said Sebastian.
"This happened six years ago, Canoness," added Frainz.
"The ships were just taking up space and the Guardsmen needed them more than we did. And in all honesty, we aren't exactly sure why they were here. Commodore Balthazar left in such a hurry, that we weren't able to ask."
"Commodore Balthazar?" asked Frainz. "Do you mean Jolene Balthazar?"
"You know her?" asked the Governor.
"Yes," said Winulf. "And you are fortunate. She is in orbit at this very moment."
"Is she aboard Litany of Intercession?"
"Indeed."
"My old flagship. Were any of the vessels damaged?"
"Several, including your flagship."
"That's unfortunate. Were any vessels lost?"
"Emperor's Mercy, Shield of the Sigilite, and Iron Heart were lost in the void. Whether any were lost beforehand, I do not know."
"Damned fine vessels, all of them."
"There is likely still enough room for you Knights aboard," said Ryker. "How many do you have left?"
"Two hundred and thirty-seven," lamented the Governor. "Less than half of what we started with."
"How many did you have at the beginning?" asked Serrilda.
"More than seven hundred. Five hundred on active patrol and another two hundred and thirty in storage, awaiting pilots. Those stores are all but depleted now and only a fraction of the ones left are even fit for combat. In fact, my war party was all that was left. And even we aren't up to scratch anymore."
"Well then," said Winulf, contemplative. "Perhaps we should not trouble you with our affairs."
"Oh, nonsense, Marshal! You came here for a reason and I intend to know what it is."
"Very well, we are here on behalf of Primarch Roboute Guilliman, Lord Protector of the Imperium of Man."
"Really? And what does the Primarch require of us?"
"He requests your aide in a most Holy Imperial Crusade."
"A Crusade you say?" The Governor's eyes brightened.
"Yes, there is a planet named Loculius, deep in the Ghoul Stars."
"I've heard of it. But it is long dead. The Imperium abandoned it long ago."
"This is true, but it seems that the settlers left behind a fragment of an STC."
"STC? Please forgive my ignorance, but what is that?"
"Standard Template Constructs, mother," said Viola, apparently more knowledgeable than her progenitor. "Holy relics to the Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus."
"Well said," complimented Iona.
"But what is their significance?" asked the Governor.
"Everything that the Imperium uses is built using plans," said Iona, trying to be patient. "And the STCs contain that knowledge. They are the very root of Humanity's conquest of the universe during the Dark Age of Technology."
"But you say that this one is only a fragment. Is there not a fully intact one that can be used?"
"Sadly, no fully intact STC has ever been located. We must glean what we can from the fragments. Our greatest hope is to one day locate a fully intact Standard Template Construct."
"Are fragments of them rare?"
"Incredibly. In fact, I've known many Tech-Priests who went their entire lives without even hearing so much as a whisper of one being found."
"And do they always require a Crusade to recover them?"
"No, not always. But this one is rather special."
"Why is that?"
"Because of whom is defending it."
"Whom?"
"Rogal Dorn," said Winulf, reverently.
"The… Primarch?" The Governor clearly knew who that was.
"Yes."
"But, I was always told that he was killed in battle. You're telling me that he is alive?"
"We believe so. We have no visual evidence, only a small audio recording of him battling traitors on Loculius. Most likely defending the STC fragment."
"Do the Traitors seek to glean knowledge from the fragment as well?"
"Perhaps. Or simply wish to prevent us from doing so. It matters not. We MUST recover it, and Dorn, if at all possible."
"And you need our help to do this?"
"It would be greatly appreciated. However, it seems that you are needed here to see to your people. And we would not want-"
"We'll do it," said the Governor. Her companions nodded in agreement.
"You will?" asked Winulf, after a long pause.
"Yes."
"But, pardon me for saying, don't your people require your aide more than us?"
"I intend to help them, by taking part in this Crusade. My people require relocating and in exchange for this, I will add my forces to yours."
"But, Governor," interjected Frainz. "You said that you have only a little more that two hundred Knights remaining. And that only your war party was fit for combat."
"This is true, Captain, um-"
"Frainz, Excellency."
"Frainz, yes. It is very true. However, we only need to repair the damaged ones and we have more than enough spare parts to piece together another one hundred and fifty. We would ask, in addition to relocating our people, that your contingent of Mechanicus Adepts help repair our shattered war chasses. And then, we would have more forces to commit to this endeavor. You do have additional Mechanicus forces, I hope."
"Better than that," chimed in Iona. "We have an entire Forge Ship in orbit. Half-a-million servitors and Tech-Priests, who will gladly aide you."
"That will do. Just give us that and you will have out support."
Winulf considered for a moment. He did not wish to leave the planet unprotected, it would likely not survive another Eldar attack. However, if they were all relocated it wouldn't matter. And then having their armor repaired would take time. But without their support the war effort would falter. Honestly, it was a small price to pay.
"Done," said Winulf, finally. He extended his hand and the Governor took it, her hand disappearing within it. "Tell your people to make ready. We will depart as soon as they are prepared."
"At once, Marshal," said the Governor. She released her grip, turned to her retainers and the three departed.
"Iona 91A?" said Winulf.
"Yes, Marshal?" replied the Skitarii.
"Contact Tech-Priest Alpha-Sigma. Let him know that we're sending him a mass of Imperial Knights in need of repair."
"It will be music to his auditory sensors."
"And the rest of you, see to the disposition of your own forces. And see if we can squeeze some more passengers aboard our vessels. The fewer trips we have to make, the better. If we're lucky, we might even be able to do it all in one trip. Are we clear?
"Yes, Marshal," replied the others.
"Very good, dismissed." The group dispersed to attend to their individual tasks.