RWBY 40k – Salem, Mistress of Inquisition.
Ep 31: The Xenocide of Rangdan - The Second Xenocide.
In 846.M30, a few weeks after the reunion. Lion El'Jonson was shocked at what he had just heard from his own mother.
Lion El'Jonson: "I can't believe it... 5,000 of my sons died on the battlefield?"
Salem: "Yes. The 1st Legion in 839.M30 fell on a terrible enemy. Which we call since the Rangda. After a hunt for this xeno race, your legion and these enemies fought on Advex-mors. A terrible fight whose the 1st Legion had to use all their strength and resources to exterminate them to the last. Use caution as the Rangda would be able to return with gigantic force to bring doom to the Imperium. Do you understand me?"
Lion El'Jonson: "Yes, mother."
Salem: "Good. Exterminate this race and be careful."
Lion El'Jonson remembered these words because in this year of 862.M30, the Rangda returned not with a small fleet, but a gigantic armada of spine-shaped vessels with metallic tentacles, giving them the appearance of jellyfish. They also have twelve War Moons. They began to ravage entire planets of the Imperium before reducing them to slavery, only slowed down by the intervention of the Vth Legions and XIXth Legions.
According to the testimonies of survivors, they are capable of mimicry, being able to deceive the vigilance of their enemies by somewhat imitating the appearance of human forces.
But above all, they use large armies of slaves. Like Orks and humans captured to fight the forces of the Imperium.
The Legion of Lion accompanied by the XIVth Legion headed for the World-Forge of Xana II, whose the Rangda had laid siege for 8 months on the two legions and on the Mechanicum forces of the region.
Lion was nervous as the calls for help from the planet and the messages from the scouts clearly showed an armada unlike anything they had ever seen.
A Space Marine approached his Primarch.
Dark Angel: "Can we fend off the Rangda?"
Lion El'Jonson: "Backing down is out of the question."
Dark Angel: "Good, father."
If the Primarch doesn't let it show, he was nervous deep down. He faces the worst threat the Imperium has ever seen.
It was mixed with bitter taste. Indeed, earlier, long before this surprise attack, occurred the most unforgivable act of neglect by the Ist Legion he had ever seen, not least by his closest confidant and surrogate father: Luther.
On the world of Sarosh, a world yet under the domination of the Imperium was corrupted by Chaos. An attack disguised as a diplomatic meeting almost turned tragic because the shuttle was trapped in an atomic bomb.
Later, as Lion purged the planet of cultists and demons.
Lion discovered that Luther had hidden from him the fact that he had understood the trap long before anyone else. But decided to keep the secret for obscure reason.
He decided to condemn Luther to exile before his legion, tasking him with looking after new recruits for the Legion. He had also exiled hundreds of Calibanite Dark Angels, including Zahariel on Caliban.
By the way, during the reconquest of Zaramund. Lion in front of Horus and Salem reaffirmed the exile of Luther who had come to lend a hand to Horus. This reaffirmation of this exile was a terrible humiliation for Luther in front of the most popular Primarch of the 20 Legions but also in front of the Witch of Terra, the one who is at the origin of the Astartes.
He confiscated the ships belonging to Luther, ensuring that he remained on Caliban.
When Salem asked him why he did that. Lion El'Jonson reminded her that he would not tolerate what Luther did, seeing it as an unforgivable betrayal.
Returning in this Crusade against the Rangda.
Lion El'Jonson was not alone. Indeed, he is joined by his brother Mortarion and the Death Guard Legion.
The two Primarchs had found themselves on the planet of Xana I, the planet on the border of the Imperium's front against the Rangda for the preparation of the counter-offensive against the Rangda.
Mortarion: "So, if I understood correctly. I would attack the Rangda with my fleet?"
Lion El'Jonson: "Yes. Our united forces allow us to stand against these dangerous xenos. I will go to the surface of Xana II."
Mortarion: "Besides, I must congratulate on one thing."
Lion El'Jonson: "Which one?"
Mortarion: "Banishing Zahariel was a great thing for your Legion. One less psyker to bother you."
Lion El'Jonson sighed.
Lion El'Jonson: "Mortarion. I banished him because he was Luther's accomplice. It's not because of his condition as a Psyker. You have to get it into your head that few of our brothers want to get rid of Psykers. Even less magicians who come from our mother's blood."
Mortarion's smile fades.
Mortarion: "It doesn't matter. Still, you have raised my esteem. But believe me, I would make sure that no one would have the powers to enslave humans. I can assure you of that."
Mortarion stands up and leaves the room, leaving Lion El'Jonson alone.
Lion El'Jonson: "You will be alone Mortarion. Nobody wants to separate themselves from their Psykers and magicians."
A few moments later…
The two fleet of the Legions opens their warp portal and goes inside. Going to war.
Inside of the Invincible Reason. Lion El'Jonson was sitting on his place. Calm in the exterior, nervous in interior. He could feel that this battle was the more dangerous that he would fight that any battle he fought since his birth.
Navigator (trought his telepathy): "We will exit the Warp portal! Brace yourself!"
Lion El'Jonson: "The Ist Legion will go to a barrage fire!"
After minutes of intense waiting. The Invincible Reason exit the Warp portal. Then the Ist Legion fleet launch a barrage fire to the gigantic fleet of Rangda who was still besieging the Forge World.
He was followed soon after by the XIVth Legion who attacks the fleet of the Rangda by the by the top.
The Rangda was caught by surprise and cannot contain this offensive. The Ist Legion breaks trought the siege and reach Xana II.
Lion El'Jonson: "I will go outside. Continue to guard our control on this part of the sky."
Crewmember: "Yes. Lord of Caliban!"
Lion El'Jonson leaves the bridge before going to the part of the drop pods where his sons is waiting for him.
Lion El'Jonson: "My sons. This will be the fight who will determine the future of this war and the Imperium. Fight and save our race on this planet!"
The Astartes nods and goes to their pods. Lion El'Jonson goes to his pod. After a moment of silence, the drop pods fall from the ship and falls to the sky of the Forge World.
The drops pods traverse the red and cloudy sky of the forge, filled with ashes. Then after a moment traversing this sky. They reached the bellow of the clouds.
The Forge World was like all other worlds of the Mechanicum. A gigantic City-planet, filled with forges and factories. Spitting gigantic plumes of smoke in the sky. On the surface, little lights were shining. It was the explosions of the battle happening on the planet.
Lion El'Jonson: "Brace yourself! The battle will begin now!"
The drops pods from Lion El'Jonson ships, followed by the drop pods of the other ships of the Ist Legion falls to the ground before opening, revealing the Ist Legion.
Lion El'Jonson could see from afar the Skitarii Legions of the Mechanicum, along the Titans of the Forge World, the robots of the Legio Cybernetica are fighting with the XIXth Legion and Vth Legion Astartes against the slaves of the Rangda.
Lion El'Jonson: "Go my sons for the battle!"
The Ist Legion began to charge, storming to the gigantic battle passing through the bridges, platforms and streets of the planet city.
The coming of the Ist Legion turned the tide of the battle in the favor of the Imperium forces and the Mechanicum planet.
Techno-Priest: "Skitarii Legion! Kills these Xenos and heretics of the Omnimessiah!"
For days, the Ist, Vth and XIXth Legion and the forces of the Forge World was pushing the enemy from the planet. In space, the Vth Legion was fighting the fleet who was losing terrain everywhere.
They were joined by cohorts from different Legions from the Imperium, balancing more and more the tide in favor of the Imperium.
Lion El'Jonson was fighting now the back of the force of the Rangda, the Xenos themselves. The Rangda has a slim body, four fingers and a barely human appearance. Their mimicry of the other races was not to be underestimated.
By his quality of the Primarch, of his fight skills and his sword. Lion El'Jonson was executing dozens and dozens of the Rangda.
Dark Angel: "Father! The last fortress of the Rangda is impossible to reach. It his set on of a mountain!"
Lion El'Jonson: "We have to try to break trough of these walls."
The Primarch said that when he was seeing the Hive City facing him, who was piercing the cloudy sky with a few kilometers.
Another Dark Angel goes to Lion El'Jonson.
Lion El'Jonson: "What's happening?"
Dark Angel: "The Primarch of the IInd Legion is coming to help us! He will arrive in a few moments!"
Lion El'Jonson: "Wait? For real?"
Dark Angel: "Yes! The Mobile Warriors will arrive in a matter of minutes!"
Lion El'Jonson: "Always coming when we need help… Thank you Kira…"
The Knight of Caliban goes to the gigantic Hive City under control of the Rangda who was still holding against the other forces of the four Legions and the Forge World.
Lion El'Jonson reaches the gigantic door of the Hive City, where the Rangda was firing with the Plasma Canons of the walls and destroying the coming assault of the combined forces of the four Legions.
Lion El'Jonson: "These wretched Rangda, they are using our weapons against us!"
Lion El'Jonson was killing the last of the Rangda in the exterior of the Hive City alongside of the other two Legions and the Mechanicum forces. He reunited the chief of the Legions.
Lion El'Jonson: "We have to strike our forces right in the door. An assault on all the wall is impossible."
XIXth Legion Chapter Master: "I know but this is impossible to reach the door without being plummeted."
Vth Legion Chapter Master: "What do we do?"
Techno-Priest: "We have to destroy them! They are soiling the planet of the Machine God!"
Lion El'Jonson: "Calm down. I know you are impatient but we have to reflect on the mean to strike our forces in a focused point."
At his moment, a Dark Angel arrived on the meeting.
Dark Angel: "Father! The IInd Legion have arrived!"
Lion El'Jonson: "What? For real?"
Dark Angel handed a Hologram to the Primarch. On this was the Primarch of the IInd Legion, Kira Saito.
Kira Saito: "Hello my brother. I have come and now, my legion will help you. Look at the sky."
Lion El'Jonson hear sounds in the sky behind his back, he turned back and could see the Drop pods of the IInd Legion falling from the sky from afar. The Vanguard Mobile Suits pierced the bottom of the clouds soon after. They are followed by the Mobile Suits of the Regular Army of Adoria like the Ground Mobile Suit Version III (Note: RGM-86R GM III from Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack) and the Ground Mobile Suit Version IV (Note: RGM-89 Jegan).
Lion El'Jonson back to the hologram and smiles warmly to Kira.
Lion El'Jonson: "Thanks Kira. We needed this help."
He closes the hologram and looks at this Legion.
Techno-priest: "Theses machines are so close to the Machine God… Why my fellow Techno-priest in Adoria and Mars are against it? They are marvellous!"
XIXth Legion Chapter Master: "I can say that… The IInd Legion truly deserved their reputation."
Vth Legion Chapter Master: "Hm…"
Lion El'Jonson: "Prepare to break through!"
They all nodded and joined their Legion.
The IInd Legion approaches the battle. Hundreds of Vanguard Mobiles accompanied by smaller by Grounds Mobiles Suits are coming to the Hive City of the door.
Soon, the ground forces of the IInd Legion arrived. They are recognizable by their armor who is a much smoother and more harmonious version of Astartes Armors. They wield all a small version of Plasma Weapons who is more like a sort of plasma rifle. They wield of also melees weapons who are like all the weapons of Adoria a much more developed and smoother version of the weapons of the Imperium.
The IInd Legion Chapter Master of this force arrived with his Vanguard Gundam, with many symbols of Adoria and the Imperium. Showing his role.
Chapter Master of IInd Legion (by speakers): "My brothers. We are here to help you."
Lion El'Jonson: "I'll accept gladly."
Chapter Master of IInd Legion (by speakers): "Let's storm this Hive City!"
The Mobiles Suit of the IInd Legion does a fire barrage to the doors of the Hive City and destroying the Plasma Canons on the walls.
Lion El'Jonson: "Let's charge now!"
The Ist, XIXth, Vth and the forces of the Forge World, accompanied by the IInd Legion. They stormed the door and entered the first ring of the Hive City. Destroying all of their enemies. Lion El'Jonson could see the Astartes of the Ground Forces literally wiping out with their Plasma Weapons.
After a few hours, the second ring before the Heart is reached, then the Hive City itself and finally the Spire is stormed and the Rangda of Xana II.
Lion El'Jonson was on the peak of the Hive City of the Forge World, above the ashes clouds and could see the ships of the XIVth Legion with the IInd Legion and from afar his own fleet.
The hologram lights up again.
Kira Saito: "We have pushed the Rangda. This is our first step to taking back our planets!"
Lion El'Jonson: "Yes. We have to… only pushing the Rangda take all of these forces."
Mortarion: "Let's finish them. Even if this takes us an entire century!"
For the next more than two decades. A force composed of the Ist, XIXth, Vth, the IInd and other contingents from all of Legions, making a gigantic Astartes army of 300.000, leaded by Lion El'Jonson fights the Rangda on the 19 human planets who have they taken control.
This war was devastating on the 19 human planets who has been wiped out of all life and make exclusion planets past the planets of Endyris and Morox.
Finally, in the 882.M30 year. The last battlefleet of the Rangda where purged. The Emperor alongside Salem comes to personally end Rangda taint from the Halo Stars.
On Lion El'Jonson he was with Salem, studying the remains of Rangda corpses and weapons.
Salem: "These Xenos are so much worse than I have anticipated. We have truly faced an enemy much worse than any Ork Empires or Spawns of Chaos."
Lion El'Jonson: "I will stop them when I find them again mother. I promise. I have created the Order of the Broken Claws for that."
Salem: "Hm… I hope this will work…"
To be continued… The Third Rangdan Xenocide.
A company of the White Scars discovered the homeworlds of the Rangda. Lion El'Jonson assemble a gigantic army with Leman Russ to lead the final extermination of the Rangda.
Next Episode… The Xenocide of Osiran Psybrids.
A sub-fleet of the XIIth Legion directed by the Praetor Erad Krüg is fighting the Orks of the Glortian Empire. But suddenly, a surprise attack comes from a familiar Xeno race. Kariady, the princess of Ultramar, by order of her father to exterminate the race who has make an humiliating defeat of her grandmother forces and the XIIIth Legion. Kariady is ready to avenge them all.