Layla watched with shock as the nice policewoman from earlier stumbled back into the safe room with the hurt soldier hanging on her shoulder. Both looked rougher, with the soldier being more hurt than before with his left arm just hanging and covered in blood. Uncle Grigory, the nice old man with a funny way of talking and gave her sweets who was their neighbour, wasn't with them. The nice policewoman and the soldier collapsed a few steps in, and then Layla noticed that the older lady was crying.

"What happened?!" One of the grown ups who was hiding with them shouted. "W-Why are you- you should be back there protecting us!"

The policewoman didn't answer, just looking at the floor and shaking. It was the soldier who talked back, shuffling to face the door with only one hand. "We can't fight grenades man, so we had to get back!" He said, taking a pistol from his leg pocket and pointing it at the door. "We're trying our best! Now one of you who knows how to shoot, take Gaunyin's gun and help me!"

"Well your 'best' is gonna get us all killed!" The grown up from earlier looked very scared now, even if his voice was angry. "O-Oh lord, I don't want to die!"

The other people in the safe room with them started talking louder as well, with no one going over to do what the soldier said. Even though mom and dad and other grown ups always told Layla to listen to the soldiers. She didn't know how to shoot, dad had told her she'll learn when she's older, so instead she burrowed deeper into her mom's embrace while dad moved in front of them so she couldn't see the door anymore.

"C-Close the door!" "Door's stuck, woman!" "Why aren't the military sending help?!" "That marine there is the only military on the planet!" "Please God, please, please, please..."

Mom and dad were whispering to each other, too fast for Layla to understand if she was trying to. But she wasn't too scared now and more focused on praying. For safety, for the bad aliens to go away, for an angel to save them.

Then she heard the people around her start screaming, a person with a bad growling voice shouting something she couldn't understand from the door. She wanted to see what's going on, despite how scary everything had become but sudden gun shots had fear replacing curiosity and she stayed in her mom's arms. Then, a weird sound, like a squishy mixed with metal crumpling. The growling voice had stopped shouting, there was no more gunshots, and everyone had gone quiet

In the quiet that fell on the room Layla managed to hear... stomping from outside the door. Like dad's work boots, but sounding more like the wearer was heavier, and it came closer. She swallowed her fear and reluctantly pulled away from mom to see what happened. Mom tried to stop her.

"Sweetheart, you don't nee-" "I want to see, mom." But she stubbornly kept on, shifting so she could see around her dad.

There, lying on the ground in front of the door was one of the bad Batarian aliens not moving. And the cause? Layla straight away saw the big shiny sword sticking out of the alien's back, the sharp part shining brightly enough that it glowed softly. The handle parts were shiny gold with a big ruby under the sharp part, and the brown grip looked long as well. Layla's eyes were drawn to the sword, the young girl's brain immediately associating the weapon to that which knights used in the fairy tales and cartoons she watched and read when they rescued princesses and defeated the villains with. Did a knight come to save them?

Then the maker of the loud stepping noises entered the safe room, and the young girl looked up. And up, and some more because a giant red knight from the stories leaned down to not get his helmet to hit the top of the door before standing straight once past it. Layla's eyes widened in awe at the sight, taking in the bright red paint and gold-decorated armour of the knight, with a big shiny ruby shaped like a tear with wings on his chest. The eyes on the helmet glowed green, surrounded by more gold on the face with a gold angel halo circling his head. With one hand he grabbed the sword handle and pulled it off the alien with a yucky squelching noise, which she ignored, and held it tip-first on the ground.

The giant knight looked around the room until Layla met his green eyes, to which the young girl shyly waved back. The giant knight nodded back at her to Layla's delight, and spoke.

"I am Virtue Raphien of the Blood Angels." There was a small boom to his voice as he did, but besides that he sounded similar to the doctor who fixed dad's leg when he broke it. "And we have come to save you all."

Layla felt immense gratitude then, because it turned out that God did send angels to save them. She broke out into tears once again, returning to her mom's embrace, but those were happy tears this time. They don't have to be scared anymore, not with an angel guarding them now.


2177 CE

Yamm

New Karnak

The battle for the city is over, and the Imperium one again triumphed over the xenos threat with the Imperial sigil currently being raised by a team of Fellesians raising the Raptor Imperialis on the plaza where the xenos have landed their ships, pict-captures and remembrancers recording the moment for the valuable propaganda. Said ships were playing host to an Archmagos and their retinue of tech-priests and data savants combing through the captured vessels for valuable technology and information that may be present.

Altogether it had taken the Imperials over 44 minutes to exterminate the pirates and fully secure the city, with two-thirds of the time spent more on ensuring the full termination of the aliens through vigilant searches than killing those that remained. This task has been alloted to the Fellesian troops as the Blood Angels, despite being the vanguard of the liberation forces, were not really meant for the task of gaining the trust of a population. Not a lot of space marines are, and often through no fault of their own.

It is because of a phenomenon known as Transhuman Dread which all astartes exude to those all around them, be they friend or foe. Several studies have determined that many sentient beings gain such dread when witnessing space marines in action, an example being that many humans have trouble accepting that a massive humanoid being in heavy armour such as a vaunted astarte have any right to move so quickly and so fluidly, whether in combat or in relaxed situations. Sources of such ingrained beliefs have been traced to many origins, from a human's experience in life, through extensive knowledge of biology, religious beliefs and more. The effect ranges from mild, in which the average human would be nervous in the presence of a space marine, to the more extreme in combat situations where a human (and various xenos foes) would freeze up in terror as a space marine rushes towards them in bursts of speed unnatural to one of such weight and size. Thankfully, heroic deeds and long-term exposure can mitigate these effects on the populace so that the Legiones Astartes will not be wholly shunned by the rest of humanity.

Because of this, most Legions had a select number of officers trained extensively to better represent them in a positive light to the human civilisations they encountered in their campaign to unite all humanity under the Raptor Imperialis. They are the ones who, besides the usual mortal guardsmen, accompany the diplomats as they negotiate and sway the ruling class of worlds to give their loyalty to Terra and the Emperor. Their presence have done much to aid in this work in the many cases where worlds have peacefully submitted, and it is this reason why Raphien had been initially tasked by his captain to lead the diplomatic contingent prior to the discovery of the xenos threat, and is still the one in charge of that as of the latest series of orders dispatched from the Vermilion Dawn.

So the Virtue walked with the highest ranked officer in charge of the city's militia in the streets of New Karnak, exchanging pleasantries while seeking to ply information from each other. Politely. Behind the pair walked brother Cosino with the Legion's banner, and a pair of the deputy chief's subordinate officers.

"Are your people from a lost colony?" The woman, named Elizabeth, asked as the pair passed by a group of Imperial soldiers providing medical aid to civilians as coordination with the local medicae personnel. "Because last I checked we haven't deployed soldiers without personal shields since the First Contact War."

Just from her mentioning of a 'First Contact War' brought up a lot of questions in the Blood Angel's mind. How much of human history have they preserved if they can still remember the first battle against aliens? Surely if that was the case, then they must have been able to preserve valuable archeotech in the process as well, with most hidden from the general populace. And that the first contact with non-human life turned into a war gave further credence to the belief that none but Humanity can live in this galaxy.

"No deputy chief, our homeworlds have long since developed from mere colonies." Raphien replied, maintaining a serene expression on his bare face as they walked. A large group of children and adolescents, with one of them being the little girl he saw in the shelter earlier, were standing in front of a schola on their left and gawking his way. Thinking on it quickly he decided to give them a light smile as his instructors taught. He was gratified to see them visibly cheer up, reciprocating with smiles of their own. Some of the older children, many girls and some boys, became redder in the face as they did, something which was taught as a good sign when he received his instruction. It was a good feeling to bring happiness where there must have been naught but fear and desperation during the xenos attack.

"Must be quite the lady's man aren't you, Raphien?" He turned back to the amused woman, raising an eyebrow in response to which she elaborated. "Seriously, not only are you and your band of knights bigger and stronger, but also good looking to boot. Is that standard for those who've undergone your brand of extensive augmentations?"

It is true that those who've undergone the transformation into a space marine of the line of Sanguinius are reborn inheriting the features of the Great Angel, which many mortals described as a vision of male perfection, akin to the angels of the old myths. So the flowing blonde hair and sky blue eyes of Raphien is a common feature amongst the Ninth Legion that comes with the angelic beauty of their Sire.

"Indeed." He decided not to mention the other Legions for the meantime. There is such a thing as too much information. "But such benefits come at a steep price."

Raphien remembered those who failed in the beginning, their bodies rejecting the implanted organs. And in the later years he'd borne witness to those who've succumbed to the Thirst, blood-mad revenants of who they've once been. He can feel the same Thirst, deep in the shadows of his mind where he held it back in through will alone. Elizabeth was astute enough to not push him on that, and deigned to give him a moment to himself, for which he was grateful.

"There is something I find myself wanting to know." A few moments later the Virtue spoke up, the group turning a corner and seeing the 'Police station,' this world's equivalent of an Arbites precinct a block away. "It is my understanding that newly established colonies are lower in priority in assigning forces for defence, but according to reports from my forces your city only had one platoon of professional soldiers defending it, with a heavily outnumbered militia and law enforcement making up the rest of the defenders. Why is that?"

Elizabeth scowled, and with a voice hinting of old frustrations she gave her answer. "A lot of us here blame Parliament for that, the stingy bastards not giving us enough funds to expand the militia besides the bare minimum to guard the capital city. Pretty much the same thing with most of the other colonies for years now, even though we're literally one relay away from a bunch of pirate and slaver scum."

So once again, a democratic style of government composed of several star systems, with the stellar nation currently in a state of expansion. Said government is also heavily neglecting their defence if raids such as these are common, is what more he figured out from her spoken words and the hearsay his battle brothers report back to him. She hadn't disclosed more than the bare basics but Raphien reckons it's only a matter of time now before the tech-priests find a way to break into their networks and get more relevant and crucial intel that way.

Such an attitude, if heavily prevalent, will prove instrumental in their future efforts to sway these wayward human worlds to join the Imperium. It will mean not needing to shed the blood of innocents, an ideal instilled upon them by their Primarch among many others, and one the Blood Angels have never failed to strive for. He'll ensure that Dominion Jopheus will recieve this intelligence at the soonest, right after his talk with the deputy chief and whoever is left of this city's administration. They were soon walking past the damaged entrance of the station, booted feet crunching on broken glass and debris littering the lobby area. Only two law officers were left to guard the entrance, both men saluting their superior and the angel as they walked deeper into the building.


A.N. - I apologize deeply for leaving this for so long. I didn't expect the number of followes and faves this would recieve when I first wrote it up. This stroy was meant to be just something to help me get back into writing when I hit a slump. Then I hit a bigger one not long after.

I'll do my best to write more chapters.

Austin: Initially started at the first year of ME canon, at 2183 CE (Council Era). Changed it to 2177 for... better story reasons.

Maglad: Action has ended, talking starts now.

: Alliance news crews are on planet.