Alright so I fixed last chapter, and turned it into an actual chapter, but since it was an update I'm not sure if you get notified so make sure you read that.
Todays chapter was actually pretty fun to write, so I hope y'all enjoy it. As always I know the basics of warhammer if I'm wrong on something please correct me, and I'll try to fix it.
1,200,000,000,000km from the Concanid system, aboard the Final Judgement, bridge
The Inquisitor stood in front of the command chair waiting for his ship to arrive, when he heard a distinctive beep from his console
Turning his head from the view of the warp it beeped again. Examining the source led to extremely great news, for the tracking device he had placed on one of the escort ships of Kaelor had reactivated
Tracing the signal led it directly to the Concanid system, the exact same place the psychic message was sent. Something big was happening there, and he was going to find out
"Navigator! How much longer until we reach the outskirts of the system?" The navigator turned to face him with the warp backdrop swirling around him
"One hour, thirty seven minutes and 16 seconds" Frohiem decided to leave the bridge and get some rest, for he hadn't slept in 26 hours.
Walking through the halls of the ship he passed by the shrine to the Emperor with a assembled crowd of crewmen, and the guardsmen that had been assigned to the ship.
It had been to long since they had received orders or saw the Astronomicon, and everyone was beginning to get worried. He knew that the only thing holding the ship together was faith, but even he knew that it wouldn't hold for long. Their only respite now rested in the message that they hoped would give them answers
But he felt that it's lure was losing its charm, and Frohiem became more worried about the origin of the message. Turning away from the shrine he strode into his quarters, and sat down at his bed.
But the moment he sat down the Aquila on his chest began to heat up, with it soon reaching boiling temperatures. Startled by its protests he threw it off of him. It landed with a few dull clinks across the floor, and began to heat up further with the gold creating a glow until it began to plan it.
"Oh come now it was just a little hot. Calm yourself inquisitor Frohiem" in an instant his pistol was drawn and waving around the room to find the origin of the voice. His eyes were drawn to the Aquila, it's glow subdued but still persisting
"I fear no man who hides in the shadows face me!" In response the voice merely chuckled at his taunt
"I find that funny coming from one with your occupation" the Aquila had begun to float above the ground by two feet, before shooting as fast as light directly in front of his face.
The twin headed bird's eyes focused and locked onto him "You don't have to fear... I'm a friend"
"A friend who possesses holy relics?" He cursed at himself. Was he so low to be talking to a demon
"I am no demon Frohiem" his eyes shot to the Aquila
"Then what are you? The spirit of Emperor? Myself going mad? Foul Xeno's treachery? Which are you!"
"The Concanid system... I would recommend not to dewarp so close to the system. It would put you in an... difficult situation" it had evaded his question, which made Frohiem fear on its honesty
"I have no need for advice from those that read my mind"
"Your privacy is not of my concern, but if you wish you're welcome to make a mistake"
Frohiem leveled his bolt pistol at the traitorous symbol "I would recommend you leave that, and find someone else to bother. Before I shoot you out of it"
It sighed before responding "If you so wish"
Frohiem was casted out of his room, and out of the ship. He began to scream as his body began to accelerate and phase through stars and planets
"Oh quit your whining we're it'll be awhile before we get home" the shock began to die down, and much to his relief Frohiem had begun to breathe normally. "Honestly how could you not tell this is an illusion"
Their acceleration began to decrease and eventually they both stood in the orbit of a city covered planet. Frohiem could see the glow of the planet, with enough ships here to face down any threat imaginable.
"Where have you taken me?!" Almost disapprovingly the Aquila glowed and enunciated the voice
"Welcome to Holy Terra. I assume you haven't seen it in a long time" upon the revelation his eyes understood its majesty, of the cradle of mankind itself "But I've come here to give you a proposition"
Frohiem looked up the Aquila that had grown to twice it's size "A proposition for what? To join chaos?"
The Aquila turned on him faster than he could blink,with it glowing brighter than the sun next to it "Compare me to those psychotic psychic children again, and I will flay you alive" it's glow died down as a sign of it regaining composure "I'm sure you're not aware, but a new faction has entered the playing field. I've engineered this for a few millennia now, and I need you to not screw it all up"
The scene shifted from Holy Terra to a different system. It was filled with both the craft world he was supposed to be tracking, and blue blocky ships. "The Concanid system"
"Yes. You can see these new ones are expanding, and you'll have the job of representing the Imperium"
"That's my task? These newcomers are nothing. Once they hear of our Emperor-" the Aquila cut him off
"They'll kill you and the Imperium will die...It'll be for the better, but many innocents will get caught in the crossfire before they takeover completely" it's statement was delivered so nonchalantly that it startled him somewhat
"You think they can stand up to the Imperium's full might! They will learn of our ways or they will die" Frohiem took pride in proving his position, before the Aquila sighed and with a short burst of golden glow they returned him to his quarters.
"I know you'll learn in time, but this is still painful to watch... try not to die I guess... or the Imperium is doomed" and with its final warning the Aquila returned to its normal size and fell to the floor
Frohiem felt extremely tired all of a sudden, and collapsed on the floor.
Unbeknownst to Frohiem however the two entities that were watching him were concerned
"If he messes up this interaction it'll send back the plan by decades!"
"Calm yourself friend this was not the worst it could've gone"
"Erebos this could not have gone worse! He thought you were a demon for @%#[}'s sake"
"Come now that kind of language won't help our situation. I believe I got my point across, and they'll be fine... probably"
Concanid system, in orbit of the sun, Will of Khaine, 600m to hanger bay 3
The assembled squad stood at the door awaiting for it to open. Florence could already see the biomass creeping it's way through the cracks of the door.
"Alright team door is opening in 30 seconds. The door will close behind you to uphold the quarantine, so remember to shoot the big one first. The target is the spawning pool make sure you nail that one soon" Florence checked his weapon for the fifth time now as an old habit
The whole team was doing their prep. Margret was checking her battery levels. Thomas was making sure his pilot light didn't go out by adding more oil to it, and Franco was adjusting and readjusting his sights.
But as the doors began to hiss open, and the weapons were raised. the distinct click and ensuing hum of the shields were accompanied by the flick of safeties turning off
Stepping down the corridor showed that almost every inch was covered in biomass residue. What was once a massive organism was now a slimy black goo on every surface.
Walking through the slop proved to be difficult, as it was like walking through tar. Margret spoke up "Did we get lucky? Is it already dead?"
One of the banshees responded "No. It must have recalled its biomass for consolidation" the explanation was met with a bloodcurdling shriek that reverberated throughout the walls "Fortunately for us that means it made more drones for us to fight"
Going around the bend revealed about twelve gaunts, and the creatures had a second before the attack started
Florence's Electrapulse rifle spat out shots that punctured and travelled through the first poor gaunt, before detonating upon the three behind it. The bone shards from those three shot out like shrapnel at the others, peppering their chitin with their friends
But before they could turn and retaliate the banshees swept through them. Florence's sparring partner stabbed a gaunt through its eye, before immediately switching her direction to kick another through its skull. The brain that decorated her boot still had its black pupil hanging off of the mush.
The other banshees had cut the gaunts down to a quarter of their strength, which was put down by Thomas by incinerating them with his flamethrower. Their smouldering wrecks began to pop and sizzle with ferocity
"We must move there will be more of them soon" Florence nodded to his squad which pulled up the rear on the fast banshees.
But as they passed a multitude of random rooms Florence signalled for the squad to halt. "We should clear out the rooms in case of any hostiles hiding in them. We wouldn't want to get ambushed from behind later"
"We have to reach the spawning pool as quickly as possible. Any delete could result in more beasts being spawned" Florence decided not to engage further, and signalled for the SES to spread out
"Did you hear me Mon-keigh? We must push forward" The soldier continued to ignore her, and stepped into one of the miscellaneous rooms with the banshees begrudgingly spreading out
The rising voice of the Banshee squad leader was cut off by the doors to the room closing behind him.
The room had a few cargo containers and other storage devices hanging around. The room was devoid of the black biomass though for it seemed completely devoid of any importance to the hive mind, but his survey was stopped as his suit picked up subtle irregular noises.
Turning up the ambient noise on his speakers he heard breathing. It was soft and extremely panicked. Turning to the source he activated his thermals, only to see a small heat blob in one of the containers.
Edging closer he thought of using a grenade, but vetoed the idea in case there was valuable equipment in the container.
Reaching the door he noticed serious scratch marks on the surface, as if something was trying to get inside the container. The lock on the door was severely weakened by the attempted intruder, so he stepped back and threw a powerful kick that sent the door off the hinges
As light seeped inside the container his attention was diverted to a small panicking bundle of cloth. The movement died down though as the bundle froze completely.
His flashlight shone upon a small child, and his first thought were how to calm her when she began to freak out. Realizing he was a giant super soldier scaring a small child who had no idea who or what he was, he immediately shouldered his weapon and bent down to the girl
She had nearly stopped breathing as the behemoth drew closer only for it to place its hand upon its head and remove its helmet. Maleh'ora stared as the behemoth showed his face, and her panic began to build.
It was a Mon-keigh. A horrible brutal creature which knew only war and destruction, and it was right in front of her. Considering it's size it was one of the space marines she heard from the stories.
Maybe he wants to see me die! The thought bounced around in her head, and her pupils contracted into an even smaller circle. Her small rag blanket was pulled up as an attempt to shield her.
But as Maleh'ora looked at the Mon-keigh she saw a clear emotion of concern. He reached his hand out in an attempt to trick her so he could crush it, but it would not fool her so she pulled her rags closer in defiance
The behemoth frowned and put his helmet back on so he could finish her, only for her fantasies of death to be interrupted. "Are you hurt anywhere?"
The little girl frantically glanced around for the source of the voice only for her eyes to rest upon Florence. "Are you here to kill me?" The question struck him like a cannon shot. Could anyone bear to kill a innocent child in this galaxy?
"I'm here to clear out this section of the ship from the Tyra-... monsters"
"Are you not a Mon-Keigh? How can you speak our language? Which path of warrior would lead you to looking like that?"
"I'm human soldier working with your craftworld. I'm here to help, as I said earlier are you going injured?" The little girl shakes her head in response before loosing her grip on the sack
"Is it safe out there? Are the monsters gone?" The girls questions rang about off the walls. Almost like a painful reminder
"No... but I can't leave in here due to my uhh entry" he gestured to the broken door "Are you able to walk?"
The girl tried to get up, but she collapsed into the soldier's forearm. "Sprained ankle, any force on it and it'll snap" The soldier scooped her up before she tried again "Don't. You ankle is hurt. Any kind of pressure will make it worse"
Hefting her up into his left arm he stepped out of the container. The girl noticed the scratch marks and held onto his torso harder in fear. "You'll be alright little one, don't you worry"
Opening the door showed the squad leader still ranting at the closed door, but as she noticed the girl she immediately looked at him with surprise "Where was she?"
"Hiding in an cargo container. She sprained her ankle very badly, and can't walk" the squad leader gestured to grab the child, but before they could the scream reverberated once more throughout the hall. The sound of feet slapping against the ground was heard just fifty meters ahead
Florence grabbed the girl and made her hang off his back, before raising his weapon for the incoming hostiles. They rounded around the corner before the bugs and saw what they were up against.
About thirty gaunts were leading the charge, with a few warriors backing them up. finally ending with a hive tyrant in the back commanding them all. Unfortunately they were still in the compact corridor, and Margret had chosen the 'Big Boy' for the mission.
The plasma barrels began to separate from a chain gun to four mini guns, which covered the whole corridor. The Tyranids only made it twelve meters away, before the gun began to fire.
The plasma was much different than Florence's Electrapulse rifle. The Electrapulse used explosive ordinance inside highly penetrative 50 cal rounds shot out of a railgun, which would leave behind a small streak of lightning from the energy washing off the bullet.
The plasma however had a much simpler design philosophy. It shot out small bullets of plasma that could take out a tank individually, at nine hundred bullets per minute. This gun had been called the blue wave, from the sheer amount of light it created with the glow of the plasma.
The gaunts were reduced to atoms in a building wave of limbs, bones and chitin slammed against the hive tyrant. The warriors were reduced to smouldering husks most with only their feet still upright. The hive tyrant however was realized the danger, and ducked behind a corner waiting for Margret to run out of charge.
When she eventually realized her mistake on holding down the trigger. the beast charged the group from only ten meters away. The banshees twirled and flipped away from the danger, and almost all of the SES unit got out of the way. Almost all of them
Florence realizing he couldn't dive out of the way without hurting the girl. he threw the child into the corner of the corridor, and maxed out his shields. The tyrant slammed into him with the force of three semi trucks at full speed. Using its arms it had pierced the shield and his shoulder
Florence winced from the pain and reached for his sidearm. The creature was heavily weakened from the frontal barrage, and one good shot to the brain should do it. However his confidence was shattered as his hand groped nothing, well shit. I never even got to kick that eldar's ass again
"St-stop it right now!" The small voice spoke up. Shifting his gaze he saw the girl holding his sidearm, her arms were shaking from its weight but her gaze was firm.
"Kid I need you to run right now okay? I'll get out of this don't you worry" he could feel his voice getting weaker with every word. the hive tyrant still was recovering from the charge, but even he knew its grasp would only end in its death.
"I can't be indebted to you Mon-keigh! It's only fair!" The SES and banshees were getting hit with another wave of warriors, and the combat chatter in his ears alerted him that no one could free him right now.
The hive tyrant snapped out of its trance, finally noticing the girl next to it. Florence didn't know if it had emotions, but he could tell it was smiling. The tyrant scraped the SES Major until it trapped the girl in the corner.
The girl was completely in a state of fear, for she couldn't move as the monster drew closer.
Almost like in slow motion he saw the tyrant pick up the child bringing it closer to its mouth. He saw the girl snap out of her fear place the pistol against the forehead of the hive tyrant and pull the trigger
He could feel himself falling, but he didn't care for his eyes were completely centred on the child who twisted out of the way.
He hit the ground hard as his broken shield finally gave out, his helmet was cracked open so he could smell blood, and hear his heartbeat. He barely registered the child kneeling over him crying
With his conciseness fading he mustered the last of his strength for a few words "H-hey don't... don't cry you did good. okay? I-its okay little one I did... what I was made to do" and with that he fell into the deep slumber
Immaterium, ???
Florence could feel his soul leave his body, and time seemed to stand still. He saw the girl over him hugging his corpse, weeping.
Looking around him he found his surroundings were... not as advertised. What he thought would be the pearly gates or something, was nothing compared to what he found him.
It was a void. Quite simply there was nothing around him. Nothingness stretched on endlessly around him. There was no gravity or air, "I guess I don't need that anymore"
However soon a small grey square appeared beyond his feet, and it was growing in size. His neck was craned down looking at it before he realized it was going quite fast.
He slammed into it, but felt no pain or texture from the slate. It was about five meters by ten.Very quickly though a chair manifested on both ends.
"Huh" walking over to the one closest to him he felt its leather. It was completely black with wood straps on the armrests, but as he turned around he found someon-... something sitting on the other
"Florence Knightly. I've been expecting you, please have a seat" the thing in question was a golden outline of a humanoid, but being the polite man he was he sat down on the upholstery
But to his disappointment he found it lacking in any texture. A reminder of his current state.
"So... are you god?" His host snorted with laughter at his statement
"No. No I'm someone far more powerful"
"Oh? I deserve that much attention, I'm flattered" the being began to take a more solid form now as he could tell it was smiling
"You are far more important than you realize Florence"
"While I don't mean to be rude, but you seem to know my name and I don't know yours"
"My name is unpronounceable by your kind, but you may call me Erebos"
"That's a surprising Human sounding name" was this thing human?
"You're clever, but no I took it from one of the Greek gods of Earth" Wait a minute. Florence connected the dots and the being smiled further
"Yes I can read your mind. You're in my domain after all"
"That's a little rude, but I suppose it's alright as long as you could answer some questions for me"
"You get three" Florence sat back upon the chair. It's surface providing no comfort as he pondered.
"Why am I important to you?"
"It's quite simple. You have the potential to join the order in time, and I would hate to lose you so soon" Realizing the implications of that he decided to confirm his assumption
"Why did you create the wormhole between Earth and the Concanid system" the creature now resembled a statue of gold, but it somehow grinned even deeper
"You see? This is exactly why I wanted you. You think like no one else... but to answer to your question, I created the wormhole to fix this galaxy"
"Why?"
"That's your third question, but I'll give this one for free... A long time ago I made a stupid bet, and it's come to bite me in the ass everyday. So I created the solution" Erebos pointed at him "You are my greatest achievement: humanity"
Florence digested the answers, but indulging in a small moment of selfishness he asked his final question "Will she be okay?" Erebos furrowed its brow, before he realized his query
"Maleh'ora will be fine, however she's currently in a state of shock. She did lose her protector after all" Florence smiled with his gaze upon the endless expanse "Now I've kept you here long enough, and the girl is about to awaken her power to save you. I would wish you good luck, but you won't need it. Oh and do remember that what we talked about is confidential okay?"
"Wait wha-"
Kaelor craft world, Ele'kesha park (outside hanger bay 3)
Florence was shot back into his body in an instant. His eyes snapped open and his breathing was started by a sharp inhale. His entire body was in pain stemming from his left shoulder. He felt both the lack of his armour and a small weight upon his chest.
Looking down he saw Maleh'ora weeping, with her tears spreading throughout his body seeping into his bloodstream and lessening the pain.
This must be her power... nice. "Hey. are you okay" the child stiffened at his words before looking up to see his eyes staring back at her. Her crying only deepened and she threw him into an hug "Ow-hey that hurts. I just died remember"
"What the fuck?!" His eyes drifted over to his squad mate Thomas who had now seen him moving again. He immediately ran over and began to check him for damage "Your heart was literally crushed. what the fuck?!"
The commotion began to attract more and more attention of both the banshees and the SES, which were now all collectively freaking out about his return from death
800,000,000,000km from Concanid Star, aboard the cruiser Final Judgment, bridge
Frohiem gave the order to dewarp, and everything tasted the colour purple for a few seconds as they came out. But the sight that greeted him was far from what the entity had said
Hundreds of ships surrounded the system many of them dwarfing his ship, but the one that caught his attention was what had to be the flagship.
It was like a giant isosceles triangle that was the size of a planet. Next to it was Kaelor, and he finally realized who the message was sent for. But most importantly he realized the gravity of the entity's final words to him
His astropath burst into the room to everyone's surprise "What are you doing outside your cell!" But his words were given no heed, and the astropath ran to the window and knelt in front of the fleet.
The commissar finally needed again practically bounded to the astropath to discipline him, but was stopped by the captain "Wait we still need him... not yet"
The commissar scornfully put away his bolt pistol, and sat back into his chair. The silence was interrupted by the communicator piping up "Inquisitor we're being hailed, by the... Vancouver?"
Retrieving UNE file... ...
File found, file name: Holy Jas'gavas empire
The species doesn't have a name itself, but is named after the unifyinggovernment. This was due to a massive change in society caused by Kelpak the mighty.
The species are reptilians first and foremost, with a mating season once every 4 years. They have a two mandibles on the lower side of their jaw, with two sets of fins on the upper sides of the face.
They are quite bulky and tall people, with the average height being just above 2 meters. The Jas'gavas are extremely strong at birth due to high muscledensity, with some ancient texts stating some could bend titanium.
They have 6 arms and 4 legs, but some professional runners could use all limbs to rise to speeds up to 45km per hour. Their skin has a black underbelly that fades out into different colours, but many have traditionaltattoos as part of their coming of age ritual.
The Jas'gavas empire was first brought about in 1089 (Earth years) by Kelpak the mighty. They progressed at the similar rate of Humanity at the time, but under a a unified banner.
The empire was based on the three pillars of honour, according to recovered relics these tenants are: Loyalty, Courage and Determination. These pillars founded the society we see today one full of notions for honour, and of doing the action that could preserve the most amount of life
This led to the path of becoming a warrior becoming most valued among the Jas'gavas, but with a great importance on having a life outside war. Records show that traditional warriors commonly had pastimes such as painting or weaving. The emphasis on culture was apparent in the options
The warrior culture has not diminished over time, however, but rather been refined over the centuries. The balancebetween peace and war kept them stable throughout their history. When they reached the space age they encountered the Covenant of Ulfram as their first alien contact.
This did not go well with a trulyspectacularfumbling of relations, that eventually led to their rivalry in the stars. However they discovered the Commonwealth of Man first which led to numerous border conflicts and wars
The Holy Jas'gavasempire was one of the founding members of the Cosmic Alliance, as they believed that the UNE would be valuable allies. This would become something much greater for both nations, for eventually the alliance managed to get the entire galaxy into their allies
Today the Jas'gavas have spread throughout the galaxy, due to the interstellargatewaynetwork. Believing that they must become even stronger to protect their allies, they have become one of the militarypowerhouses of galaxy.
While the UNE believes in their militarysuperiorfirepower it is hard to stand up to the sheer weight of the Jas'gavas navy. But to no one'ssurprise they are some of the best fighters in the galaxy, with every facet of their military being honed to perfection for quality and quantity is impossible to stand up to
"We are warriors, but not for our glory but for the honour of protecting others. We must be their light in the darkness, and show others who would oppose us why we are called warriors. I see that light, that fire inside each and every one of your hearts. Use that fire and turn it into a spear, a club, a mace, a sword, a hurik, and use that weapon to smite those that would hurt us. Today we fight! Tomorrow we are allowed to die!"