Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2: The Fanfiction - Part Five:
"For eleven hundred years, I have fought and I have seen the darkness in our galaxy. I have seen the vileness of the alien and the heresy of the mutant. I have witnessed the sin of possession. I have seen all the evil that the galaxy harbors and I have slain all whose presence defiles the Emperor. I have seen what you will see. I have fought what you must fight, and I have slain what you must slay... so fear not and be proud, for we are the sons of Sanguinius, the protectors of Mankind. Aye, we are indeed the Angels of Death." -Commander Dante, Chapter Master of the Blood Angels
OST: Dawn of War II OST - Angels Of Death (Space Marine Theme)
Warchief Muteba Asala of the Celestial Lions, Captain Belloch of the Executioners, Captains Julius Octavian and Alicia Alucard of the Blood Angels, Sergeant Rafen of the Blood Angels, Captain Beloch of the Executioners, and Chaplain Lemartes of the Blood Angels then entered the Strategium of the Aquila's Honor, eager to learn about their roles in the upcoming attack on the Deimios Binary System. Ash Ketchum activated the Strategium's Holo-Table, displaying a detailed view of the occupied system, complete with the location of the shipyard hidden within an asteroid field and the Forge World itself, where the Skitarii Legions were struggling against the traitor forces.
"Why have we been called here?" Captain Julius Octavian spoke as he walked in, "What is this all about?"
The Blood Angels captain was adorned in artificer-made crimson power armor, fitted with golden inserts. The Winged blood drop, the symbol of the Blood Angels, was molded onto both his chest plate and on his left pauldron in ruby, gold, adamantium, and plasteel. The neck torc that surrounded his neck was engraved with the Gothic Numeral for nine: IX, symbolizing the Blood Angels' status as the Ninth Legion. His Helmet, which he cradled in his left arm, was also artificer-crafted, and it had the same symbol welded onto its forehead area in a combination of both ruby and adamantium, with emerald green lenses in both eyes and a black stripe running down the top of it along with laurels mounted on it. Octavian's face was chiseled and perfect, just like his Legion's primarch, Sanguinius, with dirty blonde hair covering the top of his head and blue eyes.
"I agree with Captain Julius, Commander Ketchum," Captain Alicia Alucard spoke as she walked in beside Julius, "Why are we here?"
Just like Julius, Alicia wore virtually identical artificer-made crimson power armor that was like Julius's. Alucard's power armor, however, was resized to fit her more petite frame. Alicia's face was as beautiful as an ancient Terran goddess's and as white as snow, and her lips were red as the Blood of Sanguinius that flowed in her veins. Her black hair flowed like an ebony waterfall down to her shoulders, and her piercing red eyes showed both her experience and her youthful nature.
"What is my role in this operation, son of Guilliman?" Sergeant Rafen spoke as he walked inside along with Chaplain Lemartes of the Blood Angels, "How will we do this?"
As for Rafen, one could mistake him for a standard Blood Angels Sergeant, but he was more than that, as he was involved in an intra-chapter Civil War that threatened to tear the Blood Angels apart in the Arkio Insurrection. His Crimson power armor, once pristine, was scarred due to the many battles that he had fought in the name of both Sanguinius, his Primarch, and the Primarch's father, the Emperor of Mankind himself.
For Lemartes, the Chaplain wore a jump pack and black power armor with red inserts as well as a skull mask, which marked him as both a chaplain and the Warden of the Blood Angels Death Company, ready to lead those who had fallen to the accursed Black Rage to their final deaths. On his utility belt was the relic known as the Blood Crozius, which had previously belonged to Reclusiarch Raniel, who was killed in a warp-fueled attack on him, cursing the relic for all time.
"Is it about the details of the attack that you relayed to us, Ketchum?" Warchief Muteba Asala spoke in a deep, resonating voice as he walked inside the strategium, "What will our roles be in this battle?"
The Celestial Lions Warchief wore golden artificer power armor with azure inserts. His chapter's symbol, the white head of a roaring lion, adorned his left pauldron, with a variation of the lion's head molded onto his chest plate, surrounded by silver wings. His power pack was adorned with the pelt of a golden lion that came from his Chapter's Homeworld, Elysium IX, with the head of the slayed beast decorating his right shoulder. His helmet, which now rested on the table, was themed after both the helmets of the planet's tribal war chiefs, who wore the pelts of various wild animals that they had killed as head armor and the golden lions that the chapter was named after. His face, scarred from many battles against the forces of chaos, was dark-skinned with black hair and a black beard, with grey hairs sprinkled around it.
"I heard that Abbadon's dogs have claimed that system," Captain Belloch spoke as he walked inside the Strategium, "Let's show him what happens when he intrudes on Imperial soil."
Unlike most of the Space Marine commanders who were in the Strategium, Captain Belloch was the only one among all of them who wore any form of Tactical Dreadnought armor, as he wore a relic suit of Cataphractii Terminator Armor and an artificer-made helmet that obscured his entire head. His Tactical Dreadnought Armor was colored gunmetal gray with the shoulder pads being yellow instead of gunmetal gray. The Executioners' symbol, a pair of twin ebon axes facing away from one another on a red shield, adorned both his chestplate and his left shoulder pad. The skulls of various fallen enemies and gruesome trophies adorned his armor and belt like that of a World Eater, and in his hands laid a giant two-handed Chainaxe.
"Alright, brothers and sisters," Ash spoke with confidence, "It is now time to begin planning the mission."
In contrast to the six other Space Marines, Ash wore the blue, gold, and white power armor of the Ultramarines Chapter. His armor was, like the other captains, artificer-made power armor, but this time, it was adorned in the recognizable livery of the Ultramarines, like the Ultima that was painted on his left shoulder pad in white and the winged variant that was cast in gold that was molded onto his chest. The neck torc that surrounded his neck was engraved with the Gothic Numeral for thirteen: XIII, symbolizing the Ultramarines' status as the old Thirteenth Legion. His blue helmet, which rested on the Holo-table was inspired by the old Romanii helmets from millennia past, with a red and white plume jutting out from the top of it and its gold-colored facemask. His tanned skin, brown eyes, and raven-colored hair completed his look, along with the Pokéballs that rested on his belt and his faithful Pikachu, which rested on his shoulder.
"Our strategy will be a coordinated assault," Ash Ketchum explained as the Holo-Table simulated the attack with the holograms of both Chaos and Imperial Warships, "The Blood Angels, due to their expertise in deep striking, will lead the assault on the shipyard alongside the Executioners, while the Celestial Lions will land on the Forge World's surface to assist the Skitarii Legions and the Deimios Binary Mechanicum. Sergeant Rafen, Chaplain Lemartes, I trust that you will be the ones who are to lead the Blood Angels assault, right?"
Rafen and Lemartes nodded as they took on their roles for the mission. Ash then shifted his attention to his Space Marine chapter, the venerable Ultramarines along with the Ultramarines Successor Chapters who would engage the traitor fleet guarding the system above the Forge World.
"As for us," Ash spoke as a hologram of the Aquila's Honor itself appeared on the holo-table, "The Ultramarines and our various Successor Chapters will be engaging the traitor fleet above the Forge World itself in a large-scale void battle."
Muteba Asala then interjected, bringing up the important contribution of the Black Templars, a brother chapter of the Celestial Lions, who were sending a Crusade Fleet to bolster the war effort.
"Commander Ketchum, it's worth noting that the Black Templars, one of the members of the Last Wall chapters, are sending a Crusade Fleet to aid us in the battle," Muteba Asala informed Ash, "We've managed to inform them about the situation before we came here."
"Oh really?" Ash spoke. Ash knew about the Black Templars from the information given to him by members from other chapters who had fought alongside them. The fleet-based crusaders in black and white were known for their affinity for close-quarters combat and their fanatical zeal, which won them many honors throughout the Imperium. They were the largest of the chapters that were in the Space Marines and they were one of the chapters that were descended from the stalwart Imperial Fists, and their true numbers were only known to one man, Helbrecht: the High Marshal of the chapter.
"Marshal Gernhardt will be leading them, Commander, as well as Reclusiarch Merek Grimaldus," Muteba spoke. "One of them is a consummate warrior, the other, is a zealot beyond compare."
Ash nodded, taking note of this additional support. Gernhardt, the Black Templars Marshal who was leading the Crusade Fleet, was a rising star within the Black Templars chapter, and to have a leader who had accumulated many battle honors in such a short amount of time on the Imperial's side was impressive. As for Merek Grimaldus, the current Reclusiarch of the Black Templars chapter was known for his fiery zeal, his oratory skills, and his defense of Helsreach during the 2nd War for Armageddon, in which he was the lone Black Templar survivor of the battle. Alicia then stepped forward, ready to introduce the Blood Angels who would play pivotal roles in the coming battle.
"Allow me to introduce the leaders of our Assault Squads, Breacher Squads, and Moritat Squads, Commander Ketchum," Captain Alicia Alucard spoke, "Commander Dante himself has handpicked each of these warriors."
"Moritat Squads? I thought they were a relic of the past," Ash Ketchum was confused when he heard the words come out of Alicia's mouth. Ash was also puzzled, as he was unfamiliar with the recent additions to the Blood Angels' structure. "The Last time that they were deployed into battle was during the Horus Heresy itself. I heard only those that had zero disregard for their lives were placed into these squads, as well as those who had a blatant disregard for overall combat strategy."
"Commander Dante has his ways, Commander Ketchum," Julius smirked, "Trust me; they'll prove their worth when the time comes."
With introductions concluded, the commanders filed out of the Strategium, ready to execute their assigned tasks. Muteba, Belloch, Alicia, Rafen, Julius, and Chaplain Lemartes left the room for their Warships, leaving Ash alone with the holographic projection of the Deimios Binary System. But what was about to come next would shock the Veteran Space Marine Commander even more. As the commanders filed out of the Strategium, the door that the Ultramarines Sternguard Veterans had guarded swung open once again.
OST: RWBY Volume 1 OST- This Will Be the Day
To Ash's astonishment, a procession of familiar faces then entered the room, many of whom had been transformed into Blood Angels Sternguard Veterans. As Ash looked closer at each of the newly-arrived Blood Angels, their Dust-powered weapons, once symbols of their heritage as huntsmen and huntresses of Remnant, had been resized to fit the hands of Space Marines.
"By the Emperor..." Ash stood there astonished and confused as among the newly-arrived Sternguard Veterans, he recognized all of their faces from his past. Those faces were Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Sun Wukong, Coco Adel, Velvet Scarlatina, Fox Alastair, Yatsuhashi Daichi, Cardin Winchester, Russell Thursh, Sky Lark, Scarlet David, Sage Ayana, Neptune Vasillas, Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustai, Mercury Black, Vernal Branwen, Flynt Coal, Oscar Pine, Melanie Malachite, Miltia Malachite, Neopolitan, Dove Bronzewing, Neon Katt, May Zedong, Sienna Khan, Reese Chloris, and Penny Polendina. All of them were former students of Beacon Academy, and nearly all of them were now transformed into Blood Angels Sternguard Veterans.
Each of their faces held memories of a time long past when they, as Beacon Academy students, had visited the Fortress of Hera, the Ultramarines' Fortress-Monastery, on the Ultramarines homeworld of Macragge, guided by Ash himself during a Beacon Academy school field trip while he was a devastator marine serving as part of the Deathwatch. But now, they stood before him as warriors of the Imperium, their Dust-powered weapons resized to fit the hands of a superhuman warrior that is a Space Marine.
"Hey, Ash! Long time no see!" Ruby Rose grinned as she took off her helmet.
"It's been a while since we last saw each other, hasn't it?" Weiss Schnee nodded as she also took off her helmet.
"We've come a long way since our Beacon days, Commander," Blake Belladonna smirked as she took off her helmet, revealing her cat-like Faunus features, "Also, we're all here to fight alongside you, Ash. For the Imperium."
"Ready to kick some Chaos butt, Ash?" Yang Xiao Long spoke proudly as she removed her helmet, "Besides, we couldn't let you have all the fun, could we?"
Ash couldn't help but feel a surge of both pride and disbelief at the sight of the Space Marine warriors standing before him. These were the same students he had once guided through the halls of the Ultramarines' indomitable fortress-monastery on a tour, now they were clad in the armor of the Emperor's finest warriors, his mighty angels of death, and the children of his favorite son, Sanguinius, the Great Angel of Baal, the Homeworld of the Blood Angels. As the greetings continued, Ash's attention was drawn to Jaune Arc, Team JNPR's leader, who stood apart from the others, as his power armor bore the colors of Black with a Bone-White chest plate instead of the standard Crimson, Black, and Gold that the Blood Angels Sternguard Veterans wore. The colors were those of the ancient and enigmatic First Legion, the Dark Angels, the children of the Lion of Caliban himself, Lion El'Jonson.
"Jaune, why did you join the Dark Angels?" Ash Ketchum asked the leader of Team JNPR curiously, as he couldn't believe he was part of a different First Founding chapter.
"When Beacon fell to the Thousand Sons, I made a choice, Commander," Jaune Arc spoke solemnly as he took off his winged helmet, "I couldn't bear to see my friends join the Blood Angels while I stood apart. The Dark Angels offered me purpose, and I accepted."
The revelation left Ash momentarily speechless, the weight of Jaune's decision sinking in. But there was little time to dwell on it as Ash regained his composure.
Thank you, everyone," Ash Ketchum addressed the group, "But for now, we have a battle to prepare for. Ready your weapons, load your bolters. You all are dismissed. Remember, we have an Imperium to defend."
As the former students of Beacon Academy-turned-Space Marines filed out of the Strategium, Ash couldn't help but reflect on the journey that had brought them to this moment. With the weight of command resting heavy on his shoulders, he braced himself for the coming storm, knowing that the fate of the Imperium of Man and the soul of humanity hung in the balance.