Chapter 1.8 – You Work For Us Now
John Grammaticus was not a happy man. Being surrounded by 6 giant Astartes was terrifying enough when they were out of armour. Four of them were clad in their giant battle plate, each one bearing the symbol of the 3 headed hydra. Alpha Legion. A normal human probably wouldn't be able to tell any of them apart, but thanks to the meddling of the Cabal John was no longer a normal human. Not that he had ever truly been a normal human, his psychic powers made him more than just a baseline.
His powers though were no match for several battle hardened Astartes with a grudge. He sensed at least one of them had psychic powers to a degree, one of the ones in armour with their helmet on. The others could also have had them but were hiding them, his knowledge of their skills was limited. What he could tell with no powers at all was the one directly in front of him was the leader. Or the one they had decided to pretend was the leader.
"So let me get this straight," said the lead Alpharius, his battle plate creaking as he leaned forward, "You worked for a Cabal of aliens that operated against the Emperor's plans, believing one day Horus would rise up and start a war against Terra. This Cabal would then ensure Horus SUCCEEDED so he would destroy humanity and therefore destroy these warp entities, Chaos, as you call it."
"Erm… yes," replied John meekly, carefully observing the other members of the Alpha Legion, especially the other 3 in full battle plate and helmets, "But not against the Emperor's plans. Just… alongside them."
"However a rebel group of this Cabal decided to forgo the plan and simply kill Horus instead, changing fate and perhaps finding a better path?"
"Ermmm… yes."
"You realise how ridiculous this sounds."
"Well doesn't make it more likely to be true?" gambled John, "A tale so wild like this has be true because there is no gain in making a story this crazy."
The lead Alpharius tilted his head in thought.
"I can think of six instances why telling a lie like this would be advantageous."
He leaned forward again adding, "But I don't think you're lying John. And it would also be very stupid to tell a lie that incriminated you in working with enemies of the Imperium."
"Technically the Cabal weren't your enemies. They were just… same goal different means?"
"Same goal… different means," mused Alpharius, "And what are your goals and means John?"
"Same as they always were I guess," said John, honestly, "To find a way to stop Chaos. I'm not working with the Cabal again if that's what you're asking. I guess its too much to ask if you'll let me go now?"
Alpharius shook his head.
"I'm afraid not John. You have been, if not an enemy of the Imperium, an accessory to the murder of Horus Lupercal. The fact is you would probably be locked away for a very long time for your crimes, if you are lucky."
John frozen in fear, sweat beginning to drip down his back again. Alpharius stood up and slowly walked towards him, reading a data slate as he did so before stopping right in front of John.
"Fortunately for you John, we think we can find a use for you. You work for us now."
John recoiled slightly, stammering, "Nnnot again! I just escaped the clutches of the Cabal, I don't have any interest of becoming a pawn again!"
"I'm afraid you don't have much choice John," sighed Alpharius, "Unless of course you'd rather we send you back to Terra for the Regent to interrogate."
John gave in and sighed. Malcador the Regent of Terra was only mildly less terrifying than the Emperor himself. No one spent that amount of time close to the Emperor without being exceedingly dangerous in his own right.
"Fine. What do you want me to do?"
Alpharius handed his datapad to another Alpha Legionary who removed his helmet as the first Alpharius put his own back on, assuming the place of his companion. The new Alpharius continued to address John as his… inferior? Superior? The other, had done.
"Well John if the Cabal was right, and they were probably wrong on a lot of things otherwise they wouldn't have allowed their plan to fail, then the future can be read and guided down paths. We need to acquire data on these paths and decide how best to influence them. You John are how we're going to gather this data."
"I… see. And how do you plan on me doing that?"
"Well firstly we'd like you to reach out to the Cabal again, if they'll let you back. We assume they are pretty desperate given our recent hunting of their operatives so it shouldn't take much to get you back in. We need everything you can get on their predictions, their movements, the futures they have seen. The more data we can gather the more informed a decision we can make."
"Uh huh," said John, skeptically, "I'm guessing you already have some data on that given the amount of Cabal agents you've encountered."
"Less than half of them were able to talk and only a quarter of them had anything useful to us," replied Alpharius dryly, "There are large gaps in the data, some you have already managed to fill but as the future shifts and changes we need more. Its no longer just an investigation into the assassination of Horus Lupercal, it's an effort to ensure the best possible future comes into place. If we can know what futures are possible, we can shape them. A well placed agent here, a removal of an obstacle there."
"With a bullet you mean," muttered John darkly.
"Or a knife," replied Alpharius, "Come John, even the Cabal must had taken some drastic measures at times, this is how the game is played."
"Yes but I thought it meant something!" John almost shouted, "We were fighting Chaos! We were bringing safety to the galaxy which hasn't been seen for millennia! These sacrifices were supposed to mean something! Instead it was all…"
"For nothing?" concluded Alpharius. John sagged like a deflated balloon.
"Yes, for nothing."
Alpharius put down the datapad and rested a hand on John's shoulder.
"Plans change, John. You were doing what you thought was best, but things were kept from you."
John looked up at the giant with a raised eyebrow, "And you'll do the same thing, won't you? I'm just another game piece after all."
Alpharius paused for a moment, then picked up the datapad and handed it to John. John took it, startled with his jaw open with surprise.
"This… this has everything! All your work, all your secrets on the Cabal!"
"Of course," said Alpharius, "We tell our agents only what they need to know, but right now, I think you need to know everything. The best way you can help us is if you can guide what we know into something useful. You know how the Cabal worked better than anyone currently working for us. If you are to reverse engineer their understanding of the future we need you have all the information we possess."
John frowned, then put down the datapad.
"Fine. I'll bite. If we agree what we're doing is to defeat Chaos and protect as much of humanity as possible… I'll work with you to make it happen."
"That is all we have ever done John. To nudge the future in the right direction. One small subtle action at a time."
John looked down at the datapad, then around at the other Alpha Legion warriors and their large imposing boltguns.
"Why me?" he asked, "You captured many other Cabal agents, why recruit me? Why bring me into your operation?"
"Frankly, John, because you are human," said Alpharius, "Very few of the Cabal agents we encountered were human, you were the only one we could take alive. You approach the problem of Chaos from a human viewpoint. You wouldn't object to working with the Emperor if you felt it was the best chance of defeating Chaos. And maybe it will, maybe it won't. But we believe more can be achieved by you working with us, provided your cooperation is willing."
John began to pace back and forth, for the first time in years a new spirit of motivation filled him.
"Well the first question is who the new Warmaster will be instead of Horus. A lot of future decisions will hang off that. I'll need to reach out to the Cabal again by the time that happens because their plans will begin to evolve from that choice."
All the Alpha Legion Astartes glanced at each other. John stopped pacing.
"What, what is it?"
The current lead Alpharius picked up the datapad and showed it to John.
"A new transmission came in this morning. A message from Terra. A new leader appointed… for the Great Crusade. Sanguinius… has been appointed the title of Warmaster."