Chapter 43, 9 Legions, 7 Primarchs, 1 Emperor
M30. 870
Tanya Russ
Well, a family get-together. Not something I had expected to experience for a while yet, but I was glad to finally be having it, even if it had only seemed to be introducing me to people I already knew.
After the battle on Zunnion with Mortarion and the shocking revelation that I had misjudged information about them, I had to follow the orders of the Emperor and come with my "brother" to the world of Xana II. It had been the siege hold point for the line for a while now and had been involved in the first Rangdan xenocide. It was a Mechanicum forgeworld and was supplying quite a lot of equipment to this war effort, as well as trying to rebuild itself. It was also supplying quite a bit of infantry, as well as Skitarii and other elements of its military, which were being deployed across the front line now that the planet was secure.
They made up a good portion of the command staff invited to this get-together and were supplying, of course, the meeting hall for the heads of the nine legions involved in this conflict. Not a bad meeting hall, to say the least. It reminded me a bit of a convention center. Perhaps it had been one at some point. It was large and had plenty of room for not only the oversized chairs that were needed for our meetings, but plenty of room for command staff from every legion to crowd around their commanders as they listened to the conversations. There was also room for several other command staffs, Imperial Navy forces, Mechanicus representatives, and so on and so forth.
And that was just in the head area where the conversations were supposed to be held. They had opened up a large, what could be best described as a hangar area, connected to this meeting room so that the legions at large could watch the conversations that were allowed to be watched in the open. Seemingly, if there was anything private or something that needed to be kept quiet, they would close those doors and we could have that conversation. But it was an easy way to keep average soldier's invested. Also, it was an obvious propaganda tactic, allowing the men to see not only the Emperor but their commanders all meeting and talking and having a good time. It would improve morale because if they weren't worried, why should they be worried? It was a simple tool, but hopefully would be useful. As for the current arrangement, it was interesting to say the least. The meeting area was arranged in a U-shape, and of course, the Emperor was at the head of the table. Behind him was a raised golden banner of the Imperium, which was very eye-catching. And of course, he was in his tallest form possible, towering over most Primarchs and wearing his golden armor.
To his immediate right was the Lion, which said a lot about their efforts to ingratiate themselves into the Father's goodwill. Behind her was the Dark Angels' insignia on a black banner. She was wearing the black armor that I had first met her in and had her hood up, hiding most of her face except her eyes. It seemed she was studying every Primarch in the room, judging them to a degree that I did not understand. Perhaps I had just not noticed it before, but I now realized that their armor wasn't exactly feminine in nature like mine. If they hadn't revealed their identity quite as quickly as they had, I probably would never have guessed that they were a female Primarch. The white and green cloak that was over their armor did a good job of hiding that nature, and the front plate wasn't well-designed for accentuating their breasts.
To the Emperor's left was the leader of the Custodians, Constantin Valdor. His face was hidden behind the long helm of their order, and behind them was another golden banner with a slightly different emblem but still the insignia of the Custodians.
That made the situation quite clear in my mind: the Custodians and the Dark Angels were taking the lead on this operation. They were the hands of the Emperor, and everyone else here was just a man in line for this situation.
Understandably, the closest planet to the Rangdan was the Lion's, so they should probably be spearheading the defense of their home world and the region around it. Granted, my planet was not that far away past that point, but it was dangerously close.
Anyways, past that point, there were three Primarchs on either side. I was sitting directly left of Constantin Valdor. My armor shone at its best, and the ice generator was turned off. I didn't want to freeze out the friendly gathering behind me - the emblem of the Wolves of Fenris, nothing too serious, just a wolf head looking to the right, as if snarling at the enemy.
To my left was Perturabo, whose gray armor had seemed to grow bulkier as the years had gone by. When I first met him, it had been just a standard suit of power armor. Now, it looked closer and closer to Terminator armor, which was starting to become the standard in every legion, especially since they seemed to serve well in clearing out the hives of the bioforms. It apparently also added some sort of yellow and black caution symbol to his legion's coloration, as it took up the corner of parts of his armor. Was that some sort of joke about needing to take caution around the Iron Warriors? They did have a tendency to get a little bit eventful if someone took things too far.
It was hard to say, but like every other legion, his emblem was sitting behind him.
To his immediate left, of course, was Khan, wearing his splendid white armor and observing things carefully. The symbol of his legion was probably displayed on the banner behind him as he sat there.
To the right of the Lion was the Primarch of the Second, Nobunga, wearing his black and purple armor with an obvious reference to the Oda clan symbol behind him. He seemed to be enjoying his position as he listened in on a conversation between the Lion and Luther. Being so far away, I couldn't hear it, but it sounded like they were discussing something about an operation that had gone wrong.
Past the Primarch of the Second was Mortarion, who was doing a good job of appearing as a slim but tall Primarch. Again, if I hadn't been informed through events, I would not have suspected that they were not as they appeared, as their armor did a darn good job of not giving it away. But anyways, the symbol of the Death Guard was plastered on the wall behind them, seeming to be a decision that everyone would have their symbol, so nothing too new to the situation.
And past Mortarion was the leader of the Imperial Fists, Dorn, who was observing the conversations as level-headed as anyone should be in the situation. His armor was not here. Apparently, he had come only wearing a rather simple shirt and pants, which could say something about how much trust he had in his family. If you ask me, it could also mean that everyone just assumed we had to wear armor as the Emperor would wear his armor, but we had a choice in the matter, and he knew that. I would have to poke around in his mind when I got a chance to see what he knew that I didn't.
That was it for the Primarch legions, but there were two other legion officers at either end of the table representing two other legions involved in the conflict. Next to Dorn was a man wearing near black. He appeared to be a member of the Pale Wonders Legion or the 19th, as I have been informed, and had simply been in the area when the conflict fired up. When they weren't acting as a tactical force for the Lunar Wolves, it appeared that the legion was mostly used as a guard force, and they just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.
Their commander seemed rather quiet, and it was possible that he was feeling the effects that I had heard described when a Space Marine was around a Primarch - a need to follow and listen. It was an odd thing to think about that a Space Marine may have some sort of compulsion just to listen to me. It was a bit infuriating for my libertarian bones. The idea that I could tell someone to do something, and they would just do it, not because they respected me or wished to follow authority, but because they were compelled to by some sub-psychic link was concerning, to say the least.
Not only was that a treading on their human rights, but there was just something about it that screamed this could go wrong, this could go very very wrong. The fact that people would follow my orders just because I was near them was concerning on one hand, but what if that subconscious link goes the other way? What if someday they expect me to do something so thoroughly that my mind actually is forced to do it? Say they expect me to murder a warboss, so I just do it because my mind is being told to, because there are so many smaller minds somewhat connected to me at that time.
Granted, I may be overthinking things and it may not be that connected, but it is a concern. It was brought about because I fear entities claiming to be gods having control over me. Why should I not fear having control over others? After all, I am not a fool. I looked into what my people were doing, and though there was no organized religion on Fenris, there was a scattering of beliefs that had definitely coalesced into a belief that I was some sort of demigod, while the Emperor was possibly a representation of the Allfather.
So, putting it that way, am I not a demigod controlling the lives of those beneath me, no different than being X in his attempts to try and control me?
Hopefully not. Hopefully, the fact that I was concerned with it was a sign that I would not fall into the same traps that Being X had fallen into with his control over life, and hopefully, I would never attain as much power as he did.
Finally, past the Khan, was the last Legion Master of the 11th. He, too, was quiet, and his face was hidden by a cloak not too dissimilar to the ones Mortarion and the Lion wore. Though, being that he was of an average Space Marine size and had not introduced himself as a Primarch, I could very well assume that he was not hiding a gender under that cloak; they simply liked to wear it. Their symbol was odd, to say the least. It was white and black, and they seemed to have an emblem of a crown. I think there's something odd about it I couldn't exactly put into place. Their Legion was also suffering from one of those name issues that the Second seemed to be going through. It seems that they have taken up the name Lawbringers, though they had officially been named the Crown Authority, and they hadn't really got that situation sorted out yet.
I was not the best judge of what made a good name, but it was a hell of a lot better than the Flying Castles name that Nobunaga had been left with.
That was all of these Space Marine contingents currently detached to this war effort, at least the ones that were going to be participating openly. There might be more; hard to say how bad this war would get. There were two other seated positions. To the extreme far right were the Forge World's Mechanicus commanders, who were participating, and to the extreme far left were the naval and army contingent commanders. They weren't important to this meeting, though they were providers of information and receivers of orders in the grand scheme of things.
All of us were here, but the meeting hadn't started yet. We were allowed a moment to get to know our nearby seated companions and talk to them, learning about what they knew of the situation before we were told to present our thoughts openly.
Whatever that information was I would find out when they got to work. But the table was not empty; the legions had all brought their own special supply of important foods from their home worlds. Apparently, the kitchens were working overtime to produce meals for everyone here and out in the open arena that was viewing this conversation. Not only that, but I had to empty a good portion of my alcohol and coffee reserves, as those were all in short supply, it seemed. If only I could save room by combining both… Actually, could you combine coffee and alcohol? That was something I would have to ask the brewers back at Fenris when I got a chance.
Yrsa of Tra stepped up next to me, holding a cup of coffee and putting it down on the table. I gave her a nod of thanks before picking it up and sipping it, watching my brothers and secret sisters with a disinterested glance, taking in what I could learn about their current opinions of each other as best I could.
The things I noticed real quickly were Perturabo giving Dorn an evil eye. But I suspected I had a feeling I knew what happened there - the story about the siege of one world that got out a little bit out of hand, especially how Perturabo had had an artwork destroyed because he felt it was insulting to his men who suffered for the victory there.
It was a bit of a dick move, I will admit, but it was understandable. Perturabo had been one of the main contributors to the victory there, and somehow, Dorn had taken most of the credit for the victory through the artwork. Now, I had never seen the artwork myself, but I'd been told it had been unflattering by Perturabo, so I was going to believe him. I would have to talk to Dorn when I got a chance, see if there was a bit of the story I didn't know, and maybe tell him to be a bit more careful with Perturabo's feelings in this sort of situation.
As for the rest of the Primarchs, I didn't notice any outward emotions towards each other. Perhaps they hadn't had much chance to talk before. Perhaps this was their first meeting in a few cases? I guess I would have to poke around when I had the chance and see if I could learn more about them.
Any further thoughts on that, though, were put to a stop as the Emperor stood up from his seat, towering over everyone as he cleared his throat, holding up a goblet of what I think was Fenrazian, although it could have been something he brought from Terra.
"Welcome, my children, to our first large family meeting, as it were," he said with a smile before continuing. "There have been a few other large campaigns that have happened, but none that have needed seven primarchs before. Oh, I imagine several of you will cycle out before this campaign is done, and several more will cycle in. It is good that you are all here, as these Rangdan creatures are proving to be a threat to humanity that I had not fully seen or understood. As a result, we must deal with them harshly, for they seem to have technologies that target the very soul of humanity, both our physical bodies and minds. This cannot be allowed to stand. We must push these Rangdan out of the galaxy proper, as far as the Hollow Stars, or completely destroy them. Either would leave us in a better position than we are today."
"Here, here," a majority of the table said, celebrating the idea of genociding an entire race from the galaxy. I just nodded my head in agreement and sipped my drink, still not a big fan of what needed to be done. But if that's what needs to be done, I would do it, not because I wanted to, but because it needed to be done. And you don't celebrate what needs to be done; you just do it.
If these creatures and their works needed to be executed, I would not feel good doing it, simple as that.
The Emperor continued, "Now on to the problems at hand. These Rangdan have been pushed back, thanks to the efforts of your nine siblings, and that is a good start. But we need to keep that push going. If they are given the chance to bog us down, they will hold us down in an endless war of attrition. So, I ask, do we know the homeworld of these creatures, and can we eliminate it quickly enough that it would be worth considering its removal?"
The Lion stood up and said, "We have an idea of the general direction. I'm afraid nothing about their homeworld for sure. We've been asking the Mechanicus to investigate some of the wrecks of their ships we've managed to capture, to see if they can find any evidence of their space charts. But they seem to have a good idea that operational security is important. They keep their secrets well hidden, and what ships we have captured seem to also have a self-destruct on Intel when the ship becomes inoperable."
"Hmm, an ominous thing for this race to do. Makes them even more of a threat, assuming they'll figure out where Terra is soon enough. The secret of that location has long since been out. We must act quickly to secure this frontier and prevent any crossings, as to prevent the Rangdan from launching any surprise attacks on the homeworld."
"Father," Dorn spoke up, "if you wish, I can have some Imperial Fists redeployed from Necromunda to Terra and increase the defenses of the Throne World and shore up any gaps on the Imperial Palace."
"Hmm, yes, that would be a wise move, I think. The Imperial Palace was built to defend the imperial structure of the Empire from the savage techno-barbarians of the plains. Its uses have not been in full effect for nearly 80 years. At this point, it is probably about time that soldiers who have had battle experience fighting on the front lines take a look at its defenses. Again, your men are most welcome."
If I hadn't noticed the glare from Perturabo, I might not have done what I did. But I did notice it and realized that Perty did not like the idea that he was being left out. After all, he was a current master of siege warfare understanding and probably knew more about defending the structure than most realized. With that being known, I slightly kicked his shin, causing him to stand up and lowly mutter 'Ow,' causing the Emperor to look at him.
"Is there something you would like to add to this statement, Perturabo?" He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, not sure what to say. But I gave him a look and a nod, and he finally seemed to get what I was getting at.
Coughing, he said, "The Fists are extremely good at holding a position, Father, but my men are extremely good at taking a position. Perhaps some of my men should be sent from my home world, Olympia, to the Imperial Palace to advise on the construction of these new defenses as well."
The Emperor nodded for a moment and thought before saying, "Hmm, yes. Your planet is well-protected in its position from this conflict. Taking a few hundred men from its defenses and redeploying them to the Imperial center would not cause any issue. You have permission to send orders to do the same. Any help is well and truly needed, and you are right. You and your men have seen some successful sieges in their time."
Perturabo smiled for a moment at the praise before saying, "Thank you, Father. I will do as I offered," before sitting down. It was rare to see him smile but rather nice.
Before I could get into any other thoughts, Khan spoke up, saying, "Representatives of the Pale Wonders and my own units have been working to explore deep behind enemy lines, trying to find any indication about where these Rangdan are coming from. We have found some evidence that may help us discover the location of their homeworld."
The Emperor nodded and said, "Continue then. What have the Pale Wonders, the White Scars, determined?"
"Past the frontier of Hollow Stars is what is known as the Labyrinth of the Night. It is believed to be a series of several black holes and warp storms causing unsteady areas in space and making it nearly impossible to pass through. Said labyrinth is in the region we are looking at as a possible homeworld for the Rangdan or, at least, the closest link to their homeworld."
"We believe the Rangdan are coming out of the Labyrinth of the Night. It should not be possible as the labyrinth has never been fully charted and is often host to minor warpstorms in between the black holes, already disturbing the region."
"A naturally created fortress, one of the worst types of problems, and bearing a similar name to a feature on Mars, wonderful," Emperor said, leaning back and thinking before continuing, "Have all the data on this labyrinth of the night transferred to me. I will see if I can figure out anything more about it. If they are coming out of it, there must be some type of entryway and exit, and if we can gain control of that, we can seal up the Randan. We can prevent them from committing the atrocities they are currently committing across humanity, and eventually deal with them permanently."
"It will be done, my Emperor," the Khan said with a nod before taking a seat.
The Primarch of the Second spoke up, "Have we had any confirmation on exactly what they're doing to the civilian populations under their control? My men have been finding strange artifacts of something horrible going on, and I would like to be able to tell them that what they think is going on is not true, but I'll be frank, what I have been seeing worries me to some degree further."
The Emperor nodded his head and said, "Yes, I've seen the reports, not only from your legion but every legion. Even the speculation, I don't like the speculation either, not only because it assumes things that we don't know yet but also paints a very hard picture about the fate of humanity if these Rangdan win, which is another reason we must not let them."
"But that being said, I've had the reports and evidence sent forward to the Mechanicum here on Xana 2, who's in charge of their biological division and given them full ability to investigate this species and find out exactly what is going on." He pointed to the Forge World Mechanicus part of the table and said, "What have we learned about these creatures and what they are doing to humanity? What should we be worried about?"
A red-robed figure - I couldn't tell if it was male or female - stood up and spoke in a rather mechanical tone that wouldn't help me figure out their gender either way. They simply began with a shake of the head and said, "The Rangdan are monsters."
"That's very compelling," a Marsi Priest said, sounding bored.
The Mechanicum individual looked at the martian before saying, "Perhaps I'm understating it. They have defiled the holy gene sequence of humanity, and they've been doing it for a long time."
"What do you mean?" the Emperor said, eyes fixed on the Mechanicus individual.
"I mean, my Omnissiah, that the humans of the region are under control of the Rangdan, even if they don't know it yet. We have been investigating how long they have been making moves in this region, and it seems that they have been on a rather excellent effort to try and assume rule of the region for a long time. Something like a thousand years, they've been working to bring these planets under their control through one means or another, and it would seem they've had a plan to get rid of humanity the entire time."
"For my efforts of decoding the DNA of the individuals in this region and the bodies found across said region, I believe the Rangdan have been genetically modifying the people of this space to be able to be triggered through the use of a yet unknown device or pathogen, turning humanity into those bioforms, as we've been calling them, monstrous creatures that fall under their control easy enough. There can be no mistake; they are falling under their control. We believe that they are psychically linked to some extent, making a rudimentary human hive mind out of those who have fallen to these DNA modifications."
"Monstrous does not even begin to explain that," Valdor said, standing up. The Emperor raised a hand, and he sat back down as he seemed to think things over before saying, "How many worlds have they infected with this DNA modification?"
The Price of the Mechanicum thought before saying, "Anywhere from 14 to 18 systems are under suspicion, my Lord. All 18 systems that have had trade with the Rangdan at one time or another. If we assume that every single one of them has been infected, it is likely that all 18 systems can be triggered at any time and remove the human race from the planets, leaving nothing but the bioforms of the Rangdan that they can use for soldiers to fight us at any point."
Mortarion spoke up then, "This DNA modification, how was it inflicted on these 18 systems, and should we be worried that it can be used on populations outside of this contamination?"
"It's hard to say how these modifications were implemented. It could be as simple as the foods they were sending having CRISPR types of genome editing viruses on them, or maybe they even convinced the population to accept the vaccines for viruses that came from Rangdan without testing. We don't know how or when they could have been implemented, but it's probably been in the works for a long time. As for whether they can use this against our Imperial army and other elements of the human race, it's possible. We have yet to find any evidence that anyone not from those regions who were already infected with this virus has the chance to be turned into a bioform, but it doesn't mean they aren't working on it in their own laboratories."
The Emperor nodded, saying, "This just makes the decisions on what needs to be done clear. We are in this for the human race. Then if the Rangdan win, they can distribute this virus across the galaxy, reducing humanity to nothing but an animalistic hive mind under their control. Maybe we'll be able to pull ourselves back from that, but I doubt that. So we must destroy the Rangdan and their works and prevent this contamination from spreading outside the sector."
"What do you mean by that, Father?" the Primarch of the Second asked, looking a bit sheepish as he said, "The contamination is people, people who have done nothing wrong and could well serve the Imperium."
The Emperor looked apprehensive, seeming not sure what to say, so I spoke up, suspecting I knew what he meant.
"If we cannot clear this infection, this virus, from the DNA of the humans in this region, we must either activate this RNA converter being stored in these humans so we can get rid of the problem and allow this region to be repopulated or find some way to remove it."
The room fell absolutely silent as I spelled it out for everyone, "Genociding 18 systems, removing the humanity from them, and cleansing them of life. That's our best option?" The Primarch of the Second said, standing up from his chair and looking at me in shock.
"It's not the best option, it's the only option," I said with a shake of my head. "If the Mechanicum can't find a cure," I said, looking at them.
The Mechanicum tilted their heads before saying curiously, "It's possible, it will take time. However, these viral changes are deep in some of these systems. It may be impossible to clear them completely. It is frankly a better task to spare these infected the fate that awaits them, destroy their homeworlds as they remembered them before they are reduced to the creatures that the Rangdan would leave them as to fight us."
The Emperor of Mankind nodded his head as he said, "As I feared, the Mechanicum may have as much time as they need to try and perfect a cure. However, if it becomes apparent that when the war is over, I'm afraid the only option is to either permanently quarantine these planets to prevent the spread of these DNA changes throughout the galaxy or destroy the humans on the planets and start anew."
"If we destroy the Rangdan, doesn't that clear this all up? After all, if they're not there to activate the DNA trap, these humans are no different than anyone else in the galaxy," Dorn asked.
"That's the problem, though. They are no different from anyone else in the galaxy. If they are allowed to spread throughout the galaxy, they would spread this DNA trap to the rest of humanity. And what's to stop some other race in the future from figuring out how to activate it? Secrets are hard to keep from an enemy, and if stubborn enough, they will figure things out. Imagine the entire Imperium having to fight off some enemy intent on causing us harm while also having to fight off internal rebellions of bioforms because they've activated hundreds of thousands, if not millions or billions of individuals across our worlds, and they're just spreading it," Perturabo said with a shake of his head. "It's an ugly thing, but the Emperor and Tanya have made the point clear. If we can't get this situation under control, it may be worth considering the complete extermination of these sectors to save the rest of humanity in the future."
"These Rangdan have created the perfect plague," Mortarion said with a shake of his head. "It will not only turn a person into a biological monster but can create more simply by eating people it once knew. This is a tyrannical, evil species if I ever saw one."
The Emperor nodded his head before finally saying, "For now, we will simply engage them as far as we can. Unfortunately, it seems likely that in order to fight our way to this labyrinth, we will have to go through some of those systems that they have contaminated, and those systems will likely be converted into bioforms to stop us, making the fighting there harder."
He shook his head before saying, "What of the other rumored weapon they were using? I'd heard reports that there was a belief that they may be using some sort of mental control on humans."
The Mechanicus member nodded before saying, "That was a very confusing time during the start of the war. We believe most of these reports were simply generated as a misconception due to another threat in the area that we are keeping an eye on, a psychically inclined race that we are not exactly on friendly terms with. However, they are very uninterested in expansion and can wait. Though, it is possible that maybe a few of these psychically inclined races are mercenaries, which could explain some of those reports. If true, then they probably have a generally good idea of the front line before them."
The Emperor nodded his head. "That seems probable. They will most likely attempt to use that information to try and weaken our line in some way. Tell me, the Mechanicus has quite a few machines. Have they run any theoreticals on how long this campaign will take to clear out these 18 systems and remove the Xenos taint from this side of the Galaxy?"
The Mechanicus was silent for a moment before clearing their throat and saying, "Best estimates, if we have things go perfectly, 20 years in total."
That seemed to have upset many people as the crowd, which had been murmuring lowly to this point, went quiet, and the Primarchs all had their own individual reaction. Perturabo leaned forward, Dorn knotted his brow, the Lion seemed generally interested, Khan shook his head, and the second seemed to be perplexed. Mortarion was the only one sharing my reaction of "well, it was bound to happen sooner or later" and seemed unfazed.
"Twenty years? A campaign that long for seven Primarchs? Have your machines been calibrated correctly?"
"The machines have been calibrated perfectly, though the fact of the matter is, it's believed that the seven Primarchs listed will not always be here. Calculations indicate that it is very likely that some Primarchs will shuffle in and out of this campaign before it is over. Dorn will most likely be the first to go, called away since he has so many fronts that his forces are involved in. Khan will most likely be the next. Your forces are wide-ranging and integral to finding pathways for humanity. It is unlikely that you will stay here longer than 3-4 years."
"After that, it is a testament that either the second or Mortarion will leave, though it's unsure what will cause said leaving. The percentage guess is that one of you will leave due to a conflict bringing you closer to your home worlds, forcing you to re-establish control in that area. Since it's likely you will be better suited to defending your home territory."
"The Lion, Russ, and Perturabo are estimated to be the most long-lasting members of this crusade. Though calculations believe that Perturabo will eventually have to step out. He has many forces engaged as well, similar to Dorn across the central part of the Galaxy. A named buffer zone around his homeworld, he is most likely to run into something that will draw his attention and force him to take a portion of his legion away, leaving only experts to continue this fight."
"For those calculations, we have also determined that the optimal number of Primarchs for this operation is probably no more than three or four at most. Since Russ and the Lion's homeworlds are in danger in this sector of space, it makes sense that at least two of those spots are already filled. Who will stay is only a matter of time."
"Hmm, so your computer is basically saying that the start of the war is going to be hard, but eventually, we will get over a hump, and only half the amount of troops that are currently on this front, when it comes to Space Marines, will be needed to continue the fighting."
"Yes, exactly. It is likely that Primarch Ferrus and Primarch Fulgrim will also play a role in this combat. Ferrus's homeworld is in this region as well and by some estimates closer to Rangdan homeworld than anyone else's planet in this region."
"Ferrus who?" I said, not familiar with that name. I heard, though, a rather resounding slap, and looking to my side, I quickly saw that the Emperor had facepalmed.
"Years of dedication to making sure that names don't leak, undone by a simple Mechanicus. Haha, that's rather amusing," he said, his voice having silenced the Mechanicus before they even spoke. Then he sighed and said, "Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the 10th Legion, the Iron Hands, and Fulgrim, Primarch of the 3rd Legion, the Emperor's Children. They're thick as thieves and tend to work together quite a lot, so it makes sense that if one were to get involved in this operation, the other one would as well."
I nodded my head, noting those names in case I came across them. I was somewhat familiar with the 3rd and the 10th Legion stories. After all, I only got censored, not prevented from reading reports. The 3rd had some sort of gene-seed issue that had led it to be quite diminished for a long time, almost on the levels of my own Legion before it ran into their Primarch, and they've been slowly rebuilding instead of hitting the ground running like I had. The Iron Hands, on the other hand, came out of the Unification Wars in a much better position and served well within the Imperium. I've seen several reports that indicated that they were extremely good at anti-armor operations, specifically ones where they had time to set up and prepare the battlefield in their favor. So far, we haven't seen anything that would be warranting such weaponry, though the bioforms, for the most part, were Space Marine-sized, besides a few of the bigger variants. But no real machines of war, though I had heard reports that the Orks that have been serving under them as mercenaries probably had some stuff, nothing massive like had been seen during the Ring of Fire campaign in a few places.
Shaking his head, the Emperor said, "Well, there are still plenty of other siblings you've yet to meet. I'm sure you'll run into them sooner or later."
"Can I raise the point that this whole "we don't get to know each other's names until we meet each other" bit is stupid, Father?" Perturabo said with a shake of his head. "I understand the idea that we are trying to have an unbiased meeting with our fellows, but let's be fair, the Imperial Administration is doing a terrible job of making sure we have an unbiased job. Every time I look at the news, I see more reports about how the barbarian Russ has overwhelmed another barbarian kingdom and forced them to submit. And let's be fair, Tanya may enjoy a good fight and love her alcohol, but she's no barbarian. She's just a Primarch like every one of us."
The Khan of the White Scars nodded his head in agreement, and that was kind of a good feeling, having a few people back me up on being not a barbarian. Thank goodness. That's, I mean, Astropath was slowly starting to stop doing that as much, but it seemed it was still doing it in areas I was not fighting. Perhaps they were simply just trying to hide the fact they were still using it as a propaganda tool.
I came in and said, "This is a good point, Father. Though I have no complaints about the use of the barbarian title as propaganda, if it helps bring worlds into the Imperium without fighting, every person brought in without conflict is one less fight we need to deal with, after all."
Looking at me, the Emperor nodded his head before saying, "This is a good point, something I had not considered. What effect the attempt to keep your names hard to find amongst each other would have on the effect of the propaganda units and how they would officially use your names and such. Interesting, in unexpected ways."
"Hmm, I will not reveal the names of some of the Primarchs yet. I think you will meet them in your own time soon enough, but I think you do deserve to know the name of a Primarch that your actions helped find."
I raised an eyebrow at that before saying, "My actions?"
"Yes, your fighting in the Wheel of Fire opened up a trade way to the other side of the galaxy, remember? And at the other end of the side of the galaxy was the realm of Ultramar, a small little Imperium of 500 worlds, a good model for the Imperium in some aspects, and that was led by Roboute Guilliman, the Primarch of the Ultramarines, the 13th Legion."
"Wait, Tanya helped you find that guy, and she's never even heard of him yet? I would have figured the two of them would have run into each other rather quickly? I mean, it would have seemed to be the proper way to introduce each other, after all, don't you think?" Perturabo said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Well, maybe. But I've always wanted to meet you all on your own, one-on-one when I can, to better judge who you all are and how you will serve the Imperium."
"But I see your point. In the future, I shall endeavor to try and bring one or two of your siblings along to meet you if you are available," the Emperor said with a smile.
"That being said, we should probably get back on topic. The Rangdan, the newest threat to the Imperium, one that must be dealt with harshly. Now, I have a question that's been bugging me since we first started these wars: has anyone actually seen this xeno species?"
The Lion shook her head before saying, "Most I've seen is their Ork warriors and their human auxiliaries, which I wonder where these human auxiliaries even come from, considering what they're doing and their backup plans? Beyond that, xeno mercenaries seem to be the most common form of troop we've run into outside their bioforms."
"How do we know they are xenos?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
There was a pause before Perturabo said, "Well, of course, they are xenos. What kind of species would do that horrific amount of depravity to their own kind? A DNA trap that turns you into a monster."
I shook my head at that before saying, "I've seen what the Dark Eldar do to their own people. Assuming that we are better than the xenos when it comes to treating our allies and people we use for our conflicts is just going to leave us blind when we run into something."
The Emperor nodded his head and said, "This is a good point. The Rangdan could be a planetary name, not a species name. There have been plenty of multi-species named confederations we've run into over the years. For the most part, we've dealt with them as best as we could, trying to make sure that humanity is reunited. For the most part, these have only been one or two systems, nothing too big."
"But it is possible these Rangdans could be a multi-species confederation, which would explain how they know so much about humanity's genomes and are able to manipulate it so well. They could actually have humans as part of their little confederation, maybe even as a prevention so that they don't feel like they could be turned into bio monsters as well."
I nodded and said, "If that is true, then they might have the cure for what they've done to those 18 systems. We can find our way to their planet and capture it. Perhaps we could save those 18 systems from the fate they intend to unleash on them."
The Emperor nodded his head before saying, "Exactly. We must find their homeworld, and end this campaign, if we intend to save those 18 systems. Otherwise, we must conquer it and decode all their secrets and prevent any of this bioengineering that they are attempting from happening again."
"Your will be done, my Emperor," the Lion said, standing up and clasping a fist to her breastplate. "These creatures will be driven back, and humanity will be spared from them ever appearing again, be they human or xenos. They have forsaken their humanity and must be made to pay for it."
"Here, here," came the voice of the Mechanicus agent from down the table, followed by a bunch of other approvals as an agreement on the conflict was made.
What followed was rather mundane, really: a general outline of a plan to reinforce the line, find the enemy's positions, weaken them until we were sure that they could not forge attacks against us. In a slow advance, we would pull out forces once we were sure that they couldn't overwhelm us.
It was generally accepted by everyone that the Mechanicum's timeline was probably for the best. Twenty years to finish this thing off. It would be a long conflict and probably be another Wheel of Fire for a lot of these Legions, but it would be necessary, especially with the losses we've already been taking.
What the conversation had generally revealed was that my estimates on how much losses I had been taking were generally being felt by every Legion. We would have to kick up recruitment numbers to replace those that were lost, that was for sure. But once things were stabilized, the conflict could move on to crushing the life out of the Ruinstorm, and everyone was pretty much accepting of that being the ultimate goal.
From there, it became a rather interesting evening of drinking, eating, and talking. I was learning more about some of the other Primarchs and catching up with them all, trying to learn if there was anything I didn't know.
I did a quick check of the numbers at one point, factoring in all the Primarch names that I did know with the number he had said that had been found so far. That would indicate that there were only two other Primarchs, that I was completely unfamiliar with. Who those two were was still remaining to be seen, although I was intrigued at the possibility of trying to force a meeting. Now that I knew that I could possibly pull that off, I would have to wait until after the combat we were about to face. Either that or take a vacation mid-campaign. That was something I was unlikely to do, though. The Ruinstorm was a threat that needed to be taken seriously, so I would take it seriously. But as soon as we had this over, I'd probably go on one of my recuperations back to Fenris and see if I couldn't arrange to meet one or both of those other Primarchs. Or maybe more. I actually hadn't asked the Emperor if there were any new findings technology-wise. I think I'd ask him since I met Khan, which could mean there were others.
As I continued to drink, I decided that when this night was over, I would have to spend some time with the Emperor and see if I could dig up a bit more information on the situation. I wanted to find out more with him having loosened lips.
Tanya
"Of course you would believe the Rangdan are human. I know the Galaxy is full of bizarre and awful things, but that seems a bit of a stretch, don't you think?" Perturabo said as he continued to down Fenrisian ale to the point that I was sure he was near drunk.
The official meeting was over, and with the end of the official meeting and the sharing of food, we had broken off into smaller groups.
Me, Perturabo, and Khan were in one particular area enjoying some drinks and food surrounded by members of our command staff and sharing general knowledge of the situation.
Near the other side of the area, I could see Dorn and the Lion having some sort of conversation. What kind of conversation those two could have, I did not know. A man who was good with his lot in life versus someone who was obviously much more ambitious. Perhaps they were trying to secure a few of those Imperial Fists for their own siege operations just in case things did not go well?
Mortarion was off in another corner, being well, an absolute loner, trying to not be involved in the day-to-day operations that were being discussed and hanging with his own command staff.
The Primarch of the Second was having some sort of conversation with Constantin Valdor. What I would not know, but it seemed rather animated.
Those were the Primarchs I cared about; the other chapter leaders, I wasn't paying much attention to. The Pale Warden was near the Lion, and the Lawbringer was over by the Second, so I guess that if someone were to look at this situation as an example of cliques forming, those were the cliques.
Hopefully not. Yes, I understood that there would probably be cliques within a family, but cliques were a dangerous thing. If there was a very family fight, like the one which was brewing between Dorn and Perturabo, even if it was just surface level disapproving of the fact that Dorn overstepped a situation and took a little bit too much credit, this fighting could be a bad thing. Something I should work on with Perturabo, make sure he doesn't push too hard on this little argument they were having.
That being said, I've been asked a question, and I guess I should probably answer it. "Discounting anything is a mistake, brother. Assuming the Rangdan do not have humans as part of their collective is bound to lead to a situation where they use that against us. They probably already will as the Mechanicus is theorizing. They may have humans infiltrating our lines, either through psychic connection to some psychic race that they're paying or perhaps already members of their order."
"Hmm," Perturabo shook his head and said. "The galaxy is full of wonders and monsters, and these Rangdan are turning out to be a rather monstrous lot if they are willing to do that to their own brothers."
"Are they our brothers?" The Khan asked with a note of interest. "We found humans across the galaxy before with various tech tools and various ideologies. Assuming that they see us as their brothers is a mistake. Perhaps they only see humans that are from Rangdan as proper humans, and anything else is disposable, a tiered form of citizenship. We've run into some forms of that before, I believe."
Pertorado nodded at that before saying, "That's a good point, but to see them go that far, comparing them to the Eldar?"
"Assuming that we are better than our enemies is natural, but to assume that all of our species are better than our enemies is not. There's always going to be someone who's going to be a right bastard and an asshole who will push the boundaries of what we consider ethical. And sometimes, that is the right choice. If burning one world can save 100,000 others, you should burn the one world. But if we can save 100,000 without burning that one world, we should. That's what makes us better than our enemies, makes the Imperium the proper government to take control of the galaxy, and not something like the Rangdan and whatever designs they have on the Galaxy," I said, sipping my drink.
"'Designs on the Galaxy?' Do you think that these Raggodon have such lofty ambitions?" Khan asked.
I shrugged and said, "It's hard to say with anything certain, but let's look at the facts. A couple of thousand years ago, the galaxy was basically shared between the Human Federation and the Eldar Empire. The Eldar Empire destroyed themselves, creating the conditions that destroyed the Human Federation. This is what we like to call a power vacuum, and now the power vacuum is starting to be filled. The galaxy, we can assume, is big enough for two empires at most, though if we would like to have some security and make sure we don't have a situation like what happened with the Eldar, it would be better to have one empire. So, we can assume that every group of survivors from the Human Federation will have their own ideas on what humanity should look like in this new era."
"The Rangdan may not have officiated their designs yet, but they will sooner or later, unless we stamp them out. What those designs will entail, we can assume nothing good for humanity as a whole. If they view planets as easily disposable bioform farms, we can assume that they will do the same with every other human world and probably every other species as well. I think the only species that is probably going to be protected from this situation is the Orks. That's simply because the Orks are, well, fungus."
Perturabo nodded, then said, "That makes sense. If anyone can fight the galaxy for all time it would be the Orks, even with the efforts we have undertaken to completely eradicate them on several planets, they've popped up once or twice because of problems, even after they've been destroyed."
I nodded before saying, "The Wheel of Fire is still not clear of Orks. We destroyed the majority of them, yes, but they still have an occasional pop-up. That's why I still have about 100 Marines training in that little part of the galaxy and keeping an eye on the situation and supporting the Imperial Army and local defense forces when they move to eliminate the Orks there. I think we have to be pretty obvious in the one assumption: Orks are probably someone's ancient bio-weapon, and we will never really be rid of them."
"That's why you want to use them for your little efforts to fight other Orks, right?" Khan said with an eyebrow raised. "I've heard mention of the Orks that you have kept in your service by putting a defensive fleet in order to keep them from being able to leave."
I nodded my head in agreement and said, "Yes, and I think they might even serve well against these bioforms. At the very least, unleashing these creatures on plants that are already contaminated may neutralize each other enough that we can finish it off with fire if necessary."
"What about using exterminatus weapons?" Perturabo asked. "Wouldn't that be easier in a cleaner operation?"
I sighed before nodding in agreement. "Using something like a virus bomb or the like to clean a planet out would be easier, yes, but that has the unintended effect of destroying the planet. Unless we can organize a proper re-terraforming of the planet afterwards, we will be left with a burnt husk of a world with barely enough biomatter to start life over. It's better to do the job ourselves in most cases, what we were made for. Leave these world destroyers for when we come across something that we must destroy at all costs, something we cannot fight."
"So if the Rangdan develop a weapon that can convert Space Marines into bioforms?"
"We clean sweep every planet the Rangdan ever existed on," I said with a nod, "and make sure that nothing is ever heard of the Rangdan ever again. We cannot allow the weapons that are building this Imperium to be turned against it. The moment that happens, we're going to have problems building the Imperium's defenses as people will always wonder, 'Will they be turned into monsters? Will some gene seed flaw create a creature that is not even worth supporting?' That's why we need to make sure that the Rangdan don't progress in any of their objectives and do not capture any of our Marines."
Perturabo shook his head before saying, "Makes sense, but I do wonder: Will some Primarchs be able to deal with what needs to be done?"
Khan looked at him before saying, "What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I'm saying. If these people out here are contaminated beyond recovery and we do not find a way to undo what has been done to them, the safest option is to just activate their bioform conversion and finish the planets off one by one. Leave nothing here to fight over. I'm wondering if our fellow Primarchs are willing to do that?" He said, looking past me, causing me to turn my head and see he was looking at the Second, who had been a bit more verbose against the idea.
Shaking my head, I said, "Some people have good hearts and won't want to take part in this, that's as simple as that. If they can't do it though, they should be transferred out to another position where they're more comfortable before they become a problem."
"You mean to say if a Primarch is not willing to do what is necessary, you're going to ask them to be transferred?" Perturabo confirmed, and I nodded.
"Hmm, we're going to need to be careful not to hurt their feelings on that matter or do it in such a way that they don't realize that you're not considering them up to what's needed."
"I know how to handle people with issues, and I'll figure out how to get them to move on from this war zone before the final order comes down on what needs to be done," I said confidently.
"So if you're ordered to kill off the populations of the planets, you do it or...?" Perturabo asked, causing me to raise an eyebrow.
"Yes, it's not good that we need to waste human resources like that, but the fact of the matter is they're a dangerous resource now - volatile - and unless we can secure something to stabilize them, all we're doing is setting ourselves up for a problem. With those facts before us, there's no other option than to do it as necessary and remove the volatile population that could be used against us in future wars."
"I'm going to be honest, Sister," Perturabo said, shaking his head. "I can't see you doing that with the amount of slaves you've rescued from all across the Imperium, the number of times you've gone out of your way to fight for people. I just don't think you have the guts to bioreact a planet to save the population from turning into bio-forms, let alone order a complete execution of the population."
"That's a mistake you're making there," I said, shaking my head. "I rescue people because it helps with propaganda. I rescue people because it saves human resources. If those populations are infested as deeply as the Mechanicus claims, they're not a human resource; they're an enemy resource, an enemy resource that needs to be denied from being used by whatever method is most appropriate."
Perturabo looked at me, blinked once, and then said, "Remind me never to become your enemy." Then, he made a sound that sounded like he was unsettled before drinking down more of his alcohol.
Writers note: oh hey not lot action here but we got to do some interplay between large amount of primarchs, give some idea of general relationships what click there are and so on, i hope it came out good but only time will tell, i can say with some assuritery that was chapter that i thought was needed , and next chapter… was fun.
Edited by: L, Y1, Ernesto
Community edited by:Edwin Kang
Community editable doc (Chapter) No story suggestions in the community editing document, Keep all story suggestions and comments in the thread
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Reviews
For'Sleep 3rd, that is funny reffrences
Remus Torchwick: here here to that
Spartastic 4: i mean if he fixes him self might be problem,
evilstatistic19: here the next
Qinlongfei: my man, that lot to take in... one fulgrim clone rule what? never again, 2 oh dear god no, 3 kitten a different custodian
Anoynim: ah no worries just was not time for the 13 and 6 to meet yet
Guest: thank ya
end5: here the next
SomePervyGuy: ahhh universes apears to be broken but okay
Kadzuki Kurokami: most likly
Alphasdragon: thankya
Diametrik: ah i thought i fixed that in first chapters well plan to re edited this at some point in the furture
Diametrik: early chapter flaws