Authors note: May the Fourth be with you, Happy Revenge of the Fifth, and Happy Cinco de Mayo 'cause I'm Mexican, so why not?
I'm back once more, after a lot of problems and now due to this quarantine I've been busy trying to reconnect with the things that I love to do. It might be too late but I'll see this thing through. Thanks for your support and as always all feedback is welcome. Enjoy!
Disclaimer:
This story is a fan fiction of my own creation inspired by various sources. Both Darth Vader and Darth Sidious along with any Star Wars franchise reference belong to Lucasfilm, while all secondary characters, environment and locations belong to Games Workshop. I do not claim any ownership of the source material. This story was created for entertainment purposes and not intended to be linked directly to either the Star Wars universe or the Warhammer 40,000 universe official canons. All rights reserved to the respective owners.
My sincere thanks to George Lucas, Rick Priestly, Andy Chambers and all the people in charge of creating and expanding both of these fantastic universes.I hope you can keep fascinating and inspiring many generations to come.
I also appreciate all who collaborated in the editing of this fanfic with their reviews, shout-out to:
https/u/8428704/You-re-Normal-Sheevite
https/u/1515601/Mashot-Tito
https/u/8116872/SuperSaiyanDiclonius
https/u/5519409/Imperial-Briton
https/u/10115278/Dragon-lord-Syed-101
https/u/5023815/pedrorocamora102
HEMA (user)
and above all my readers. Love you guys.
41st Millennium: A Star Wars Story
By: Lewis II
Original Idea by:
YouTube (2018). " Could Darth Vader survive in Warhammer 40k?" Commissar Gamza: YouTube. From: /p0czd32HPQw
YouTube (2018). " Could Darth Sidious survive in Warhammer 40k?" Commissar Gamza: YouTube. From: /p0czd32HPQw
Logo by Lewis II, both emblems are property of Games Workshop and Lucasfilm
Chapter 9:
The tomb.
The blizzard blew strongly on the surface, as not even the bright moon could illuminate such a storm. Not a soul could be seen around the entrance of the snow covered entrance had been shut and the underground of the tomb shook as its guardians were now awakening due to the battle taking place on its maze of a structure. The walls resounded with the thump of bodies being slammed and debris crashing into them. It was the Inquisitor Vader against a new foe.
The warrior was flipped over and fell to the ground. He then extended his hand and pushed Vader with The Force. In an instant, both duelists started bashing each other, breaking the floor below them, using the broken walls as projectiles and punching through massive waves of air and dust. They floated off the ground and engaged with their weapons once more. The strikes were swift and smooth.
Alexyos and Captain Woodthorne fired at the incoming wave of insectoid robotic xenos on all directions. Alexyos sent waves of lightning through his hands as the Captain reloaded. The other golden warriors advanced towards them while they were blocking the incoming bolts with The Force.
Vader once more saw through the warrior's flawed technique and disarmed him. As he dragged him through the floor, Vader submitted him by putting both weapons to his throat. He then proceeded to ask:
"What is your purpose here, Jedi?"
"I am no Jedi!" The warrior yelled.
"Our ways are not of the light or the dark, for The Force is merely a tool for justice."
"Who has taught you this wisdom, then?" Vader questioned while putting a knee on his adversary's chest.
"Our beloved emperor Valkorion himself."
Vader let the power sword fall from his hand as he stepped back in disbelief.
A tremor was felt once more.
From within the dark hole, A massive being crawled out. Its numerous legs moved in endless waves, perforating any surface. Its massive body slithered while its whisker-like tentacles erratically hovered the ground. Its many eyes glowed with an unnatural green, moving erratically. It was a Necron beast, a Canoptek.
It let out an ominous squeal, combining both feral and electronic attributes.
The knight stood on his feet as he and his brethren started using The Force to contain the horrific being, pushing it to the cavern it came from. The monstrosity slithered its way through the attacks and fired a green beam, tearing through the small insectoids and sending the opposing parties on a sprint. The last one on the run was one of the golden warriors which was overrun by the insectoids and started to stab him as he fought back. His fellow warriors started to tear them apart and throw them away.
Vader recovered his sword and oined them. The once enemies managed to scare the smaller minions and yet, the large creature kept advancing towards the defenders and their alternated lightning barrages. Their attacks became more weary and decided to create a defensive field.
The Canoptek spat a beam of a certain kind that kept bursting through the Force barrier. One of the warriors faltered and the beam disintegrated him instantly. Their commanded nodded and they immediately retreated, carrying the wounded one on his shoulders.
The Inquisitor party followed the fleeing warriors and entered what appeared to be a barricaded section of the maze, shutting the improvised door behind them and pushing it as the insectoids crawled all over it and left.
Silence was once more.
The inquisitors were then at spearpoint, surrounded by the knights.
"Why have you come here?" One of them demanded.
"We are to be done with you and eliminate the Xeno threat, heretic!" Captain Woodthorne yelled, reaching for her weapons.
"How have you arrived here, knight?" Vader calmly asked.
"We have our means. Are you a Sith?"
"Yes, Lord of the Sith. My name is Darth Vader."
"It seems that the Sith empire is trying to invade new galaxies then…"
"The sith empire disappeared more than 4000 years ago."
"what? liar!" two of the knights shouted.
"Murlow!" the leader yelled.
"He is not lying, captain." The third one answered.
"The Holocron…."
"Is a Holocron here?" Vader sheathed his sword.
"There is. We were sent to retrieve it, two months ago. Fifty of us were sent, only 5 remained to this day. Four now, thanks to you. We almost succeeded once, but now our only fight is to contain these creatures and find a way out, as the maze keeps changing and our grasp on the force has been somehow maimed."
"If your affirmations are correct, it would be the first and perhaps only Holocron by which time itself has been distorted." Vader murmured.
"We can help you." Alexyos babbled.
"So, you can kill us later?" A knight pointed his spear at Alexyos' throat.
"Better to die with honor in a fair fight and not by the weapons of a Necron abomination." Woodthorne replied, pointing her previously holstered bolter pistol at the young knight.
"Tell your partner to stand down." The elder knight addressed Vader.
"She is my captain."
"I am sorry then, Milady. We will work together as long as you only attack us after we contain the threat and retrieve the Holocron".
"We share the same objectives… Fair enough." The Sister holstered her weapons.
The elder knight removed his helm, revealing a dark skinned man with a braided white beard. He extended his right hand in a greeting gesture.
" My name is Keth Tomla and we are the Knights of Zakuul"
"The Eternal Empire." Vader spoke to himself, as to confirm his suspicions.
"Captain Theodora Woodthorne, Ordo Xenos. Imperial Inquisition."
"This is our safehouse. The creature will not bother us here. Let us allow our men to rest while we come up with a strategy, Captain."
The Sister nodded.
The odd party then committed to rest and weapons maintenance. Some others assisted the wounded knight as their commanders started drawing a sketch of the maze and planned their next movement.
"The path reconfigures every two minutes. Our best chance is to stick to the outer wall and wait for a window of opportunity." A knight mumbled.
The chatter kept going for a while and then they returned to their respective parties.
They decided to attack in 20 more minutes as the Inquisitors agreed to share some of their rations. The groups ate and rested separated from each other, and Alexyos tasted little of the food to prove it was not poisoned. The three Inquisitors later sat against a wall, Vader refusing to eat.
"Do not forget this was your idea, Alexyos." The captain whispered to the Psycher as she sat between him and Vader to take a bite.
"Their emperor seems like a great leader for what I've inquired, bringing them up from nothing. Teaching them to use their gifts." Alexyos mumbled.
"It is just a coverage for Emperor Vitiate. They are only pawns of a bigger scheme." Vader replied
"They are not so different, then. In a universe full of lies, what can we do except have faith in whoever helps you?"
"They are still heretics following a false leader and you know it." The captain interrupted before swallowing her last bite.
"Their presence out of time is a proof of the damage that the ruinous powers have inflicted on existence. Am I not right, Vader?" She asked.
"I believe in The one true Emperor and will give my life for him. I believe in our Captain as well."
The repentant Sister frowned and clenched her fists, putting away her plate as her cheeks mildly blushed while remembering the embarrassment she felt moments ago, being mistaken as an underling.
Did she commanded no real authority by herself? Was she that irrational?
She then called upon the Servoskull resting on her shoulder and analyzed the recorded footage from the Tau scientists. Trying to find any symbol or clue, Vader by her side.
Alexyos started eating what little remained of Vader's ration in the meanwhile, ignoring his surroundings.
" If I may enquire, for academic reference, captain: How can a Repentant Sister of Battle not become a Sister Repentia?" Vader discretely asked with a severe tone.
"Who said I was not?" She grabbed the lower part of her face mask. Only then, Vader noticed the toren eyeholes.
" The armour is just a mere formality. I have not completed my sacred task. No matter where I fought, No matter how many Greenskins, heretics, Eldar or Tyranids tried to rob me of my life, none could do it. I retreated and was not allowed to die like my Sisters."
Vader remained silent.
"The Canoptek is awake, but why not the warriors? There has to be a reason. The symbol corresponds to the Mephrit dynasty. We don't have many archives for them, only what the Mechanicus provide. "
" An intelligence recollection should then be in order, Captain?" Alexyos asked followed by a giggle.
"Indeed, my Psycher underling."
Woodthorne stood up once more and picked her weapons. Vader and Alexyos did the same as the knights finished their meal.
The knights rose once again and took positions behind the inquisitors forming a diamond, with the wounded knight at its center.
The Sister of Battle then broke the silence:
"As we agreed, you take the high ground. We are the bait and keep the small ones off you, then turn the big one's weapons against his kind."
"Fair enough. Be ready, may the Force be with you."
Captain Tomla calmly answered.
"My sincere thanks. We shall resume our affairs later." Woodthorne stoically replied.
The knights nodded between each other behind the Inquisitors. Soon after, the party opened the door and trotted with a hasty pace.
The tide of insectoids descended upon them from every direction as they picked their pace through the ever changing corridors. The Inquisitor party and the wounded knight started to repel them as the knights kept running forward and lowered their bodies, as to prepare for a jump. They swiftly then climbed over the walls, running on their thin tops to assist their teammates. The Canoptek crawled out once more and readied to fire its weapon. The knights used The Force to hold it down while the ground party scattered, avoiding the possible beam. The creature fired and missed the shot, only to be responded by the inquisitors firing and cutting some of its limbs. The creature wailed in pain and could barely react when the wounded knight stumped on top of it. Vader tried to cut its armor but it was too thick. The Canoptek then slithered and tried to whip its tail, only to be received by Vader's shield.
Woodthorne fired her Bolter on a small gap between the creatures abdomen and tail, cracking the armor around it.
"The creature is hurt, now!"
The knights jumped upon the creature and used his lightsaber pikes to slash the wound open. Captain Tomla then thrusted his weapon and stabbed the creature. As it let a massive screech out, the creature fired its beam randomly as if desperate to repel its attacker, only to disintegrate its insectoid brethren. As the knights controlled the beast, the tide was drawn back as planned. The inquisitors rained lightning and bolter rounds on the remaining bugs. They pursued the swarm while the knights entered into a berserker rage and kept slashing the Canoptek's wound, tearing it apart.
The party looked at it each other in the eyes and realized there was a small glimpse of relief on the knights. They returned to their formation and kept advancing while the path reconfigured once more. They found one of the outer walls and raised their pace, hoping to find a clearer way by running along it. They ran into a dead end, turning around as if to expect an imminent attack. Suddenly, A path opened to their side, creating a corridor which led directly to the labyrinth's center.
They sprinted with all their might not knowing if the path would reconfigure once more. The party made it as the walls closed behind them into what appeared to be an enormous hall.
The hall was covered in half illuminated blue and red blood stains. Flickering lights and scattered lamps illuminated rows of what appeared to be sarcophagi laid in front of them, some surrounded by piles upon piles of dry corpses. Many of the graves were connected through cables and tubes to both human and Tau cogitators and machinery.
Nearby, a Tau corpse was guarding what appeared to be a drone of connected her Servoskull to it in order to extract as any useful information as possible. The skull projected an image on a wall nearby. It took a few seconds for Woodthorne to read the information gathered, but she could barely process it all as she kept moving to pick up the pace with the rest of her party. She then commanded Alexyos to stay behind and guard the entrance.
They kept cautiously walking deeper into the massive structure. The knights bent their knees the moment they found their dead brothers. Tomla then spoke out regardless if the inquisitors acknowledged him or not:
" This is as far as we have reached. We pushed through the swarming creatures before the big one was awoken."
"Was there any other big creature you recall?" Woodthorne asked while approaching the knights.
"No. But at this point, it would not be far fetched."
Alexyos guarded the entrance with his gun pointed upfront, as he remained on edge expecting anything. A voice made him flinch and forced him to move his head, seeing no one nearby. Still, the tone was easily recognizable. It was the Captain.
"Alexyos, I know you can hear me. There are not many psychers with this ability."
"Yes, Captain. Is something the matter?" He answered on his mind.
"The Xenos are part of the Mephryt dynasty, hence their symbol. I found a Tau drone with files talking about records of a Mephryt Berserker army. It's said to be strong and violent, even more than their own kind, and remained hidden as their secret weapon, which if unleashed would be out of control."
"Which is why they have not been awoken yet." Alexyos replied.
"If they wake up, even by accident…"
"Not on my watch. We must dispose of these warriors. Inform Vader."
"Yes Captain."
Vader and his Captain took the lead as they approached the hall's center. There appeared to be an altar with wide tubes on its base, going under the structure's floor. On the altar's top, a crystal dome flickered with red lights. The party approached the altar and a metallic hum echoed throughout the structure, putting them on edge. The knights took a defensive position and Tomla stood beside the Inquisitors. A series of symbols appeared on the dome, which Vader read out loud:
"He who be worthy of the power within, shall use The Force to unleash it."
As Tomla and Vader nodded to each other, they channeled their lightning towards the dome, making it crack and reveal intricate patterns similar to the ancient Sith symbols, until the crystal dome exploded into a fine dust. A small pyramid shaped object floated away from the altar, covered in red lights and thick fog. A torrent of green energy flowed from underneath it, as if it was feeding on the energy emitted by the Necron tomb itself.
The Holocron had been found.
With a twist of his fingers, Vader opened the Holocron, which then floated even higher and projected symbols and texts all around a red light sphere.
"What are we looking at, Vader?" Woodthorne asked.
"There are Sith edicts and… notes on...some sort of Force construct."
The Holocron suddenly flashed and the Necron energy torrent was abruptly stopped, leaving a powerful thunder and a clanking sound as if a machine had suddenly stopped. And in the midst of this confusion, someone yelled:
"Long live Emperor Valkorion!"
The wounded charged as he plunged his lightsaber spear towards Alexyos' back. In a swift movement, Alexyos avoided the stab, but was graced on his right side, burning through his robes, light armour and flesh. The pain of his wound injected rage into his lightning, which he discharged upon his attacker. The two remaining knights engaged Vader and Woodthorne while Tomla jumped away from the fight.
He then pulled the Holocron towards him via The Force and attempted to take it. The Holocron then sparked and unleashed bolts of red lightning on the elder knight, which then fell unconscious. A series of lightning bolts followed the first one and hit one of the connected Tau cogitators nearby. The channeled energy ran through the device and its connections straight into the largest of the sarcophagi, which illuminated with the same green lights as its lid was released.
The coffin opened and two emerald lights shined as the eyes of a fresh new horror. The creature stood up several heads above the party and resounded with metallic echoes. Its robotic body resemble a muscular warrior, with a green colored torso and grey limbs. its head reminded of a human skull with a golden crest adorning it from the back. A black and green emblem at its chest, depicting the dystany's symbol. It sported a massive warscythe and steadily moved into what appeared to be a combat stance.
"This is a Lychguard, right? Which means there are nobles here". Vader whispered while readying his battle stance and approaching his Captain.
"Better not to wake them up." Theodora hushed.
After killing the wounded knight Alexyos then ran towards the fight only to be nearly wounded by a new wave of red lightning, which hit other cogitators. In a blink, 6 new Necron soldiers had risen from their coffins.
Knights, Inquisitors and Necrons, they all stood on guard as to see who would make the first move.
Alexyos then received another message:
"Alexyos, fire on the Necrons, draw their attention at any costs, do not let them bring their brethren back to life, tell Vader to take on the knights, the Lychguard is mine."
"Yes Captain, Emperor be with you."
Vader broke the silence as he used both his ruby power sword and his Force lightning to confront the knights. He put himself between the warriors and expertly parried the lightsaber pike thrusts.
The psycher fired his bolter pistol towards the Necrons, zigzagging through the sarcophagi and using them for cover. He then unleashed more lightning on two of the Necron on his right, paralyzing them as they screeched with metallic echoes.
Woodthorne jumped over the massive Necron's first slash and slid through its legs, slashing and shootings them from behind. The Sister then jumped onto the creature's back and started carving a hole between its thick armor. The creature then twisted its left arm and grabbed her arm, launching her over its head and thudding her on the floor. She then stood back up, barely dodging the incoming slashes. As she saw the left arm coming back at her, she grabbed onto it and cut the Necron's hand off. The Lychguard then used its arm to fling Woodthorne and hit her once more against the floor, pummeling her body over and over.
Vader then disarmed one of the knights with the Force and decapitated him in an instant. Fueled by rage, the second knight charged at Vader only to be shot in the back and disintegrated by one of the Necrons. Alexyos then unleashed his lightning once more as the Necron Warriors charged on him. Vader did the same from behind.
Woodthorne could feel her arm battered and broken into many fractures. As the Xeno prepared its Scythe once more, she dropped her bolter and griped her chainsword tight while the scythe descended upon her. She closed her eyes, as to search serenity on the idea of her own death.
She then heard clanking metal and opened her eyes. The Necron remained static, he was being held back by The Force. Vader then jumped and cut off one of its arms dropping the heavy weapon. Both inquisitors then stormed over the Necron slashing and dismembering it as much as possible, Vader then crushing its core and head as to cut off any life left in it.
Vader then pulled the Holocron towards him and a shot caught Vader's attention, it was a blaster fired by Tomla, who regained his consciousness but was badly burnt and wounded, not even able to stand up. Captain Tomla then used The Force to fight the Necrons nearby, bashing them against the walls while Alexyos tried to land one of his bolts of lightning against the knight, only for him to change his mind and discharge them once more on the Necrons. Vader then disarmed the knight and smashed him through a nearby sarcophagus .
As the Necrons fell, Alexyos and his Captain emptied their bolter pistols on the Xenos, assuring they were a threat no more.
Vader then was able to retrieve the open Holocron but was once more interrupted by an incoming lightsaber pike and dropped the Holocron. It was Tomla. Vader then dodged the weapon and lifted the knight in the air while choking him. The Javelin flew backwards towards Vader only for him to catch it. The sith proceeded to stab the knight with his own weapon.
The moment the Holocron touched the ground, it exploded into beams of concentrated energy, covering the ancient Necron coffins and their connections. The entangled devices and foreign cogitators bursted into flames and exploded as well, leaving traces of fire to be picked up by the hundreds of corpses, which despite being rotten and dried, burned intensely and created a wildfire. The energy torrent underneath the altar also caught one of the energy beams and started a series of explosions which started to shake the structure as a whole. Alexyos fell and started panting in pain, since his wounds and his use of the Warp energy had finally taken a toll on him. Woodthorne grabbed Alexyos while Vader retrieved what appeared to reside inside the Holocron, as its remains settled down: 3 small scrolls and a reliquary of sorts.
The fire took over captain Tomla's still twitching body. Only Vader could read the knight's lips from a distance as he addressed him one last time:
"It seems we all failed. Goodbye, sith". Tomla whispered as life left his body.
An ominous thunder was heard, in a moment the inquisitors knew they had to leave the tomb. Vader carried Alexyos in his arms and opened and r Woodthorne ran in front of them to reach the elevator. The paths kept changing and the once clear lights flickered as they saw the out walls crackling around them. The inquisitors found the entrance, from where they saw the layers of ice crumbling and falling into the tomb. Woodthorne called the elevator and Vader opened the doors with ease. They all went up the elevator as they saw the tomb exploding and being sunken under the ice.
The Inquisitors walked out of the installations as Vader caused an avalanche to sepult the entrance and the station within. Woodthorne scouted the area from atop the hill and returned, while Vader checked the damage on his suit and on Alexyos. Vader then addressed his captain.
"If I may, Captain. Was it ever your intention to die?"
"I…"
The Sister took a deep breath and looked at Vader in the eye...
"My life is now not mine anymore. I now fight for the memory of those who I held dear, as long as the Emperor allows me. And to keep you maggots in check..."
Vader nodded and the team walked back into the town, now an Imperial Guard base,for extraction. Woodthorne stored the reliquary and the scrolls inside a small metal box while she observed it up close, it was both golden and transparent, with a small fragment of some device, glowing blue and with a small inscription in High Gothic, one which awakened more questions than answers…