Chapter Sixteen
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"Sanguinius. It should have been him. He has the vision and the strength to carry us to victory, and the wisdom to rule once victory is won. For all his aloof coolness, he alone has the Emperor's soul in his blood. Each of us carries part of our father within us, whether it is his hunger for battle, his psychic talent or his determination to succeed. Sanguinius holds it all. It should have been his…,"
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The streets of the Magos Biologis are a war zone as the Imperials defend it against the Tyranids that are starting to land their mycetic spores in the city. The Hive City is basically one big fortress due to the status of the planet as a fortress world and the Planetary Governor makes sure that the planet is defensible in almost every angle in the case of an invasion. However debris and smoke can be seen clouding the sky as the Tyranids trying to occupy parts of the city fight a losing battle against the roving forces led by Sanguinius against them. The Imperial forces, Astartes mostly from the Storm Heralds and the Angels Encarmine with their powerful armor and weapon-fire are far more superior than the troops that the Tyranids can bring to bear. Add the fact that there's a Primarch leading them and morale is at an all time high and they move through the chaos of the burning hive like a searing hot blade. With the sons of the Khan especially at the forefront, who specialize in mobile warfare, the Task Force being led by the Primarch is swift, accurate and are without mercy. Tyranids try to hold the territories they've overtaken in the hive but the Astartes' superior genetic makeup, strength and weapons give them the upper hand.
Sanguinius on the other hand, Primarch of the Blood Angels flies over the sky, his wings at the back flapping furiously as he weaves through bio-darts and psychic waves. He spots a Tyranid prime ahead, its large dome swiveling towards the advancing task force. He zooms at it like a cannon. The Tyranid Prime spots him approaching turning to face him instead of his sons. Sanguinius' muscles tense as he slams into the titan with a bone-crushing impact, the Spear of Telesto lodging on its throat. The Tyranid Prime flips crashing down the street and rolling like a drunk person. As it fell, it releases an acid round through the chaos flying through the air and burning into a nearby hive sending civilians flying as the tower crumples. Screams ring out briefly, the residents dying in the rubble before turning quiet as the hive fully crumples on itself.
Sanguinius lands on the burning ground, his ceramite clad boots taking in dust as he mournfully looks at the collateral damage before steeling himself as he levels his spear at the next strongpoint.
"Forward! For the Unity! For the Emperor!" his voice is like thunder, one of command and strength, an inspiration.
His sons and nephews need no urging as they surge ahead with a war cry, moving in strides and quickness that would have been impossible to mortal men. It is one of their plans after all, a mobile force that would not be overwhelmed by sheer numbers and would not be zeroed in by Tyranids and swarmed. They would be like raptors, tearing through the bigger prey one bite at a time and keeping the larger threat focused on them instead of the real threat that is being made in the Magos Biologis station.
The Task Force tear through the Tyranid scattered swarm with ease ripping through hormogaunts, gaunts and warriors like tissue paper, destroying Tyranid strongpoints with ease and freeing more of the defenders of the city to focus on something else. Sanguinius lets himself give off a small smile at the greatness given off by his sons and nephews. They are proving themselves truly indeed as worthy to be called the finest warriors of the Emperor.
He does not hold himself back. The true worth of a Primarch other than his strength of arms and his talents is to be a figurehead. Thus Sanguinius leads from the front where everybody can see him. Already the resistance to the Tyranid threat at Certi is increasing with the word getting out that a Primarch, the Great Angel has been revived and are fighting for them.
As it is he looks up at the distant roar of incoming bio-chemical fire.
"Tyranid Artillery,"
His enhanced senses pick up the whistling of the long ranged threat searing through the sky and the noise of bio plasma fire following it from Tyranid bio forms. His mouth sets into a stern line as he waves to the Astartes he's leading down below.
"Scatter!" he commands out, his clear voice carrying out through the sound of fighting and battle.
The Astartes moves in obedience quickly swiftly diving for cover or running away from the targeted area they are fighting in. Just in time too as a few seconds later, the air is full of green coloured explosions as the Tyranid artillery fire hits the ground. The entire hive block erupts in acidic flames, collapsing many a residence and dissolving pieces of rubble as smoke and fire leap to the sky. The heat from the acidic artillery Sanguinius can feel but he barely notices. His eyes instead soar to the artillery forms in the distance outside the hive. He gestures for his sons to continue their advance while he soars through the sky full of smoke.
Sanguinius can see fully where the artillery fire comes from and the Tyranid forms that cluster around the bigger Tyranids which looks more like cannons than animal itself. Without a second's hesitation, he dives towards the clustered group moving with the speed and precision of a diving eagle, claws out ready to catch its prey. He lands with a thunderous crash to one of the artillery bio-forms making it implode on itself upon impact, the force of his arrival sending Tyranids scattering and stumbling.
One of the warriors raised its bio rifle but Sanguinius is faster. The Spear of Telesto flicks forward shearing the weapon aside and cutting through it. With a simple movement of his wrist, it breaks into pieces. He launches himself at them spinning in the air like an acrobat, the Spear of Telesto severing necks, limbs and skulls leaving Tyranid dead broken on the ground. With the mob dead, it does not take long to take down the bigger artillery life forms which are oozing plasma alongside bio-fluid on the ground. He then returns to the city circling above like a hawk as he watches the siege of the hive city by the Tyranid forces. Despite their best efforts, the Tyranids are claiming more sectors faster than they can recapture the lost ones.
From above he can see some Imperial Guard company attempts to move to defend a sector only to fall against the numerous and more powerful variants of Tyranids that swarm against them. Sanguinius closes his eyes simply at the deaths and the bravery of such souls. He wishes he could be everywhere at once but he can't be.
In the distance through the gaps of the walls of the Hive City more Tyranids are pouring in, giant powerful ones rolling down the narrow streets, more warriors than gaunts or hormogaunts. Despite the sorrow and destruction, Sanguinius has to admit that the thrill of battle is filling him more and more. It almost reminds him of the fight against the Chaos Astartes in Thracia, only this time he's facing Xenos, an enemy which he is familiar with and more used to in killing.
He flies low, skimming the top of the hives as he heads towards another section where an enemy Hive Tyrant is found wreaking havoc among the buildings and the guard. It's head turns towards him in confusion at the sudden appearance of a flying giant human but Sanguinius is there in an instant. He slams his spear down on the head, piercing to the brain with enough force to cut through metal. The Hive Tyrant groans before crashing on the ground, unmoving. The Xeno is no match for him.
Sanguinius takes into the air again, his white wings a resplendent sight as he soars higher. Down below, the Space Marines continue to retake block after block from the Tyranid forces back. He watches them a moment, letting pride enter his heart at the sight. This is how humanity would survive, with strength of arms, grit, wit and putting their lives in the process to fight off a future where they do not exist.
"Lord Primarch, it is done," the sound of the vox in his ears makes Sanguinius pause mid-air. It is finally time.
"I will be right there," Sanguinius replies before voxing the Task Group he is leading.
"Sergeant Varis, our mission is complete. Re-route your forces to the Forge, I will follow not long after,"
"Are you sure of traveling alone lord father?" asks the Space Marine making Sanguinius smirk.
"Do not worry about me my son, I will take the highway of the skies and the Farseer Exodite will be with me. I will see you at the Forge,"
"Very well lord father," the Space Marine voxes out. Sanguinius spares a few moments watching the Task Force Group below change their direction from their next target to the Forge at the Hive, assure that they are on the way before flying back to the Magos Biologis building.
The building is big, a pyramid of plasteel and concrete just in the ways that the Mechanicus likes to build their structures. Sanguinius lands at the entrance. There is no fighting here, quite expected since Sanguinius has been drawing the conflicts away with his sons on the other zones of the Hive. As it is, he is met by Mira and members of the Cadian Tenth who are escorting a female Tech Priest, who then starts to fall on his face the moment she lays eyes on Sanguinius.
"Hail the son of the Omnissiah, worthiest of all beings and greatest of his works," she crows making Sanguinus' left eyebrow twitch in annoyance before he manages to school them.
"Is it done?" he asks directly not wanting the pomp and fanfare that the people of the Imperium seems hell bent on giving him.
"Yes my lord Primarch, we have manufactured the poison as you have requested and we have tested it with the fresh samples from the gene-pool. It is working my lord primarch," crows the Tech Priest.
"Will it work on a Bio-Ship though, the central hive of the Splinter Fleet?" asks Sanguinius.
"The poison is virus-based my lord and it will work by self-replicating itself using the Tyranid cells of this strain. I am afraid however that it can only be used once my lord since the other splinter fleets would surely adjust their biology to counter with anti-bodies this poison,"
"Very well, take me into it so that I can deliver it to the Forge," says Sanguinius simply making the Tech-Priest stand up from her face to the ground and skittering leads him inside the Magos Biologis building.
The first thing that Sanguinius recognizes is the freshly preserved specimens of different aliens in display, while others are being worked on by some Tech Priests. There are aliens of every kind, with some he does not even recognize. Some of them are even being dissected and worked on, countless samples being placed in crystal containers and set to float in some kind of fluid that the servants of the Mechanicum knows only what do. The female Tech Priest however leads him deeper inside to a more secured facility where they bypassed a set of metal doors leading to more labs and more specimens.
"The deeper we are, the rarer and the more dangerous the specimen is my lord," wheezes out the Tech Priest as they pass what seems to be a corpses of Tau Fire warriors being bisected and dissected by Magos Biologis Tech Priests. Sanguinius simply says nothing before they reach a lab covered by red light and where a single vial of yellow is at the middle. Elindra is also there turning to see who it is before laying eyes on him.
"You're late son of the Anathema," her melodic voice greets out. Somehow in the dim red light, her tribal tattoos and revealing outfit makes her look even more wild and savage though it does little to hide her pleasing aestethics.
"Got some Tyranids to kill outside, I could have used your help," says Sanguinius as she Tech-Priest presents to him the yellow vial.
"Is this it?" he asks, the vial looks so unnaturally small in his large palm.
"Yes, my lord Primarch. All that it needs is a method of being injected in one of the Splinter Fleet's feeding tubes and it would replicate itself until it kills the host that it is injected into," says the Tech-Priest.
"What do you think Eldar?" asks Sanguinius to Elindra who shrugs her bare shoulders.
"I have no idea. My vision is clouded in this state due to the Shadown casted by the Tyranids on the Warp, I can't see the future as well as before. The same goes with you I believe,"
Sanguinius tilts his head in affirmation before turning to look at the Tech Priest. "Thank you for your help Magos,"
"It is our world you are saving Lord Primarch, we are simply tools of the Emperor in defeating the Xeno, the heretic and the alien," she adds the last part by glaring at Elindra who crosses her arms below her bust and sniffing unhappily at the Tech Priest.
"Either way Magos, you still have my thanks. I will retain the Cadian Tenth here to guard your building while I and the Farseer will bring this with us to the Forge," says Sanguinius making Elindra blink at him.
"We will?"
"Yes, we will," Sanguinius simply says throwing to her the vial making her catch it.
"You want me to carry this?" she asks raising an eyebrow of question at him.
"Of course," Sanguinius gives off one of his soft smiles at his companion. "You don't exactly expect me to hold it with my big meaty hands are you? I will break it. It needs a gentler touch,"
"And that's mine?" she quips making Sanguinius nod as a yes. She chuckles at his words before tying at the side of her loincloth with one of the wraithbone strings.
"You're getting daring in asking me things to do son of the anathema. Careful not to push your luck too much,"
"Oh and I'm shuddering so much," Sanguinius rolls his eyes before exiting the building where Captain Mira and the Cadians are waiting.
"You got what you need my lord?" asks the Captain making Sanguinius nod his head.
"I do. You and the Tenth will stay here and defend this place. If it becomes untenable, evacuate anyone you can to the fleet above and ask for ships to take you out of the Hive. You have my codes to ask for Thunderhawk support from the Purgatory,"
"Does this mean that you are going to the Forge my lord?" asks the Cadian captain.
"Yes, I am flying there. The Task Force of the Seventh and the Second Squads along with the Storm Herald are already en-route there to give support to the defense. The Forge is apparently being swarmed by Tyranids and the entire Seventh Company of the Angels Encarmine is on station there,"
"The Eldar is going with you?" Mira asks looking at the Farseer who gives her a smile with zero humor in it.
"Yes, the Farseer is going with me," Sanguinius somehow gets a feeling that he's caught up of something in between that he does not recognize, but feels a little ominous about.
"Then I am going with you too Lord Primarch," interjects Mira making Sanguinius give her a questioning look?"
"Why?"
"I have always been with you since Thracia my lord. I would not desert you now. You would be alone when you fly especially with only a Xeno,Sanctioned or not as support only," says Mira confidently despite the looks she is being given by her fellow Cadians.
"Who would lead your men without you here captain?" asks Sanguinius. "I need this Building defended and if not, evacuated,"
"My lieutenants, Gred and Forge will command my men in my absence. They are competent enough and I have trained them personally. They will do well even without me here,"
"Where we are going Captain is not for the faint of heart, the Forge is in the middle of a war-zone that would put into peril even my sons. No offense Captain but I would worry for your safety there if I brought you there,"
"You should have already know my lord," Mira smirks confidently. "Danger does not faze me. I am a Cadian despite being secon-generation born and I would do my best to protect you just like I did when I first met you in Thracia,"
"I cannot talk you out of this can I captain?" says Sanguinius simply making Mira turn her smirk to a small smile.
"I am afraid not my lord. You have my loyalty and you are stuck with me for the foreseeable future for good or for ill,"
"What do you think Farseer?" asks Sanguinius to Elindra who shrugs simply.
"I don't know what one human female can do to help against the Tyranid horde other than being a pretty face as inspiration,"
"Elindra,"
"Fine, she can tag along though I doubt she would be needed much since I would be there," huffs the Farseer making Sanguinius massage his forehead.
There is really something here that he is not seeing and he does not understand why Mira and the Farseer can't get along since day one. Either way….
"Hold on you two, I am going to grab you waists and we are taking the highways of the skies," says Sanguinius pulling them both to himself before extending his wings and with a powerful flap, finds himself on the sky heading towards the Forge.
He can still feel the glares of the two are doing the entire journey though.
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Author's Note:
So another chapter done. Hopefully you'll like this one every one of you.
Either way I already found an art as inspiration for Elindra, try finding Flarefox Eldar Exodite. As for Captain Mira, I based her the same on the model of the original Mira from Space Marine game who fought with Titus. Anyway that's the only things I want to say this chapter.
Poor Sangy really doesn't get it. I hope you readers get it however though hehehe.
As usual please review for your reviews are the song to this writer's heart.
