Chapter 25
As Harry put the necklace the Harlequins had given him to hide his form, away in a pouch, he regretted his decision to remove it before departing Hogwarts, having that trump card of hiding his identity in his adeptus form would have been useful.
But you can't put the Mjød back in the mug once it was spilled, so he trecked on towards the cache so he could get armed and ready to deploy with his team to deal with this incursion upon Terra until the reinforcements Horus sent arrived.
Harry knew that he wouldnt have to wait long but until their arrival they would need to lay the ground work to stream line the process of the investigation, after all, any trace of chaos had to be stamped out, lest it corrupt everything. So with Emma hunting down the supposedly cleared death eaters from the previous war as Harry got ready he knew that they would have a lot of cleaning up to do, and as his teacher Lukas once said, never play your enemies game, instead throw a party and challenge them to a dance off.
The smile that split Harry's face at his teachers oddities almost worried his companions for a moment, but they would never pry into their lords personal thoughts unless he degined to share them.
So the group simply trudged deeper into the forbidden forest where the supply cache had been stoared, only a couple hours away for these genetically enhanced warriors.
Soon enough they came to the large tree that had been hollowed out and was large enough to hold several Ogryn inside with room to spare. Harry moved forward and with practiced ease pulsed some of his energy into the wood, and a door way large enough for two Ogryn to walk in side by side appeared.
They entered and found what looked like a command room, computers and moniters lined the wall, a tactical table took up the center of the room with many places lighting up all across europe.
But what drew their attention was at the back, a wall lined with all manner of weapons that they would need to make sure they didnt rely on the simple bolters the others carried.
As Quilia moved to the weapons, Belica and Dominacca started by unpacking the armor while Harry took the second pack that Belica had brought with him containing Harry's armor and a simple bolt pistol. As those three examined and began putting on their armor with some servitors that had been activated to help, Quilia began an inventory of the weapons they had at their disposal, and she found them wanting.
She found two storm bolters, one heavy flamer, melta, plasma and astarta shotgun each, and several bolt pistols with enough rounds of ammunition for each to be used only a few hundred times before they were spent.
Their melee weapons where just as terrible, five chainswords, three power swords, a single pair of lightning claws and two thunder hammers.
Quilia was disappointed in this weapons cache, but knew that only so many could be placed here with the small amount of time they had to make them, but it still displeased her how under armed they where for this mission. She knew that once the others arrived they would be spoiled for choice of weapons but for now they had to rely on these for now to cleanse the taint of chaos in the holy glame of the emperor.
Harry saw the disapproval on Quilia's face and knew that he would have to appease her until the reinforcements arrive, because while they didn't have many weapons, there was still plenty enough for the four of them.
But for now he would need to simply finish getting armed and armoured, for they had a hunt to do, and he would not leave anything alive.
Horus knew that the forces on his ship alone could see the taint of chaos cleansed from Terra, but he would not leave this to chance, so the three other ships joining him on this warp travel to Terra would leave no doubt to the outcome.
One ship was full of the sisters of silence as they prepared to reinforce to fabric of reality around Terra and weaken the warp in locations that chaos has made incursions.
The other two ships where filled with grey knights and their many warmachjnes for battle against the foul forcse of the warp, embued by their stout belief and power. Horus knew their veiws on the emperor, but considering his own sons had a similar veiw and did much the same, he would turn a blind eye for now, just as he had done for the sisters of batte.
He was brought out of his musings by the astropaths assistant heading his way.
"My lord Primarche, the Astropath says that we will be exiting the warp in one hour standard imperial time."
Horus nods and dismisses the assistant before turning his attention to the tatical table, upon which spreads a map of north western europe as it is known in this millennium.
He had set some Psykers and Inquisition into looking at Terra's current progress and what if any problems may need to be dealt with for the betterment of humanity.
What he saw on the map did not encourage him, he saw several incursion points, all across the map, but most of it was settled in europe, specifically the north western parts of it. The amount and the power behind each is almost staggering for anyone, even him, but he wouldn't let that stop him from doing his duty and expanding humanities empire across the galaxy.
He knew that he couldn't go about this cleansing in the normal way, not if he wished to let the course of humanities history to remain the same, but he could employ tactics that can ensure victory.
No knights or paladins could be used, but tanks and personal carriers would be fine, as longs as the teach was kept to the time periods own level.
Any deployment of troops would need to be discreet and most importantly, out of site, they couldn't let the powers of the world know that they existed, for they would destroy eachother trying to find them. Each believing the other had a secret army of super powered and armed special forces soldiers awaiting the right time to be used to topple one of their petty governments.
Horus was both appalled and curious at how humanitu could function with not just so many different cultures and languages, but all the differnet governments.
How badly Horus wished he could just take over and begin the glorious rise of the imperium a whole millennium early, but alas, he would not endager the human race in such a way.
So with restraint and guile he would lead his forces unto Terra and begin a cleansing that none but they would ever know about, the cleansing that would keep Terra firmly in the imperiums hands. Ready for when his father the emperor would finally rise and take his rightful place as humanities leader and what all of humanity should strive to become.
But for now he had to make sure that humanity didn't become tainted by chaos before they ever truly left Terra to colonize the stars.
A shudder ran through the ship, and as Horus looked out through the windows of the bridge and say the tear into the matrium as they finally arrived on the outer edge of Sol.
Finally it was time to inact the cleansing might of the imperiums finest, the fell forces of chaos would fall this cycle, and Terra would be fully cleansed, even if Horus had to sacrifice everything to do so.
A form stirred in a damp dark cave, a still lake of putridness rippling as it finally rose, its body caked in bile, and other such putrid things, as it's gargantuan form stretches and jiggles. A malicious and malformed smile spreads acros its disgusting face as maggots and larva spill out between broken misshapen rotted teeth.
A gurgling laugh squelches out its throat as it turns its horned head towards the roof of the cave, black beady eyes glitter almost like tar pits as it stares up at something only it is anle to see.
A boice like wet velvet scrapping against sandpaper echos through the cave, stirring more things in the purtid lake.
"How amusing, new friends to play with that won't break so easily, maybe we will finally have enough people to play the real game we have been waiting to for."
Forms pulled themselves out, skin and meat sloughing off exposing bone and cancerous growths, as the shamble towards what looks like a hole in the cave wall.
"Well then, let us hope that lord Nurgle blesses this day with a fine game and a wonderful plauge."