Hello! Thanks for the reviews and all the love you have been giving to this story! I will appreciate if you left more reviews and if you are so kind, also let me know of any mistakes I might have commited through my responses.
Also, a little disclaimer, I hadn't really had the opportunity of reading any of the Warhammer books, all the lore I have been gathering comes from videos and the wikis, which is not ideal I know, but it is very difficult to get them in my country. I do my best so, if I make a grievous mistake you let me know on reviews or through DMs, in the meantime I am trying to make my best interpretation of the events from what I know so, if you also like this slightly altered story from Warhammer events, let me know as well n-n
Next on the list, I know the power level of a space marine is leagues ahead from what spartans can be, however, these spartans were also made by the Emperor, so I decided to give them a buff, making them faster, you will see them in this chapter.
Now allow me to reply to your reviews.
Sci-Fi Guy 22: Yeah, unfortunately rampancy and the logic plague left Cortana quite damaged, she held the longest she could, even getting rid of her avatar to try and survive. As you said, she would very likely not be accepted by the Imperium, but I have the feeling some people might like her, besides, you might have a little surprise on this chapter regarding the AI. I have not yet decided anything though as I just let my ideas flow on the go. And yep, the Spirit of Fire is still out there, however, I want to focus on what we currently have in the fray before going to look after some more spartans... as for when this is happening, you will find out on this chapter ;3
MoonWolfHunter: Well, you better stop waiting now :p
Riggnorok: Thanks! You don't have to look for more ;3
187: Interesting indeed, thanks for the review!
gabekaykwok: I am still constructing the story so, I cannot really promise anything, but you might get a little surprise on this chapter ;3
Anthony (Guest): Thank you! You don't have to wait anymore.
And don't mind the bot.
Again, thanks for all the comments, and after this boring introduction, let's get back to the fray!
Their presence disappeared.
A shadow was looming over them, hiding their souls from me, I knew what they were, what they were doing, however, something terrible prevented me from giving the alarm, the fiends of the Immaterium were becoming unusually agitated, relentless, something else was stirring on the opposite corner of the galaxy, on another point of my Imperium. The jewel of the crown was once again under siege.
Destruction was coming, the warp is twisting and ripping with it's machinations. The Archenemy is about to cause a wound, such a wound that would send mankind into the darkest of nights.
But for the long night that is to come, my Spartans shall bring us solace.
For this is my will. The will of the Emperor.
And it shall be fulfilled.
Dante couldn't find any solace at this moment.
The Blood Angel's Chapter Master was looking at the blue sky from one of the tallest spires of the Arx Angelicus, the massive fortress monastery of his chapter, he was not wearing his power armor at the moment, instead he was wearing a red and golden robe, his silver hair shuffling under the dry wind, his wrinkle face was a testament of the fifteen centuries he had served to his chapter, keeping his gaze trained at the sky, he could see the sections where the silhouettes of dozens of ships obscured portions of it, dropships, freighters, carriers, coming and going, all of them bearing different heraldries, coming from different worlds of origin, with different cultures, but they all had a single thing in common.
Baal hadn't seen such a congregation of vessels since the Great Crusade, nor since the Funeral of Sanguinius, for His body still remained in stasis, unpolluted after thousands of years, as if he was peacefully sleeping, however, instead of His place of rest, He was now within the deepest chambers of the Arx Angelicus. This had a reason to be, unfortunately, because such a congregation of space marines wasn't for any good news.
A week, that was the most generous estimate, a week until the swarms of the Great Devourer arrived at the homeworld of the Blood Angels. To the resting place of Sanguinius. To his home.
He sighed slightly, Dante had sent a plea of help for all the Chapters of the Blood before the communications were shut by the looming shadow in the Warp, he had sent to all those that were descendants from the Angel. He considered how tense the situation amongst these chapters might be though, so initially he didn't expect a lot of his brothers to respond. However, he was proved wrong when they started arriving en masse, Angels Encarmine, Angels Vermillion, Exanguinators, Blood Drinkers, Flesh Tearers... all but a few brought most or all their forces to defend the sacred Homeworld of Sanguinius, all understood the significance, and Dante couldn't feel more grateful.
He didn't know if it would be enough though.
There were a few that couldn't come however, the Lamenter's newly appointed Chapter Master Phoros sent him a message, one of regret of not being able to come, for they were fighting against the Great Devourer somewhere else, and they were not faring well from what he was told. It was very understandable, although he could not help to feel a sting of remorse about their situation, for they were in their own kind of hell.
It was an unfortunate situation, but Dante couldn't really begrudge his brothers in yellow for that.
During the last weeks, the Brotherhood of Blood had been working day and night to prepare Baal and its moons for the upcoming slaughter, doing the best they could to build massive defenses around the Angel's Fall, the Arx Angelicus and smaller fortresses and settlements that were equally as important, the Chapter Master had extended two missives to the nomads of the Red Sand, one for the children, offering them the opportunity of becoming aspirants, the possibility of becoming Angels of Death was within reach for those that survived the upcoming onslaught. Dante couldn't say he felt proud about this offer, but at this point they were running out of options, and these people would very likely end up devoured by a hormagaunt within hours of the Tyranids' arrival. The other letter was extended to the general population of Baal, asking... No, telling them that they will be given the honor to fight alongside the Angels of Death, with the promise of lands and titles. Dante and his second in command did not cover at any point what they were facing, but surprisingly, the majority of the nomadic tribes did not protest upon this order, all they needed was a weapon and a direction where to aim it.
Unfortunately, the ones from Baalind and Baalfora were having issues getting accustomed to the heavier gravity from the main world, but that didn't seem to deter their enthusiasm.
They would die for their world, even if that world was a defiled nuclear desert. This little development made Dante's old hearts soar, but he did not hold any hope they would survive the first days, let alone the week.
He let the wind blow through his face, remembering his time in the chapter, the weight of fifteen centuries falling over his shoulders as heavy as a terminator armor without power... He closed his eyes as he enjoyed the calm, knowing that it was it before the storm, then turning to one of his serfs, this young man was tasked with carrying his Perdition Pistol wherever he went, a beautifully crafted inferno pistol, matte black with steel gray, white and gold, a wing on each side while a single gem shaped like a tear over it. It rested over a velvet cushion, which the serf held up while kneeling as the pale old man looked over him. He did not utter a single word.
Dante appreciated that as he grabbed his pistol, giving it a quick check before looking down at his serf.
"Let know to Gabriel Seth and Sentor Jool that I will be meeting them right now, command the servitors to get my armor ready" His gruffed voice said, the serf vowed his head in response and went to fulfill his duties.
A good kid, barely twenty, he most likely will not survive in the coming weeks.
In the following minutes, with the help of the servitors under his command, they helped him put the mastercrafted artificier armor over his body, a gilded exterior, with white accents and wings emblazoned over its exterior, but the most important part of it was the helm, for it was not just any helm, but a face. It bore the immortalized cry of rage of the Primarch Sanguinius, with a tear of His blood emblazoned on its forehead, put in a small stasis field, a halo of golden surrounding it like the brightness the Angel radiated in life.
The armor was not only the best his chapter could offer, but it also had a purpose to look like it did; it was an icon, something to inspire his battle brothers during the fray of the war, and they were going to need it.
Picking up his Axe Mortalis from its rack, a beautiful power axe handcrafted after the times of the Great Crusade, he attached his helmet and both weapons to his side and began walking out of his personal chambers, his serf following wherever he was, it might look frivolous to some of his brothers for him to have a personal serf, but the kid had proved to be quite useful sorting out the most menial side of tasks, like maintenance shifts or servitor organization, allowing Dante to focus to the most important things, like the organisation of the defenses, the kid never protestes, he quietly did his job, probably honored to be directly under Dante's command.
Carlos was his name.
The interior of the Arx Angelicus was just as beautiful as the outside, intrinsic halls and rooms with vaulted ceilings, decorated with frescoes, statues, paintings and gilded trims that contrasted with the black basalt extracted directly from the ancient volcano the fortress had its foundations built on, polished to a beautiful reflectant surface. The art on display was showing the feats of the heroes and legends of the chapter, as well as the story of the Primarch, from his planetfall to his demise on the hands of the Archtraitor. Red tinted and transparent glass letting the light from the outside pass through, giving the inside a beautiful yet eerie look. The place however, was more eerie than usual, and it was for a very good reason. He could see some of his brothers carry defense material and ammunition, as well as a few chapter serfs moving lasguns to give to the mortals that were defending the Arx Murus, working as the first line of defense against the upcoming threat.
A meat shield. But the mortals did not know that.
Nobody had time for arts at this time, tensions were high, but so was the excitement, some of the chapters like the Angels Vermillion were elated to prove themselves in battle, and some others thought they would be able to beat the Tyranids back within the day.
The fools.
Entering the Strategium was like entering a cathedral dedicated to the blood, frescoes, beautiful gothic designs, and the hololith display in the middle of the room, the Adeptus Mechanicus enginseers managing the different cogitators in the room, it was an experience on itself for any mortal, one that he was used to.
As Dante walked in, he was able to distinguish the first of his two guests, Gabriel Seth, the black pauldrons guilded with the iconography of a Chapter of the Blood, the crimson red armor displayed that of his own chapter and the revered iron halo, the Halo of Thorns, hanging over the power pack, and the bone white saw and the blood tear of the Flesh Tearers, this heraldry almost always made any marine from another chapter to turn around, and his battle brothers were not the exception, for the Flesh Tearers were well known among the Adeptus Astartes for being too brutal, and among the successors of the Blood Angels to allow themselves to indulge with the curses of the Red Thirst and the Black Rage, curses that plagued the geneseed of the Sons of Sanguinius, but Dante knew Seth, he was a cold, focused man, aggressive on occasions but he could talk to him face to face, that was the reason he did not bring his helm put on. His face was fairly young still, two studs adorned his shaved up forehead, he was beautiful as any Son of the Angel, but he carried himself with an ever-present frown.
Who he did not know personally was the Chapter Master of the Knights of Blood, Sentor Jool did leave his helm on, which was already a bad sign, the man was quiet, arms crossed over his chest and looking to Dante with what could only be described as resentment. And to be sincere, he was surprised that the Knights of Blood presented themselves to this, considering their status as Excommunicate Traitoris, this due to the fact that they were several times over what the Flesh Tearers were, the chrome black and red armor with a white shield skewed by swords and a tear in the middle almost always meant trouble, for these Astartes usually did not distinguish between friend and foe.
Hence the reason for their excommunication.
Dante didn't have him in much regard, but he knew that he was being prejudiced, in times like these, he couldn't really afford that.
"Gabriel Seth, it is good to see you again, brother" Dante said with a neutral expression, Seth nodded in acknowledgement but Jool scoffed slightly.
"Why did it take you this long to respond, brother?" Sentor Jool asked with some scorn on his voice, as if saying the word 'brother' as a slur.
"More pressing matters required my attention, I think you are aware that a group of my librarians remain trapped under the Arx Angelicus, and I needed to verify their recovery personally" Dante replied curtly, if a little irritated. "I just returned from that detour"
It wasn't a lie, it seemed like Mephiston and his Librarius had ended up getting themselves trapped by the collapse of a tunnel deep within the ancient mines within the fortress, mines that were rumored to date from the Dark Age of Technology, which meant that the structure holding them together was either incredibly sturdy by the technology holding all together... Or incredibly weak, by the time that had passed since their last maintenance. Mephiston had gone quite deep within the cave, it was a rather long way to get to the blockade, furthermore, they could not use melta charges because they didn't want to risk the tunnel structural integrity any further, so, servitors were put to work to slowly mine the sandstone, which would be estimated to be finished in a few weeks.
He wondered what Mephiston and his Librarius were doing down there, it remained a mystery.
Jool didn't seem particularly impressed though.
"If we are going to defend Baal and its moons, we need cohesion, chapter master" Jool continued. "How come you can't even keep a hold of your librarians? This is ridiculous-"
"Quiet now" Seth began, giving Jool a burning glare only a son of Sanguinius could muster, which fortunately shut the Knights of Blood's Chapter Master. "We have no time for these quarries... what we wanted to know, chapter master, was about our deployment"
Seth returned that cold predatory glance towards Dante. It was clear they wouldn't leave without an answer.
Dante nodded and approached the hololith, the display suddenly showing the planet or Baal and its two moons, Primus, also known as Baalind and Secundus, also known as Baalfora, with a clear green hue. The surfaces of the planet did not have any major structure displayed, for the Blood Angels had kept their homeworld in the state that Sanguinius had left it ten thousand years ago, with minimal structures just barren radioactive deserts, the three worlds still resenting the nuclear bombardments that struck the planet and its moons during the Age of Strife.
In the map, the most important landmarks were highlighted, the Arx Angelicus, the Angel's Fall, the Golden Sarcophagus, small settlements with enough strategic importance, one of them which was on Baal Primus.
Primus was the least important of the moons for, aside its population, it did not have any strategic resources other than the aspirants it produced. And a lot of them were moved to Baal, however, there was some symbolic importance for all the Chapters of the Blood, especially for the Kights of Blood, for their chapter was founded under its skies.
Dante knew he could not deny them this honor.
Besides, having the astartes spread across the three celestial bodies might divide the Tyranid forces, and make it easier for all parties defending altogether.
"Your chapters will be deployed in Hestia, on Baalind, you will be responsible of maintaining the world for as long as possible... I will not make the situation look better than it is, brothers, the tendril that is about to tear our skies is massive, I have sent numerous distress signals all across the Imperium, to see if anyone may respond to our pleas... until then, we are alone"
"As we always were" Jool replied, somewhat less venomous as before.
"We will fulfill this honor, brother, although, there are some details I would like to discuss before we set the sail-" Gabriel Seth began, he was not allowed to continue though, as a lieutenant suddenly bolted through the door and darted inside, wearing the crimson red of the Blood Angels, with the yellow helm of an assault marine and a single red tear gemstone on his forehead, his jump pack on and ready to fly. "What is the meaning of this?"
The sergeant bowed his head and saluted.
"Lieutenant Malachi, third company" He said, sounding slightly sheepish, evidently not wanting to interrupt the meeting. "Pardon me for the interruption, my lords, but I have some reports from the outer fringe of the Baal perimeter, a civilian freighter received some unusual auspex readings"
"Why didn't you reach to Captain Machiavi?" Dante questioned.
"He sent me over, he thought the information might be of your interest, my lords" Malachi said bowing his head again, the three chapter masters looked at each other for a brief moment, frustration, concern and curiosity flashing briefly before the Lord Commander of the Blood Angels replied.
"Do you have the information with you?" Asked Dante, at which the marine stepped in, dettaching a dataslate from his belt and wiring it to the hololith, transferring the information.
Soon, the holographic display showed a complete view of the system, Baal was located in a small system with three more planets and a single gas giant, as well as Skyfall, the large planetoid that circled in the middle of the star system and worked as a small operation center and a drydock. Balor, the star they were orbiting, was a red dwarf, slow burning, old but with millions of years yet to live.
Unlike them.
The display zoomed in, showing the small freighter that was nearing Baal, and then a different dot appeared further away, it pulsed. There was no visual feed of the object, which meant they were out of reach, or they did not bother trying.
"The anomaly is emitting a low amount of energy, nothing too remarkable, the freighter was not able to make any visual contact but the vector of movement indicates it's slowly approaching Baal" He said, looking at the projection with the visor of his helm following the lines of his explanation. "What should we do, my lord?"
What should they do indeed? This was another variable that was added to their board, from what he could assume, this could be a lot of things, a lost colony vessel from the Dark Age of Technology, a Necron scout vessel, a chaos cult, a Tyranid vanguard... A warp-forsaken Kroot. He was thinking too negatively, but he had not a single reason to be positive due to the current panorama, and they couldn't really ask anyone up to this point, for the Shadow in the Warp caused by the Tyranids already cut any possibility of using Astropathic communication.
He decided to take a single course of action.
"You know your squadron well, right lieutenant?" Dante asked, at which Malachi nodded. "Grab two of your men and a thunderhawk, investigate this anomaly, if it proves to be hostile, send the word so a cruiser to destroy it. Let know Captain Machiavi of these orders, keep me informed". At that the Blood Angel saluted back and departed, leaving the dataslate behind for them to analyze the situation.
"You should have send the word for destruction" Seth said, at which Dante shook his head.
"No, if it proves to be a threat, my vessels will make sure not a single piece of it remains, but I have a gut feeling, something that might actually help us on this situation..." Dante began.
"It might be nothing, and you will be just wasting resources and men in a pitiful mission" Jool bit, not allowing him to finish. The old marine merely sighed.
"It might, but we will find out once they arrive to the site... In the meantime, brother Seth, what is it that you want to discuss?"
A few minutes had passed, Malachi had informed his captain about the orders from Lord Commander Dante, and after a small debriefing, he now was walking through the courtyard of the Arx Angelicus, the stretch of bare land that separated the Monastery with the Arx Murus, the outside structure of the fortress. He had gathered two of his battle brothers, those that he trusted the most to fulfill this operation flawlessly, he hoped that whatever happened with these reports was merely a simple piece of debris or perhaps a mere glitch on a dissonant auspex. He did not like to waste any strength or lives if he could help it. Especially not from his squadron.
He had chosen two of his brothers that had fought alongside him for decades, they fought across the stars in different campaigns, and now, they were ready for yet another one, now defending the world that gave them all life.
Raphiel, he was of his same generation, but unlike Malachi, he remained under due to his particularly quarrelsome attitude, quite unusual coming from a Son of the Angel. He was an expert duelist, expert with the chainsword, loyal to the core, but his attitude had costed him a lot of issues with the captain of their company.
Joshua, he was the complete opposite to Raphiel, he is quiet, focused, and always follows orders, he is Malachi's designated marskman, using a supressed bolt sniper, his single eye was honed to be the perfect weapon. He bore the rank of sergeant.
Unfortunately, his standard bearer would not be part of this operation, Heracles understood and only wished Malachi strength and success on his mission.
The crimson red thunderhawk was already waiting for them, on and ready to take off, his two battle brothers were also waiting, Raphiel wore the Mk. VIII Errant Pattern helm while Joshua used the older but still quite reliable Mk. VI Corvus Pattern, which was also perfect for the kind of operation the sniper battle brother usually did.
"Good to see you brother" Raphiel said, Malachi was able to hear the smile under his helm. "I see the Flesh Tearers did not rip your head"
Malachi could already sense that Joshua was rolling his eyes, but that he kept his words to himself.
"I believe getting along with our brothers from other chapters is the best we can do, Raph, we will be fighting with them in the near future" Reprimanded Malachi, at which Raphiel did a dismissive hand gesture which the lieutenant ignored. "We have a small operation in our hands, brothers, I will brief you on the way".
They entered the thunderhawk, which soon closed the hatch as it took off, the marines inside being able to briefly see the sands of Baal before it closed and the ship reached cruiser speed to take off. During the trip, Malachi explained what he had learned, and what were the Chapter Master's order, Raphiel was left pondering about the possibilities while Joshua decided to ask.
"What should we expect of this?" He questioned, as softspoken as he was.
"I am unsure, whatever that is causing the anomaly had a few mortals agitated, I believe we should not ignore it regardless, considering that countless worlds had fallen because a disturbance had been ignored and then they find themselves fighting orks or daemons.
"Speaking from experience, brother?" Asked Raphiel.
"Yes, Raph, you were there as well, both times" Malachi deadpanned which earned a small chuckle from the marine in solid red.
Raphiel could be unbearable sometimes.
They spent the following minutes discussing among each other tactics that they had played over and over during their operations, and that pulled Malachi to his thoughts. Malachi had served for nearly three hundred years, he had proven himself in battle time after time, Daemons, Orks, Tyranids, Drukhari. He had fought them all and had come victorious, but not unscathed, if any of the scars across his body was something to say. He was a curious case, born with very low melanine, an unusual trait among the nomads of Baal, his skin was nearly white and his eyes red as the blood, his hair golden, long and tied down. He was told he sometimes looked like the vivid image of the Primarch, although with some differences. He never liked that comparation.
He was far from the noble vessel that Sanguinius was in life, for his shame was to briefly collapse for the thirst. He had ended innocent lives, something that his Father would have never done.
Joshua, knowing Malachi since he was a neophyte as well, and guessing what he was thinking, addressed him.
"Rules of engagement, sir?" He asked. He knew they didn't, but Joshua knew that he needed to avoid Malachi from pondering on his shame for too long. And fortunately, it worked.
"Check your targets, fire if aggression is shown, but give chances of surrender, there might just be terrorized mortals inside..." He responded after a few seconds. "It would make it easier if we didn't have to go in blind-" He was suddenly cut off when the pilot sent him a small message, making him stand up. "But we should be able to tell wha we are facing now"
They had reached visual range.
"About time" Raphiel said standing up from where he was and preparing their gear.
The hololithic display soon showed what they were going into and... it was nothing that the lieutenant had expected.
It was half a ship, that was evident, but it was still quite large, of the size of a small cruiser, however, this voiship was vastly different from what the Imperium had made, it was blocky, angular, with barely any trim, decoration or embellishment other than a few letters emblazoned on the side, they were letters in Gothic, but on what dialect, he could not tell. The metal was gray, for the most part mostly rugged, there were propellers as well, however, they looked like they were corroded by the pass of time, there was some debris that the voidship had dragged with itself, and while most seemed to match the vessel, there were a few pieces that didn't, entirely match up.
The hololith display did not allow Malachi to figure out their color, but they were brighter than the ship, and also shaped differently, caught up with the ship's own gravitational pull. It might require some examination later.
"Captain, we have visual feed on the strange anomaly, patching through" He said as he sent the live feed of the strange voidship. "It's a vessel... Part of one, it looks ancient..."
"The ship is pulsing short ranged radio bursts every few minutes, we suppose that is the reason we didn't detect it before, the vessel is showing barely any power..." A baritone voice replied, probably due to how vox distorted the voices, if he had to guess, this was a member of the Adeptus Mechanicus. "Intriguing development, I will send a small team to investigate, this looks like a vault of ancient human tech"
"I will recommend to let the team scout the ship first, Magos, we are going in the dark" The voice of Captain Machiavi replied, his tone calm. "There might be hostile entities there".
"Your concerns are sound, captain, and cordially ignored" Was the reply of the Magos before cutting out his feed. Malachi could already picture the grimace that the captain might have. It was very likely they had to deal with a group of tech-adepts in a few minutes.
"Continue your duties, lieutenant, attempt to protect those from the Adeptus Mechanicus, but make it not your priority, your mission is scouting." Reminded the captain as the thunderhawk closed in, the letters were clearer now... as clear as it might be considering that it looked like time had corroded whatever paint it used. Yet, the text was legible enough to be able to tell what it said.
Forward Unto Dawn.
"It looks like Low Gothic" Joshua pointed out, checking if his knife was as sharp as it needed to be before attaching it to his back. "It seems to say something in direction towards sunrise... a strange name for a ship"
"Check integrity of your armor, brothers, we do not know if there is any breathable air inside, or any foreign agent that might bring doom over us" Said Malachi, an order that both marines dutifully complied with. The ship was coming in closer and closer, the idea was to land in one of the open decks of the ship. "Do the auspex scans show anything?"
"Nothing, my lord" The serf pilot replied. "There is something that is preventing me from seeing anything other than the outer shell of the vessel, you are going in blind"
That was not a good sign.
Eventually, the gunship felt a shudder, a gentle shake that indicated that it had landed.
"Opening hatch" The pilot said before a sudden vacuum was felt by the three Astartes as the air left the chamber, and they were faced with one of the middle decks of the vessel.
The interior of the half cut room was not impressive, it lacked the intrinsic details of any imperial vessel, no frescoes, no gilding, instead, it was dull, grey and steel color, matted due to the pass of time was the only thing that could be seen, exposed wires, bent and rusted metal, little pieces of debris floating aimessly, following the pull of whatever initial trajectory it had. There were some sliding metal doors that were locked at the bottom of the room, with a single light above that emitted a soft white color and one on the handles that emitted a soft red. That was their entry point.
The environment of this room alone was eerie, and not in a good way.
"I will be waiting here for exfiltration, my lords" Assured the serf pilot.
With that little reassurance, the team walked forwards, Malachi spearheading his men into the unknown, their steps were heard muffled by the lack of air outside, their magnetic boots making sure that they did not float away. Malachi had his jump pack turned off due to this, but he could get it ready at any second a threat was unveiled. The door in front of them was thick metal, it did not look like ceramite but probably a lighter metal, like titanium, something that would be relatively easy to tear apart. He gave a silent order to Raphiel to step forwards while Malachi raised his heavy bolt pistol and Joshua did the same with his. The intercessor reached out with his gauntlets and forced them into the gap between the doors, and so he began pulling them apart. Malachi could not hear it but it was very likely that Raphiel was struggling a lot, those doors were sturdier than they looked.
After ten seconds, the doors began to give in, and soon, a gap was made, the two doors separating slowly, the air trapped inside soon flowing out of the chamber behind. Malachi and Joshua, now with confirmation that nothing was waiting on the other side, quickly stepped forward to help his battle brother, widening the gap enough for them to step inside. The lieutenant held it for the longest time as he waited for his battle brothers to enter, and at that point, he engaged his jump pack, which gave him the necessary impulse to go through right as the door shut behind of them.
The air stopped flowing. A quick assessment from their helmets told them the air was breathable, with a 21 percent concentration of oxygen over nitrogen and other gases, but also filled with unknown microorganisms, until a bio sample was done, it would be better they remain with their helms.
"By the Emperor..." Muttered Raphiel through the speakers of his armor. "That door was tougher than I thought". Malachi did not immediately reply.
"Captain, we are inside the vessel" The lieutenant said, however, in the other side of the vox-line he could only hear static. "Captain, I repeat, we are inside the vessel, vox check"
He tried two more times before confirming it was futile. Something was blocking the communications.
"Excellent... What do we do now, sir?" Asked Raphiel in one of the rare occasions he used the right terms to refer to a superior. He was probably on edge as well.
"We carry on with the mission, the Mechanicus' adepts should also be here in a few minutes, so we better start moving before they start dismantling the vessel on the blind" Malachi stated. "We will split, you and Joshua will scout the lower levels, I will go to the higher ones, my jump pack will allow me to move faster on this zero gravity environment, we will attempt to find a possible jammer and get it deactivated or destroyed. That way we can communicate with the exterior"
"Do you think is that a good idea sir?" Joshua asked. "We don't know what it's here, and we will not be able to communicate through vox if any of us is on trouble"
"I am aware Joshua, but you know, time is essence here, we might be sending people into the thirstwater pit" He said. "I want to make sure nobody is put in danger because of us".
And that was true, as much as he did not enjoy engaging with with the members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, he could not simply allow them to go into the unknown without the reassurance of safety. Besides... He needed some time alone to think some things through.
Thankfully, this time, it seemed like Joshua did not catch up on that. Or maybe he did, but did not object.
"Very well sir" He said with a nod.
They marched quietly together, the sound returning now that they were back in an environment with air, the insides of the ship were mostly dark, something that their visors easily countered, and so did their eyes, for they were also enhanced. Darkness surrounded them, the only source of light was those of the green hue emitted by their lenses, and the red from Joshua's, the interior matched the exterior perfectly, spartan walls without any decoration, reminding him of what he read about the Iron Warriors of old, wires still hung from the ceiling, debris floated due to the lack of gravity, they were alone in the darkness, without anyone accompanying them. And as they walked, Malachi could not shrug off a feeling, there was this sensation that was constantly nudging his mind, the sensation he felt during the mission where they defended a world against the Drukhari.
One that he felt when they were being observed.
Eventually, they reached an elevator shaft was before them, the door was open, elevator probably had burst and fallen down while the ship still had artificial gravity because they could see it at the very bottom. It was not a very tall ship going down, but quite going up. Relying their orders quietly through the display, soon Malachi turned up his jump pack and propelled upwards. The last sighting of his brothers was their heads entering the lowest level of the ship.
Now, he was left alone with his thoughts.
Following his own orders, he used his jump pack to traverse the halls better, making short bursts to take impulse and push gently his body forward, holding his thunder hammer in one hand and his bolter in another. Thankfully, his heads-up display still showed the status of his team, and it would be evident that it showed his to them. He did not like lying to his men this way, but exploring the ship alone allowed him to clear his mind, to meditate.
He scanned all the rooms that he found access to, those that were closed proved to be as challenging to open as their entry point, if a bit less. Some doors were broken with a gap wide enough for him to get through, some were wide open, some were closed but loose enough to allow him to enter, and the great majority were sealed shut.
He strolled forwards, there was not much to see other than some ancient debris, however, there was still that looming sensation of a presence following him, even for an Astartes, the feeling made him look back on occasions, just to pull that feeling out of his mind.
Among the different objects he came in contact with, he found that there were some that had remained fairly intact, like dataslates, a quick inspection though showed that they had no more power, or that whatever power source they had busted. Lithium batteries seemed to be often used here. It was not his duty to check them out anyway, so he left them in places where the Adeptus Mechanicus would find them later, and without the risk of breaking if gravity returned.
He also found some weapons floating around in an intersection, too small for his hands to use, but a quick scan and he was able to tell how it worked, removing the magazine of a rifle. This rifle was quite oversized, it had no crosshairs, which either was an oversight or it used holographic crosshairs, it had a screen, however, he couldn't turn it on so, it probably had the same issue as the dataslates he found.
The design was ancient but functional, pulling of the magazine, Malachi could see that it used very similar ammunition to that of the imperial autoguns, thinner, longer bottlenecked bullets, nowhere powerful enough to punch through ceramite, but as any weapon, a glancing shot on the extremities could cause plenty of damage to his mobility or, moreover, a hit to the cabling of his power pack could rend him effectively into a fixed target.
He had learned to not disregard weapons deemed weak by his battle brothers, for several times in the past has he been put in very tricky situations by mere humans with las and auto weapons.
He carried on, continuing in the darkness while meditating, using that alone time to clear his mind while he cleared room after room. Eventually, after going though an open door, he found himself in an open area, the ceiling was vaulted, several catwalks were displayed above, below and before him, at the very bottom, he spotted a set of platforms filled with ancient green and gray vehicles of different kinds, land rovers with and without turrets attached, green birdlike shuttles, and a tank that ressembled a Baneblade, if way smaller.
However, he also noticed something unusual, for there was a glow underneath, hidden in between different pieces of wreckage, something pulsing from a softer to a brighter light...
It was blue light.
Once again he thought what to choose, he did not know what to expect at this point, he was starting to regret the orders of splitting up, but curiosity was his bane. It had always been, and unfortunately, this time it would be again.
Against his better judgement, he dropped.
He mantled over the railing of the catwalk and took impulse down, landing on his arms before he reattached his boots to the ground, making a distinctive metalic noise, from this distance, he could hear the sound of static, but not only that, the interface of his visors was starting to glitch, he could still see the display of his battle brothers, the arrows up still being displayed, so he knew they were alright.
For some time, before they suddenly turned off.
This threw Malachi off, he stepped back, and he saw the display of his brothers coming back online. He considered this as he continued forward, putting his bolt pistol forwards and aiming to the front, tightly gripping the handle of his thunder hammer; something didn't feel quite right. As he turned the corner, he was presented with a situation, before him there was a cylindrical, black and grey, with some veins of blue light coming from its sides, on the very top, there was just a blue light, pulsing, he could hear the static growing louder as he came closer, voices, whispers from women, the hololith was surrounded by wires and different contraptions that were crudely put together, for what reason he did not know though. Something screamed to him in the back of his mind, telling him to step back, but for some reason, he ignored the warning.
When he was on hand reach of the hololith, the display suddenly shifted and the image changed, a glitched body appeared, a blue feminine figure with barely any other feature, only a single eye on the left side of its face, crazed, as if a machine could display such emotion. It was glitching and twitching as if it was in pain, moving unnaturally on the display, trembling, and whispering.
"You are not taking him from me..." It repeated, its voice filled with static, stuttering, baritone. Broken. "You are not taking him from me... You are not taking him from me..."
Then, the color changed, the glow became red, and then, Malachi realized too late what he was looking at.
Something abominable.
And preventing his reaction, it acted.
"YOU ARE NOT LEAVING HERE ALIVE-!" And the woman figure lunged at him. Even if the hologram would not hurt him, Malachi did not let it come too close, quickly aiming his heavy bolt pistol and pulling the trigger several times, six bolt rounds flying into the hololith and detonating inside, the metal crumbling and the cylinder exploding outwards, the woman figure fading into non existence.
And following, the dissonances on his visor stopped.
But soon something followed, the whole craft suddenly shuddered, and a low hum began creeping from the ground, he knew he had to get out of there, find his brothers and a way out, it was clear that this place was haunted with a crazed abominable intelligence, which would put sense on why all the scans and vox comms have failed so far. This place was not worth salvaging, once he got any reception, he would send the word to send it to the warp.
He released the magnetic seals and propelled forwards, in direction to where they had come from, he needed to hurry up before the machine could fulfill its promise.
But suddenly, he went blind.
The night vision failed, for now a sudden brightness covered his eyes, he felt a sudden pull down and felt how his body slammed against something before he could grab it, he could hear the sound of metal creaking as he grabbed what he guessed was the railing, and when he managed to adjust his visor back to normal light, he noticed that he was hanging from a catwalk railing, which was visibly bending under his weight, and after this shameful display, he pulled himself up and step into the catwalk, checking himself up, he fortunately had not sustained any damage to his gear or armor. Nor that his battle brothers saw him, he wouldn't hear the end of it from Raphiel.
So much for meditating.
Looking around, he would finally realize that the gravity was turned on, with the lights on, wires becoming live again and sputtering, with now the clarity, he would figure out they were in a vehicle bay of all sorts, a place to deploy vehicles to the ground fast. However, as he looked back to the door he had came from, he would realize that the door was now closed shut, and soon he tried to open it like Raphiel had done, to no avail. This made Malachi curse a few unproper words, holstering his pistol, he decided to use the blunt alternative.
He powered his thunder hammer, adopting briefly his combat stance before swinging it, smashing against the door. The metal creaked and the door bent inwards, but it held together, cursing somewhat more, he decided to try it again, the slam was able to further cave into the metal, but the door still did not give in, the scorch marks were now visible but the door was holding in. This method might work but it would prove to be very inefficient nonetheless, it would take several minutes but it was clear a that he was slowly getting somewhere.
But then, he heard the hiss of a door opening. *
It was a quiet slide, one that a mortal would not have heard. But he was no mortal.
He turned around, unholstering his weapon and started aiming to his surrroundings, with two rounds on the magazine, he guessed he could take down anything that had entered into the room if it had light enough armor, however, he needed to account that it might be agile enough to avoid the shots from a bolter. Unlike the auto weapons, bolts were self propelled, they needed some time to reach its full velocity.
If it was as agile as a Drukhari Incubus, he might be in an extremely dangerous situation. And it didn't help that this tension was making his skin creep up.
He found himself in a very bad spot as well, with plenty of openings for marksmen in different angles, all it took was a well placed shot from a lasfusil to kill him, even a bolt would be very bad from where he was standing. He could not turn around to continue smashing the door because a simple distraction could be what whatever was stalking him needed to place a hit.
Then, he saw it, a sudden green blur, he could not hear the steps, but he saw it move in one of the upper catwalks. Instinctively, Malachi place a shot, which would land in a wall beyond, missing, however, this shot did not came without a boon, for now he knew whatever that came was above him.
Deciding to use the initiative, Malachi powered his jump pack and lunged forwards, quickly turning around to aim his weapon to this green threat-
Then, he felt an explosion on his back before hearing the detonation of a firearm, his balance in the air was immediately lost, and, despite his best attempts, he was sent out of control, pummeling down the ground into one of the parked rovers, the vehicle buckled, bent and was turned around with his weight, rolling and almost getting it on top of him, the crash had made him lose his bolt pistol, but his hammer remained nearby. A quick diagnosis revealed that there was a puncture in one of his propellers, critical damage, the turbines were broken, the promethum was leaking, it was rendered useless now, dead weight. He was fortunate though, for whatever he was shot with did not pierce into his power pack.
He quickly stood up but remained behind cover, a quick scan revealed that his weapon was nearby, behind one of those green tanks, with that objective in mind, he drifted to the side and and reached for his bolt pistol, catching it but also being barely missed by a round of the same weapon that had broken his jump pack. He decided to swap the magazine of his heavy bolt pistol for a new one, to have a better opportunity to hit whatever was behind the cover, on the other side. Then he carefully stepped out of cover, bolt in one hand and hammer in the other.
And then he saw it.
A single figure stood before him, it was smaller than him by about a head, no skin or fur was visible, but it was humanoid. Olive green and gray armor covered its body with angular designs, similar to that color of the Raptors, with a black undersuit with a hex pattern. The helmet it wore reassembled a cap, while the visor was one complete unit made of gold. Malachi could hear the soft servos of the armors, almost imperceptible to even his ears, but he also could hear the faint beating of a heart, slow, steady. Calm. And before his heart, a single number was written.
117.
Calm, unlike him, the calmness of this thing unnerved him. He could feel the dark urges creeping under his skin...
The creature was aiming a single pistol, it looked to be a small caliber arm, however, considering that his jump pack was made useless, he would not disregard these weapons. On its other hand, it held a knife that reflected the soft light of the room.
Then, he was able to hear its voice, masculine, grave but not booming, a whisper, it spoke.
"Discard your weapons". He ordered in a very broken version of Low Gothic, it almost seemed like one of the languages that were the bedrock of the Gothic tongues. He was standing still, looking at him.
His common sense told him to comply, his honor told him to scoff and fight...
And his creeping thirst told him to tear this techno abomination to shreds. To get its blood for himself.
"There is no need to make things worse than they are for you" He said said. Malachi would notice on the corner of the eye another figure, this one remained in a catwalk. This one was wearing a very similar armor and was aiming at him from where he was with something akin to a bolt sniper, which was the most likely reason for his jump pack to burst. "Discard your weapons, now"
The disrespect, these humans... or creatures, were probably controlled by the abominable intelligence on the ship. He would not be ordered by machines.
So, he pulled the trigger, he fired several bolts towards 117. However, he then saw how he moved, the projectiles were dodged with such grace only an Aeldari could prove to achieve, spinning and moving with such speed that the bolts seemed to miss their target by leagues. Then, it was its turn, it fired the pistol, emptying the mag, the rounds bouncing off his armor for the most part, but he felt a sharp ping of pain in one of his elbows, for a round seemed to have struck there, this made him seeth more. Malachi began advancing at close range combat, quickly sprinting towards he felt another hit given to his armor, a glancing hit on his pauldron, such a shot came from above as the other green used its weapon, leaving a dent.
Malachi returned fire, emptying the magazine, which the sniper promptly avoided. However, the distraction was enough to have 117 close the distance with its knife, the marine was about to try a pommel strike when he felt the slash on his side, he tried to grab grab but it moved too fast. Another slash, this one was deeper, against the opposite side of his knee. The undersuit was being compromised, it was no longer void usable.
This made Malachi slowly simmer, he was losing his cool, fortunately though, after a third attempt on a slash, he managed to land a punch agaist the green armored man, managed to push him back, a golden hue flashed around his body as it spun around, landing down and scratching the ground with its boots as it slid back, that golden hue soon dissipated. There was clearly a sort of shielding surrounding it. It checked its knife, which was now bent and chipped, pretty much unusable now, it was clear that the hits against his skin proved to be a lot for the blade, and so, 117 dropped it and picked up another of these knives from his hip, this one was longer, and the blade curved forwards, a kukri, he remembered those from the Catachans. Perfect to catch limbs and weak spots, damn good knives, but now it was going to be used against him.
His wounds ached, he could feel them bleeding even if they were sealing up, this thing had managed to cut through some of his tendons. His focus was faltering, his mind was getting more cloudy the longer he stood there.
The green armor slowly strolled to the left, knife forwards, holding it horizontally, the golden visor never looking away from him. And the space marine followed suit. Using low fire rate weapons like his bolt pistol proved too risky, however, there was the hostile marksman on the upper catwalks, currently out of sight, which could prove to be dangerous. It was pretty evident they were not trying to kill him, but to disable him. Maim him.
"Stop" He said, it was a simple order, blunt and firm they kept circling around one another. "I am not your enemy, don't force me to do this".
Oh but he was now.
"You deal with abominable intelligences, creature, you will not be spared from the Emperor's will" He said in Low Gothic to convey his message, his voice sounded out of breath due to the thirst growing.
The green armor didn't reply, and kept gradually funneling right, preparing to attack or defend.
Malachi decided to attack, using the bolter to keep the armor on the defensive, which kept dodging the bolts while gradually approaching him, entering in the very dangerous melee reach of the thunder hammer. The blood angel did not hesitate as he lunged to pummel the hostile, which the green armor took advantage of to cut his wrist. Sneaking away when he took a swing, the power weapon reaching its shield briefly and making it ripple and shimmer as the ground pound made a splash of energy.
The green armor kept slowly cutting on, small stabs, slashes and cuts, that were so continuous that the ground beneath was now of the same color as the armor Malachi wore, putting his regenerative factor into constant stress and this wounds were slowly maiming his movement speed, he became slower due to the regeneration of his tissue slowing down. It knew where to strike all the time but they did not know about the regenerative factor, or 117 was trying to find the limits to incapacitate him. The pain, the inability of hitting him for the most part, the looming threat of the sniper who was gradually chipping away on his armor were getting to him. His eyes were becoming bloodshot underneath the helm, his breath was becoming more animalistic, his attacks more erratic, he found himself in a war of attrition, and he was slowly losing.
Then, he swung his hammer down, pounding the ground which prompted an energy shockwave, this time, the energy did hit the creature square in thearmor, finally breaking its shield with a small golden energy burst, and sending 117 tumbling back, however, the ground pound gave the perfect opportunity to the sniper.
He had not realized the sniper had closed in, the shots it fired were not too consequential but it always managed to shot whenever he was in the middle of the fight, forcing him to reply to that shot in stake of 117 striking him, or focus on the green armor which would mean the sniper would keep shooting more before relocating.
He did not notice where it had relocated though, until it was too late.
He felt a sudden change of weight on his back before a sharp sting of pain flared, the sniper landed on his power pack, and with it, a stab that went right on the neck back. The sudden distraction was something that the enemy used on its advantage, for 117 suddenly sprinted, jumping high before landing a kick right on his helm.
A sharp pain was felt on his face before he lost balance, falling backwards, his body dragging on the metal body before stopping, the two armored beings stepping back when they saw him land square to the ground. Malachi could not think, the hit had left him stunned, he did not know what was going on anymore, his common sense was soon replaced with pure, unrelenting hatred.
They were beating him, two green lanky armored soldiers with nothing more than a few knives and a rifle.
He couldn't lose, he wouldn't lose... He was feeling... Hungry...
The two of them were backing up, muttering behind their helmets, most likely hoping the kick in the face would finish the threat for now and probably calling for backup or to someone to clean the mess made, however, instead, Malachi started standing up once again, humped, breathing visible and heavily, Malachi turned around. And with the sight before them, the two armored ones got ready for fighting again.
The visor of the left side had caved in, the shards sticking into his face. Now there was a single hole where the green glass was once, and through that hole, a red eye was shown, a red, bloodshot eye, looking at the two of them with unrelenting and pure hunger. The two entities adopted their combat postures once more, ready to receive this monster.
Malachi was no more, for the curse that had run on his chapter since its beginning got to him once again.
And this time, his brothers were not here to stop him.
"We are unable to communicate with Baal, Lord Custodian". The man sitting in the main throne of the Astropathic Choir of the vessel.
Calliston Seth and his Shield Host, supported by some Sisters of Silence, had taken command of a light cruiser of the Imperial Navy under control of the Adeptus Terra named the Valentus, utilizing the Lex Ultima, they seized command of the vessel and started making the preparations to set sails to the Baal System, it was a long trip, estimated to take a few months due to its location in the Ultima Segmentum. However, any attempt of contacting Baal had proved so far futile.
Currently, Calliston was not wearing his armor, but a soft white and golden robe, still towering over everyone in the room, he had a militar cut and a well shaved beard, tanned skin, brown hair, black eyes, he was well looking, or so he was told.
"Any dissonant notes you could notice, astropath?". The feminine voice of his battle sister, the Custodian Artemis Kal, questioned, she was not wearing her armor either, her hair was left long, tied in a ponytail, fair skin and ginger hair with green eyes, pretty typical from the northern region she was from. Her immaculate skin wore a scar on one side of her face from the forehead to the cheekbone, a reminder of what a daemon is capable of.
"Yes, plenty of those, we hear growls, incoherent sounds, low volume, high amount". The astropath replied curtly, if uncomfortable.
Calliston and Artemis looked at each other, thinking about what was stated before someone dragged their attention.
Sister Malik of the Sisters of Silence, who was in between them, started to gesture, the woman was fair skinned and the hair trimmed the way her Order usually did. At first glance she might not seem like anything too special, but there was something that seeded unease in the mortals around her, and particularly the psykers. The astropath could only see gestures he did not know of but the two Custodes seemed to be understanding all that was being said.
"Hm... It might actually be". Said Artemis.
"W... What is it, my lord Custodian?". He asked, still a little uneased.
"We suspect it might be a Shadow in the Warp". Calliston said, looking at the astropath, who had his face dropping at the news.
"Tyranids, my lord?". The man said, dumbfounded and wide eyed.
Seth nodded as he looked at Sister Malik once more, who began doing gestures once again, these one said that there was a big chance that they would get there in the middle of a Tyranid invasion, which would prove difficult to face given they were only six Custodians and six Sisters of Silence in the ship.
"I agree, but the Emperor had commanded us to do it, whatever trial we face, we will terminate". He assured to her before looking back at the Astropathic Choir. "Keep trying to contact Baal, let me know if any developments is made".
The Custodians walked out the room with Sister Malik following right behind, the vessel was preparing for a warp jump, so, before it did, they wanted to do one last check before they departed, walking deeper into the vesselt to the Sanctuary.
Sister Malik remained behind, for the Navigators were usually very sensitive to nulls.
The throne of the navigator Kristela Vanvalen was in the bottom of the room, sitting on her throne of velved, wood and gold, she was old, her time in this taxing job had left her more mutated than when she started, making her look of an ever older age, she was pale, lanky with silver hair and red eyes, her ears had become pointy, ressembling a particularly stretched up Aeldari. Her third eye remained hidden behind some wraps on her head. She bowed her head in respect.
"Well met, Custodians". She said with a tattered voice. "I see you brought blanks with you... I can feel them in the ship".
"I apologize for the inconvenience this might prove, lady Navigator, however, we need to know if the currents of the warp are on our favor". Said Calliston curtly, despite the fact that he technically outranked her, he had always threaded carefully with them, he knew of several Valvalen Navigators, and fortunately, they did not have as big of an ego as other houses.
And such approach was sound.
"Oh, it is not an inconvenience, it makes it a particularly entertaining challenge... And yes, lord Custodian, I have seen the currents, they are not good. The Immaterium seems particularly stirred today, there is something that is causing ripples, like a rock on a puddle". She explained. "It is very difficult to travel to a point of reference when I cannot see them".
"I can assume you are well aware of the Shadow in the Warp". Artemis said, raising a brow.
"I am indeed, but that is not the issue I was talking about, as I said, the Warp currents are agitated, they are rippling like a hurricane, all in one direction... Towards Segmentum Obscurus"
This made Calliston raise a brow, there were a lot of important worlds on that Segmentum, a few dozens of important hives like Mordia, there was Medusa, the Iron Hand's homeworld, there was also Agripinaa, a Mechanicus Forgeworld, there was Vostroya, one of the worlds with the best trained imperial guards, and there was...
And there was Cadia.
He remembered the different Dark Crusades done by the Warmaster, Abaddon the Despoiler, title earned after the death of the Archtraitor Horus, twelve times had he attacked the Imperium, but none seemed to bring so much disruption in the Warp like the one Lady Vanvalen was describing. This was a very dark omen, one that his Order would take a lot of interest.
But he had his orders.
"How long would it take for us to get to Baal with these currents?". He asked.
"It might vary, as little as a month and as long as never, it is a gamble with all these ripples and dissonant currents, but it is all up to you to decide, Lord Custodian"
"Prepare for departure then, we will have to take the gamble... The Emperor will guide us to our destination". He said.
"As you wish, My Lord". She nodded, and it was all that the two Custodians needed to hear before they departed the room, there was a lot to think about, but for now, they needed to prepare for any adversity. Calliston then stopped Artemis a little further down the halls before speaking.
"Ask Zeus if he desires to be put back into dreadsleep during the trip, let the Shield know of these developments, I will attend some final duties before departure". Calliston ordered, order that Artemis fulfilled quietly stepping away, with Sister Malik following suit.
The Custodian walked around the ship for a few minutes, overseeing the preparations for departure, seeing the armaglass walls being covered by adamantium blinds as they prepared for warp shift. At this point, he returned to the personal room he was given within the ship, it was gilded, frivolously decorated to accomodate the best of guests, gold and velvet covered the wall as well as some paintings and a personal bathroom, in the bottom of the room, two servitors were standing next to the display that was holding his armor, his Castelan Axe. his Bolt Caliver and his Bolt Pistol. At this point, he decided to try and clear his mind, picking up a pillow from the bed, and putting it on the ground before kneeling over it, he prepared for meditation, to try and enter in communion with his Master once again, to show him guidance. He closed his eyes and cleared his thoughts.
And soon, the environment began to shift once again, the recycled oxygen turned fresh air, the smell of nature replaced the putrid grease, and a gentle wind blew over his skin.
He opened his eyes.
No longer was he on the ship, now, he found himself in the middle of nature, in a valley with mountains in the distance, trees, a river, green and blue extending over beyond what his improved eyesight could reach he could see the beauty of nature, hear the sounds of animals, deer were walking around near him, however, he sound would realize that what looked normal, really wasn't, for the he noticed the curvature. The terrain went up like a band, fading into blue, and continued up until it linked to the other side, returning to him.
It seemed like he was in the interior of a ring.
This was clearly not a natural formation, he had never seen such a structure before, necrons were the first thing that came to mind but this was clearly nothing like one of those xenos would make, the design was so... strange, yet so familiar, as if he had seen it before.
However, before he could start to wander, he heard a voice. One he recognized from his previous vision.
"Greetings, my Custodian". He said. "I welcome you to Halo".