WARHAMMER DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I WAS ALL PREPARED TO GO ON MY EPIC SPACE CRUSADE, UNTIL I REMEMBERED THAT I DON'T HAVE A SPACESHIP ANYMORE. I CAN'T HAVE ANYTHING.
So… Squats are back. Now I have a new hobby project, along with everyone else in the 40K community. At least I will be in good company.
Speaking of company, I'd say it's high time the Khan met with his peers.
Star-Bound
Chapter 36
Records
Shepard knew that her combined fleet was a sorry sight as it arrived in Ultramar. Every single ship had suffered at least some damage, their Warp reactors were in dire need of maintenance, and their munitions were almost expended.
Xem-Beta was only slightly more expressive than most of his kind, but Shepard was still able to see that he was on the verge of a breakdown after seeing the reports.
Fortunately, Ultramar was one of the most secured and well-supplied sections of the galaxy, and once Gantz—the forge world closest to Macragge—was alerted, the fleet had an entire shipyard ready to help.
Shepard would have preferred to take Jaghatai Khan to Macragge directly, but with her entire fleet temporarily grounded, Guilliman came to them instead. To Shepard's surprise, the Avenging Son was not alone; when the Macragge's Honor arrived, she came alongside the Hrafnkel, and a squadron of Space Wolf vessels.
The leaders of the Shepard Crusade, along with the Black Templars, stood at attention as two magnificent Overlords landed, and the Primarchs strode out. Guilliman was escorted by a dozen Victrix Guards, as well as four Custodes, all of whom marched with inhuman precision. Russ, in contrast, practically swaggered as he and a handful of Space Wolves came down the ramp.
Guilliman looked like he was about to make a speech, but Russ preempted him by charging straight at the Warhawk. The White Scars looked ready to defend their lord, but a sharp look from the Khan stopped them. An instant later, Jaghatai was nearly bowled over when Russ tackled him.
"Ha! I knew you wouldn't be dead when Shepard found you!" Russ tried to grab his brother in a headlock, but Jaghatai gracefully escaped his hold.
"You had that much faith in me?" the Khan asked.
Russ scoffed. "No, but Shepard found three of us already, and there isn't an Aeldari alive who can kill one of us."
"Of course." Jaghatai raised an eyebrow. "You look old, Leman."
Guilliman chose that moment to intervene. "And you, brother, seem not to have aged a day."
Jaghatai shrugged. "The Webway is strange. That is all I can say on that matter. I understand that much has happened since I have been gone, and that there are duties I must fulfil."
Guilliman smiled. "Please, brother, allow us the small joy of this reunion before you go charging off again. Regardless of our past, I am overjoyed to see another of us alive."
Jaghatai reluctantly nodded. "Still, I must make contact with the rest of my sons. I have been made aware that there are many more Chapters than before I left, and would like to meet them all."
"I will have it arranged; some of our communications are… unreliable, especially in Imperium Nihilus, but I will make it so. Until then—for the love of Terra, Leman, what are you doing? I don't think Shepard can breathe."
Russ used one hand to send his brother a rude gesture, while the other kept Shepard in a friendly headlock. "I can't do this to Jaghatai, and you certainly won't let me, so I must find someone."
Shepard weakly tapped his wrist, while several Alexian Guard were trying to pry Russ' grip loose. Almost everyone else appeared mortified; the Space Wolves, on the other hand, were laughing hysterically.
"Come," Guilliman said, after helping to free Shepard, "let us go to Macragge. There is much to discuss."
Shepard coughed. "Oh, even more than you think."
…
It took almost two days to reach Macragge and get through the pomp of yet another momentous occasion. Shepard had brought her entire war council and the commanding officers of the First-Blooded with her, along with Helbrecht; they had valuable insight to share, and Shepard owed them an explanation.
After sharing the tale of how they'd found Jaghatai, and the deaths of both Ghazghkull and Khârn, Guilliman and Russ had offered them all heartfelt congratulations.
"Your actions have ended the lives of two enemies that have caused untold suffering across the Imperium," Guilliman said. "Your names will live on so long as one human still stands."
"Thank you," Shepard said, but frowned. "However, the one called the Amalgamation of Hate is going to be a problem. If it can't go after me directly, it'll find other ways to hurt me. It knows exactly what buttons to press to make me angry."
Jaghatai, who had remained silent for most of the retelling, suddenly rose to his feet. "You have been given a mission by the Emperor. You cannot afford distractions from this task, especially if there are more clues to the puzzle of your omni-tool. The Amalgamation hunts you, but I will hunt it in turn; once my sons are assembled, I will pursue this abomination, checking its moves and preventing it from wreaking too much havoc. This way, if an opportunity presents itself, we can catch the monster between us."
Shepard smiled. "See, this is why I like having as many friends as possible, because that means there's someone there when you need 'em."
Guilliman chuckled. "If only more people in the Imperium thought as you do."
Helmin coughed. "Pardon me, my lord, but I must ask Saint Shepard why we're all here."
"Yeah…" Shepard sighed. "Look, I'll be honest, I wasn't planning on explaining this, but recent events have made them relevant. You all are the people I trust most, and you deserve to know what you're getting into."
And then she told her story. She explained how she was from a completely different galaxy, one where humans and aliens coexisted more often than they fought, and how they stood together against the Reapers. She told them how, in the final moments of the Reaper War, she was sent to yet another universe, with primitive technology and powerful magic. She talked about the wars she fought, the friends she made, and the enemies she killed.
When she finished her tale with her arrival upon Vigilus, almost three days had passed, but none of her friends complained. All of them had wondered about Shepard's past, but none had remotely suspected the truth.
That wasn't to say there wasn't some grumbling. Even Blaise, the most devoted of Shepard's followers, was a little hurt that she had never told them the truth. That faded when Shepard mentioned the death of Gregor, and then David—even remembering her husband's murder, fifty years later, caused her to flinch, and bringing up the death of her son caused more than one mortal in the room to shed tears. Even the Space Marines' psycho-indoctrination couldn't completely block out their sympathy for Shepard's pain.
…
With her story told, Shepard gave her friends a day to process all they had learned. Among all of them, Rex had the deepest misgivings, and shared them with Blaise.
"Her devotion to duty and the defeat of Chaos is real, but her faith is… not." Rex gripped the railing of the balcony they stood on. "In many ways, she is… a heretic."
"And yet, she isn't," Blaise countered. "Her faith is in us, and her loyalty to the Emperor is more akin to that of a soldier following a trusted commander, not a devotee of a god. If any of us spoke to the God-Emperor as she has, truly gotten to know Him, would we not be the same? Perhaps all Living Saints hide this truth behind a mask of faith, because it is what the rest of us need in order to carry on?"
"Only those touched by the God-Emperor's light can truly know Him," Rex said softly, quoting an old scripture he'd heard as a boy. "I suppose that someone who has grown so close to the Emperor's power would know Him far better than us."
"Exactly," Blaise said. "Had she told us all this from the beginning, would we have believed her? Or would we have executed her without a second thought? She has proven herself over years fighting alongside us, Confessor. She would die for us—has died for us—without a second thought. If she were truly our enemy, we would not have had such success. Four Primarchs restored to the Imperium, and the God-Emperor's power increasing? No heretic would allow such a thing."
In the face of such truth, Rex was forced to back down. In many ways, Shepard was just as faithful as he was, but her faith manifested differently than his. He had always known that, but now that he knew the reason why, it gave him a chance to voice his misgivings. Now that he had, his protests felt hollow.
"Get some rest, Confessor," Blaise said gently. "I am sure Saint Shepard has more to tell us tomorrow."
…
Shepard was pleasantly surprised that her friends were still on her side when they returned. For the Militarum officers, they still saw her as a manifestation of the Emperor's power, and they loved her for fighting on the front lines with them. The Space Marines felt similarly, especially the Lamenters and Reapers—they still owed their existence to her, and their devotion hadn't wavered.
When Blaise stepped into the room, she knelt before Shepard and reaffirmed her oath of loyalty in front of everyone. Rex was more hesitant, but eventually pledged his own support; he did, however, specify that his loyalty was to the Emperor, first and foremost.
"That's fine," she said. "My loyalty is to Him, just as much as it is to all of you."
With her cards on the table, it was time to get into the practical aspects her past provided. Shepard went into as much detail as she could about the personalities making up the Amalgamation of Hate. Saren, the Illusive Man, and Henrietta von Carstein had caused her no small amount of pain over her life, and now they had returned, with decades to nurse their grudge against her.
"Their hatred is a double-edged sword," she said. "They'll stay focused on me, but that will leave them open to anyone else who wants a piece of them."
"Which is where I come in," Jaghatai cut in. "My sons and I will tear at their flanks, and bleed them while they pursue you. If they turn to face us, we will lead them on a chase, while you stay on the mission the Emperor has given you."
"You'll need more than a few Chapters to do much damage to a host of that size," Russ said. "Corax should join you. He's been gathering his own sons, and their successors; between the two of you, this Amalgamation will be bled dry."
Jaghatai nodded. "It will take time for me to bring together my own sons. I will meet with Corax, and then the hunt will begin."
Guilliman rose, as did the other Primarchs. "Come, brothers; there is much to do, and little time to do it. Shepard, keep your fleet within Ultramar; your ships will be repaired, and your army reinforced before you set out again. You have my word."
Shepard smiled wearily. "Thank you."
Once the Primarchs left, there was a collective exhale from the mortal humans; most could barely handle being in the presence of one Primarch for an extended period of time, but three was enough to nearly kill them.
"So…" Losvor shifted in his seat. "You were a hero in your… other galaxy?"
Shepard chuckled. "Yeah, I saved one planet from some slavers, and no one ever let me forget it. They even made a statue of me, right in the middle of the capital." She made a face. "It was the ugliest thing I've ever seen. They couldn't get my face right, so they made the head of the thing with the helmet on."
"You'd think your government's artisans would ensure accuracy," Helmin said.
"We didn't, um… have those," Shepard admitted. "Engineers designed things, fabricators built them. We didn't even paint stuff unless we had to. The statue was built by civilians with nothing better to do."
There was an odd squeaking noise from Xem-Beta; he was having trouble coming to terms with learning that Shepard's original galaxy didn't have machine spirits, and artificial intelligences were becoming accepted. Finding out that machines were not worshipped, but just utilitarian pieces of equipment, was starting to make him panic.
"Okay, look." Shepard rose to her feet. "My old galaxy is about as different from this one as it gets. It flies in the face of everything the Imperium stands for. I can't say that there aren't things here that don't bother me, but I'm not here to change that. My mission is to find the remaining Primarchs, and help the Emperor save this galaxy. That doesn't change that I consider all of you my friends, and I will never stop fighting for you."
"And we will never stop fighting for you," Blaise said. "Knowing your past does not change that."
"We know that you have many painful memories," Zandtus added. "Knowing that you have suffered so much, yet continue to fight is impressive. Few can live a life filled with such grief and not give in."
Shepard smiled bitterly. "I never said I didn't. Coming here… gave me a reason to keep going."
…
Three months passed, and the Shepard Crusade continued to rebuild. Regiments mustered at Vigilus, then traveled to Ultramar, either to replace destroyed elements of the Crusade, or fill out veteran regiments with fresh troops. Five battlegroups joined the fleet, not only replacing the ships lost, but leaving the fleet even larger than before.
More reinforcements arrived, but not for the Shepard Crusade. The White Scars arrived in their entirety, along with five other successor Chapters; some had been formed during the Second Founding, and were recognized by Jaghatai, but the others were unknown to him. During his meeting with these distant sons, he welcomed them, but also told them that they would have to prove themselves in battle. Shepard had been treated to a rare sight of over five thousand Space Marines all pledging themselves to the same cause. Jaghatai then gave his brothers a brief farewell, and led his sons in the hunt for Amalgamation.
Russ and the Space Wolves had elected to stay in Ultramar during this time. There were plenty of threats in the Ultima Segmentum to face, and it was easier for them to resupply in Ultramar, rather than go back and forth between there and Fenris.
Shepard still couldn't believe her officers not only accepted her story, but also continued to support her. It had taken them a little while to stop asking her random questions about her original galaxy, but she found that it was easier to talk about. She even told Blaise a few stories about Gregor without bursting into tears.
The Crusade didn't just sit on its hands; Shepard had every battle-ready unit spread out across Ultramar, assisting local forces with putting down minor heretical uprisings, shoring up defenses, and just generally doing their best to be helpful. While helpful in the long run, there were some Administratum adepts, and even a few Ultramarines, grumbled about how many resources the Shepard Crusade consumed. It went no further than that, however; Saint Shepard had the personal friendship of Guilliman and every other recovered Primarch, not to mention the Emperor Himself.
Shepard tried to help as well, but she was mobbed the few times she made public appearances, and after once incident where thousands of fanatical civilians were trampled trying to reach her, she decided to stay out of the way. Instead, she began regularly sparring with any post-human she could find—both Astartes and Custodes met her in the training cages, and though she lost more than she won, she knew that it would prepare her for what was coming.
Her more human friends, however, were less understanding.
"Every time I see you leave those cages, I wish to introduce your opponent to my blade," Carolya said after one bout.
Shepard waited for her broken jaw to heal before answering. "You can't improve if you only fight against people weaker than you. I've fought against Chaos Marines before, and I haven't always won, even with my powers. Remember Auramus? I would have been killed if Lord Guilliman hadn't shown up when he did—and so would you."
"Fair point," Carolya admitted, but continued to glare daggers at the Lamenter who had nearly torn Shepard's jaw off. "But why not face the training servitors? They can be set to fight with lethal intent."
Shepard saw that the same Lamenter was approaching, likely to profusely apologize, but she waved him off with a kind smile. "It's not the same. I have a feeling that I'm going to find a Primarch that isn't so inclined to join our side, and only one of us is going to walk away from that encounter. When that happens, I need to be ready."
Carolya nodded. "In your… old home… were there any opponents you felt you needed extra preparation for?"
Shepard chuckled; outside her most trusted advisors and officers in her Crusade, only the Alexian Guard knew her origins, and were the only ones actively encouraged to ask her about her old life.
"There was this one guy," she said. "His name was Kai Leng; he was fast, dangerous, and constantly tried getting in my way." Shepard's nostalgic smile turned into a frown. "He killed a friend of mine, and almost killed another. He liked getting in close with a sword, and he was good at not getting shot, so I spent a while brushing up on close-quarters fighting."
"I assume this man did not survive your wrath," Carolya guessed.
"Not a chance; I stabbed him in the heart, shot him in the head, and set him on fire for good measure." Shepard thought about it, going into memories she hadn't visited in decades. "Oh, yeah, and the space station we fought on exploded right after I left, so he's definitely dead."
"It seems you have always been thorough." Carolya nodded to herself. "That is reassuring."
"I just don't like leaving a job half-done." Shepard put her hand on Carolya's shoulder. "I think that's one reason why the Emperor wants us to succeed; through us, He can finally finish His own mission."
Carolya's organic eye went wide, and her bionic whirred as it tried to keep up. "To be even the smallest part in helping the God-Emperor fulfill His divine task… there is no greater honor."
Shepard thought about what she'd learned from Revelation, and how much he had suffered in ten thousand years. Even if she didn't agree with all of his choices, she knew he didn't deserve to go on forever without some kind of reward. Besides, humanity needed the Emperor to be as strong as possible, and every victory for the Shepard Crusade was a step towards making the Imperium a safer place.
A familiar twinge in her mind made Shepard frown. "Huh."
"What is it, Your Holiness?" Carolya tensed, and she gripped the hilt of her sword; nearby, one of the Custodes shifted his stance, ready for any potential danger.
"Speaking of the Emperor, I think He wants to talk." Shepard spun on her heel. "I'll be in my quarters. Please tell the war council to be ready for a briefing within the next few days."
"As you command." Despite knowing what she did about Shepard's past, Carolya's faith was unwavering; her Matriarch still bore the light of the God-Emperor, and that was all she needed to know.
…
Brol stepped forward and bowed his head respectfully. "It is an honor to see you again. I do not believe we actually spoke on Auramus."
Bjorn did not move, but Brol knew the ancient Dreadnought was staring at him. "No, we did not. It is strange, speaking to one who fought in the Great Crusade as I did. Aside from the Primarchs, and those who traveled with my jarl, I did not think I would meet any others from that time… that were not traitors."
Brol's hands clenched into fists. "Believe me, I wish all those who sided against the Imperium were never seen again."
"Your hatred is welcome. It shows that you are stronger than your father." Bjorn made a noise that might have been his attempt to spit. "Make sure to stay with Shepard. I have a feeling she will ensure you will get your retribution."
"I will." Brol paused. "May I ask a question?"
"If it is about her past, I did not know it."
"That isn't what I was going to say." Brol looked down at his gauntlets as he spoke. "Shepard never lied to us. She kept secrets, yes, but until that Amalgamation appeared, they never had any bearing on our task, and she told us everything once they did."
"Then what do you want to know?"
"Part of me still wants to be angry with her. Maybe my hatred of the Death Guard has made me intolerant of all but the purest intent. I know that you were furious with Lord Russ upon his return. How did you forgive him?"
Bjorn chuckled; his booming vox made Brol's bones shake. "It is simple. My jarl is a man of his word. He promised not to abandon us again, and I believe him. I believe Shepard has a similar code of honor, and her transgression was nothing compared to my Primarch's. There is little for you to be upset about, and you know this."
"I do." Brol shook his head. "I suppose I wanted to vent my doubts to someone not of my Chapter. They need me to lead without any sign of weakness, or it could spread to all of my brothers."
"Then be at ease, Garask Brol. Your doubts are fleeting shadows, easily banished by your burning soul." Bjorn laughed again. "Listen to me. I sound like a Chaplain."
Brol chuckled as well, but a click on his vox caught his attention. "Speak."
"High Commander, I apologize for interrupting," a Chapter serf said. "We received a message from Lord-Marshal Helmin. He says that Saint Shepard is… communing with the God-Emperor, and has requested the war council be ready for a meeting soon."
His doubts now gone, Brol only felt excitement at the prospect of another battle. "Very well. I will have the commanders ready their companies for war."
Bjorn took a step forwards. "You are not the only ones, Garask Brol."
Brol raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I have been listening to vox-chatter among my brothers. An envoy from the Inquisition arrived to speak with the Primarchs; whatever they said has both Guilliman and Russ readying for a campaign."
"Interesting… I somehow doubt that this is a coincidence."
"With Shepard, I am sure you are right."
…
"We have reached a turning point."
Shepard leaned back in her chair as Revelation spoke. The scenery had changed since the last time they'd met; though they were still in the Alaskan forests, they were in a comfortable cabin, not an open campsite. Revelation still tended to his fire, now merrily roaring away in a fireplace, but his ragged cloak was much mended, and his back was no longer hunched. Shepard appreciated the warmth, as well as the rocking chair that supported her own aching back.
"What happened?"
"With the return of the Warhawk, our enemy has begun to feel fear. They now strive to undo what you have wrought, and hope to strike at the Imperium with one of their greatest champions at the vanguard." Revelation sighed, his ancient features lined by sadness. "He should never have betrayed me. He made mistakes, yes, and they cost the Imperium almost everything, but I could have forgiven him. Instead, bigotry and deception forced him into the embrace of damnation. There is no saving this one, Alexia. For the sake of all who live, he must be destroyed."
Shepard stared at him for a long time. "You're talking about a Primarch. One of the traitors."
"Yes. He has completed a vile ritual that has brought a Neverborn world into realspace. Every moment that world exists, millions across the galaxy go mad. Mutation will grip countless worlds, and the galaxy will twist into a never-ending nightmare."
"Are we ready for a fight like that?"
"It does not matter if you are ready," Revelation said. "You must fight him. And you must win."
Shepard took a long, shuddering breath. "Story of my life."
"Indeed." Revelation chuckled. "But you have always emerged triumphant in the end, and you will not fight this war alone. The Wolves are at your back. A grudge ten thousand years long will finally come to a close, and if we are successful, the enemy will suffer a blow it can never recover from."
Shepard nodded. "What about the omni-tool? All we've gotten from the thing are a bunch of coordinates we have no reference for."
There were also some recordings made by Ashley some time before she died, but Shepard hadn't worked up the courage to view them.
Revelation sighed. "It remains a mystery; you and I must both examine it, but we need time. It is possible that the enemy knows this, and has launched this attack precisely to keep us occupied."
"Then we'll finish this fight as soon as we can, and get back to work." Shepard started to rise, but Revelation held up a hand to stop her.
"One more thing. I was surprised that you told your followers about your past. You did not need to."
"They deserved to know. And I trust them."
Revelation closed his eyes. "Trust… if I had been more trusting, perhaps we would not be here now. So many people I called my friends would not have abandoned or betrayed me, had I just been open with them. Instead, I remained convinced that only I had the answers to everything."
"And look where that got us."
"Indeed. Now, if I am to have any chance of salvaging humanity's future, I must place my trust in you, and my sons."
Shepard smirked. "Better late than never, right?"
"Yes… better late than never."
…
"Prospero is no longer abandoned." Guilliman brooded on his throne. "According to the Inquisition, a new planet has emerged from a Warp storm, and now orbits Magnus' old home. It is called Sortiarius, the Planet of Sorcerers, and from it, Magnus has turned the entire system into a fortress."
Representatives of the Ultramarines, Space Wolves and Shepard Crusade murmured amongst themselves. It was one thing to know that Daemon Primarchs existed, it was another thing entirely to see one actively moving against the Imperium.
"It's worse than that," Shepard said. "According to the Emperor, just being in realspace is making people all over the galaxy go insane. If we don't stop this soon, most of the Imperium will be destroyed."
"We do not have time to gather the forces necessary to completely take Prospero." Guilliman scowled. "Magnus chose his moment well; the Imperium is busy consolidating its gains, and our forces are spread thin, for now."
Russ stroked his beard. "Then we take what we have, and hurl our spear into the Cyclops' black heart."
"Agreed. This assault must be a surgical strike. Only the very best of our forces will attack Sortiarius itself; the rest must be dispersed across the neighboring systems, to keep Magnus' influence in check."
"Between the Militarum forces you have, and mine, we should be able to hold those systems," Shepard said. "The rest of the attack force should be Astartes and Sororitas."
"We have Titans and Knights as well," Guilliman said. "If we can secure a landing zone, they will be crucial to defeating the Thousand Sons on their own world."
"The most important target is Magnus himself." Russ frowned. "Can we truly kill him? Daemons are notoriously hard to destroy."
"I have the Emperor's sword," Guilliman offered. "It has permanently destroyed daemons before."
"And the Emperor specifically told me to kill Magnus," Shepard added. "I don't think He would have given that order if He didn't think I could do it."
Helmin rose to his feet. "Then with all due respect, you two must be held in reserve until the traitor is exposed. Once he knows of the danger, he will likely never go back into the open."
"Leave that to me," Russ said with a grim smile. "The Cyclops and I have unfinished business. He will not let such a challenge go unanswered."
Guilliman nodded. "You will have to hold him until Shepard and I arrive. Can you do that?"
"Ha! I spent countless years in the Eye, Roboute; I've learned a trick or two about fighting daemons." Russ shrugged. "Still, better the two of you not wait too long, or I might just banish the bastard before you get there."
Shepard laughed. "Maybe you should just get him talking. The bad guys always love to monologue."
Russ grinned. "True, and Magnus always preferred words before actions."
"Do not get overconfident, brother," Guilliman warned. "I have fought Magnus before, and his power is far greater than it was when you battled him."
Russ' cheer faded. "I know, Roboute. Trust me… I know."
Shepard felt a pang of sympathy in her heart. No matter what Magnus the Red had become, he was still the other Primarchs' brother. Perhaps that was why the Emperor wanted her to join them; there was a chance that they might hesitate, but Shepard had no such history with Magnus that might stay her hand.
"Then I think we had better get ready," she said. "We've got a war to win."
I owe you all an apology. I've had so many delays for a very short chapter. There was writer's block, other projects, and lots of personal issues that I'm still working through. Still, now that I'm through this hurdle, the next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long to write.
So… yeah. Shepard told her friends about her past, but she never really lied to them. She kept secrets, yeah, but that was because she would have been burned at the stake for being a heretic. She openly admitted to working with aliens and AIs in the past, which is liable to get you shot in the Imperium. But she's got the backing of five Primarchs, plus the Emperor, so she's pretty safe.
Unfortunately for the Imperium, things rarely go humanity's way for long. Magnus is back, and he's ready for… what is this, the third battle of Prospero? Fourth? Maybe more? Whatever, this one is gonna be a doozy.
As always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find it on my website (link in my profile), or on Amazon as an eBook or physical copy. Sales help motivate me to finish the sequel, which is close to being finished!
You can also support me on my P-atreon page (link in my profile). I'd love to one day have enough donations to quit one of my three jobs, and give myself the time I need to write every single day.
Speaking of which, thanks to the following Patrons for just being awesome:
Serious Muffins: Nimrod009, Matthias Matanovic, John Collins, Red Bard, Aaron Meek, killroy225, Lokthar, Hakuryuken, Anders Lyngbye, the sercher
Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, michaelb958, Crazyman844, Ben Stueckle
Ultra Muffins: RangersRoll, Adam Costello
Next Chapter: The Shepard Crusade faces untold horrors, and they'll need every ounce of power their faith and their bonds with each other can give if they are to survive…
All is Muffins…