Chapter 399;
Unification
I stood in the annex of the great ring around Terra and watched as a quarter of a million people filed into the great chamber. Holography and Screens projecting my presence to all present, and even to those not present. The bowl of the annex declined in such a way that I was at its base, positioned to receive the scrutiny of the people, that all might see me and know they had beheld me. Purple light framed me as my mind reached out. Behind me Moira, Aisling and Helena all stood in their finery, and behind them, the other Empresses, political assignations were arrayed. And in front, my children.
I looked up and around, and every soul present was fixed entirely on me. They watched with a wary anticipation and no small amount of fear. They had all felt and seen it as for eight weeks straight my missiles were produced by the billion and hurtled off into the universe under their own FTL drives to exterminate the Orks and their ecosphere in a way that would have left the C'tan and Old Ones impressed and terrified. And they wanted to know what would come next for one who commanded a near-universal genocide.
"Sons and Daughters of the human race. You know who I am. You have spent some time being introduced to the future of the species as I took you from the squalor and terror of a daily life under drudgery at best, and near slavery at worst. I have brought you all unto me, to take you from that and promise a new future. Some of you have come from the worlds of Alexanders sons, from Fenris, from Prospero, from Baal..." I drew quiet for a moment, all present heard their own worlds of birth mentioned even though I had not vocally said it. A trick Alexander told me of. A useful one to shape ones own perception into a tool.
"We come here now for me to announce the true beginning of our great venture. To reunite mankind together under a single banner, not just of Empire, but of alliance, for those who do not wish to join us must not be compelled or forced to do so, but convinced through deed and word that they too will be better off within our umbrella, and if they choose not to join, they can still benefit from our protection. But nay, though you have suffered in the past at the hands of other species, so to must the xenos kinds be made the same offer." Now I saw shock ripple through the crowd. Some had had interactions with the Aeldari traders I had encouraged, but largely there was still a nascent feeling of xenophobia.
"War offers nothing but suffering, but my friends, we do not go out into the galaxy as conquerors, but unifiers, we will bring the diaspora of sapient life into a new regime, a new mandate of heaven. This will not be the end of our journeys, but just the beginning. A time when man, woman and others come together to build a new communal future. Not all will accept this, there will be those who will rise and stand as opponents to this great venture. Those who will take up arms against it. Who will raise their own wars to prevent us from bringing a new future for all sapients." I cast my gaze around the chamber, "But you do not need to fear, children of the Ion Crown. For you are protected, even from death itself." A soft glow of a quarter of a million implants shining brightly as I forced power through their external lights.
A low chant began to build in the chamber, and I saw at the far end of the chamber, Lorgar standing next to Six, I continued to speak. "We go now, not on a great crusade, not to partake in the genocide of all that we fear, but on a pilgrimage to draw as many people under our umbrella. We will defend ourselves. We will defend our peoples. And where necessary, we will act to protect all peoples even though it means the eradication of another. This is the time of the Ion Crown. It is on this day I announce we BEGIN UNIFICATION!"
The chanting rose in volume and pitch, a deep and terrifying tone of worship.
Mentally other plans were laid. And I hoped that I had raised Princeps well enough for what was to come.
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A hundred million ships departed Terra on that dawn and Aisling leaned against me as we watched out at the starfield, her fingers entwined in mine. The beauty of the universe we were charging out into keeping us quiet for now as we simply appreciated the pleasure of
being. Jupiter was out there leading one of what was, publicly, a unification fleet. But it wasn't one. It was an extermination fleet, Alexander had been happy to furnish me with everything he had known of the Rangda and their servant races, and had been strong in his clarification as to the sheer danger they represented.
We didn't fear for Jupiter's life, it was even something of a surprise to realise that the preserving instinct had been burned out of us with the ease and availability, and certainty, of respawning. But our daughter had been assigned a terrible task, one that would make her, or break her. But even then I didn't fear. Couldn't fear.
Jupiter was our daughter, and that meant she had been forged from the stuff of the very stars. I knew even now, every star in the galaxy would be receiving at least one of our expeditions with the twenty million exploration fleets, and approximately a hundred billion stars, it would only take them visiting five thousand distinct stars each to explore it. And a much smaller number of them would have life around them necessitating contact.
I could have sent probes myself and found everything in a day, perhaps two, but I was rolling back the dependence the Ion Crown had on me to do everything without their presence. I wanted them to have a degree of independence and self direction, not to create a slavish nation who existed solely to obey my commands. I tensed and Aisling began to massage my hand and the tension left. She knew what was coming, as did Helena and Moira. And so, to his great terror, did Princeps.
"How long do we expect the Unification to take?" Aisling said, making conversation.
"Fifty to sixty terran standard." I answered.
"Years? Makes sense."
I shook my head and she looked up at me. "
Days." I grinned wryly, "With Alexander, we were able to be furnished with extensive stellar data that allow for all initial fleets to travel directly to known worlds. Some will be tougher nuts to crack, like what would have earned the name sixty-three-nineteen. But we're not trying to conquer everyone. Merely to unify."
She tucked in closer as I looked out of the viewports at space. It was a good day.
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The Emperor sat on his throne as his Invisibles struck. The beams of force from within their forcefields rendering them invisible reaching out to touch the representative of the Ion Crown where they impacted a shield of their own. The diplomat stood there and... yawned. Shepard had been warned about these people and how their little Emperor thought it was he who should be bowed down to and frankly, Shepard wasn't about to let some little lordling have his way.
But waiting ten minutes or so to show they were bored? That Shepard could do. No no, let's step it up a notch. Shepard recalled a chair from his storage and set it down before taking a seat, and summoning a nice hot coffee with a big strong aroma for them all to smell. And began to take nice relaxing gulps. This would take some time.
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Ronin stood in the hall with the nominal leaders of the Interex, both adapted humans and Kinebrach, he had more than that as part of his part of diplomats, designed to highlight the Ion Crown's multiculturalism. And so far, the talks were proceeding apace with a great deal of success. The Interex was opting not to join the Ion Crown at this stage, their insular natures and natural caution preventing them from taking the chance on strangers who simply appeared in space over their Homeworld with offers of peace and treaties.
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The Slayer watched as the bombs fell. One of the few worlds whose fates were preordained, the world of Laeran had been condemned, its people worshippers of the dead gods since the warp had been severed from realspace by the actions of a new God-Emperor. No forces set foot upon the planet. Each warhead that fell upon the planet had a five hundred gigaton yield, and they fell like rain from the belly of the
Death. The list in the Slayers mind was not long, but every one of them populated by worlds that the Emperor had decreed could not be permitted to exist.
As the crust cracked. As continents were split and the pressurised interior of the planet surged to occupy the space he continued to allow the bombs to fall. The atmosphere and oceans were already gone. There was no chance of the people on the surface to have survived. But the order had been given to sterilise every square millimetre of the planet.
With one finger, the Slayer pressed '
play'.
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The Conclave of the Aeldari had begun. Farseers and other leaders of every existing Craftworld having gathered under Ulthwe's banner to meet and discuss the treaties to be made with the Ion Crown, some few had elected to join, the treatment of their kin from the future that would have come convincing them of the Ion Crowns sincerity. Others elected merely to engage in diplomatic and trade talks, along with vows of non-aggression and extradition treaties for those who would violate the terms of the agreements. Non-interference pacts for Exodite worlds without express requests for aid were also signed into power.
The calm presentations of the Ion Crown's diplomatic teams under the combined skill of Elizabeth Weir, Irissa T'Aes and Jean-Luc Picard worked and swayed and served to build a portfolio of treaties and agreements, as well as cut through some of the Aeldari tendencies towards deceptive phrasings.
Made much more difficult by the fact the mon'keigh had somehow learned to become fluent in the eldar tongue, including the complexity of body language and syntax of meaning.
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For the first time in centuries Jupiter finally and fully understood the depth of challenge her father faced. The power within his hands and the psychological price to be paid for unleashing it fully. Her fleet was one without many troops at all, but full access to the fabrication suites and a basic instruction.
The Rangda and their client races would not be permitted to continue. She watched in a sort of mute horror as the Commander suit software she had been upgraded with relayed every movement, sensation and erg of energy and data into her conscious self. Forces teleporting down through the Helios', Strykers engaging in battle with Rangdan forces as they worked to gain a measure of understanding of their enemy. Orbital fire delivered by the War when a point proved strongly guarded, or buried deep enough to require such firepower to bring it to destruction.
As the Rangda began to rally around their capital city a tear rolled down her face as she gave the order to queue another million units into production and the Unit Cannons on the War began to thunk thunk thunk as they sent down death itself.
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Obisek stood in the centre of the Juunlak, his translator working carefully, this was one of many on the list of warrens belonging to the peoples called the Hrud that the Imperator had tasked him with finding, not destroying, finding, and trying to bring into the fold of the Ion Crown. They weren't truly the parasitic scavenger race many thought they were, and there were parallels between his Reman peoples and these Hrud, and though they did practice a form of slavery it was one of the things that he was working to break down.
There was no need for conflict between the Hrud peoples, and that they could live in the sun as part of the Ion Crown, protected from the Yaam-kheh that had hunted them and the Slah'haii.
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The Silent King stood there. Facing the being that had come in a ship of such an impressive scale. It's manufacture good enough that the Crypteks would not confess to knowing how to replicate it. The being before them was a machine intelligence, and it spoke well as it concentrated on him. Telling them of the new power that had come and would supplant the Necrontyr as the rightful masters of the galaxy, but that there was room in the Ion Crown for all races. That those who chose to join would receive all the benefits of citizenship, or that they could be allowed to live on in peace with their own territories and holdings not only unmolested, but held sacrosanct.
If that had been all then he would have attempted the destruction of this creature for its impudence.
But this sapient machine did not come with just vague suggestions of the stick. He came with honeyed offers of the one thing that they desired more than anything.
A return to the flesh. Of a promise that the gods had made and lied about. To not just return them to the living, but to do so free of the cancers that had plagued them, to cure them of their criminally short lives by a crime of biology.
To make them living... and immortal.
An offer that could not be refused if it were truth. But the Necrontyr did not tend towards making the same mistakes. He would accept, if they could prove their words.
He never truly expected Legion to accept such terms. Yet he did. And so it would be that the Necron Dynasties would be faced with a choice, and dare any refuse lest the dysphorak strike?
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The celebrations filled the halls as the Auretian Technocracy became the first of the major human populations to sign a compact to join the Ion Crown, the Fabricator Consul pledging his own life to the house of Imperator for as long as he were to live, that all good sons and daughters of the Technocracy would join loyally in welcoming their new administrators. Bradford shook his hand for all the record keeping devices to save into posterity as the armoured troops of the Technocracy donned their helmets and began to shake the hands of the Ionian troops present who also doffed their helms, the shock of seeing as many were alien as human settling in for a moment before the celebrations resumed.
The glory of the Ion Crown would not be complete without the jewel of the Technocracy.
Across the galaxy, the banner of the Ion Crown rose in prominence.
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