Argon Prime
Balthar System
Tenebra Sub-sector
Caligari Sector
Onboard the
Bleeding Spear¹….
Martonius Seth was a very patient person by nature.
Unlike other Chapter Masters, he was of a more tolerant and accepting nature than most, and did not impose extra severe punishments for minor faults, as some were in the habit of doing.
But there were limits to such generosity and patience, and his own had been sorely tested as of late.
As he was musing about it, the vox communicator crackled to life.
"Chapter Master, we have received a missive from Inquisitor de Montaal. She reminds you of the necessity to cleanse Argon Prime as well as you can, in order to instill loyalty and faith to the God-Emperor."
On hearing it, the veins on the forehead of the Necropolis Falcons' Chapter Master threatened to burst for a few moments.
He paced back and forth in considerable agitation in his chamber aboard their Battle Barge, as he tried to get his anger in check. Which unfortunately enough, was beginning to become a regular occurrence.
It had started after he had offered to aid efforts to restore order in the Caligari Sector. It was a request that few would make if they knew beforehand what that sector was like. But Martonius had a burning desire in his heart (or his twin hearts, to be more precise), to do something for the Imperium, the God-Emperor, and His people.
Those rosy dreams would begin to crumble the moment his Chapter's fleet entered the Warp. Thanks to the fickleness of the Empyrean, his Chapter would reach the Caligari Sector behind time by at least eight standard months.
And on arrival, the Inquisitorial representative was not exactly…impressed, to say the least. From the look on his face, apparently, they had been expecting more in the way of reinforcements.
Still, orders were orders, and the Necropolis Falcons would become the Chamber Militant of the Caligari Conclave.
The few months spent trying to get used to the sector were troublesome at best, with the Inquisition providing what little assistance it could, while maintaining a cold, severe and haughty atmosphere in their presence. This would rankle the Space Marines, who slowly became increasingly restless and restive.
And now, they had received their first assignment: stamp out the heresy in Argon Prime.
From the intelligence reports he had received, Martonius felt that this might be rather easy; it was after all, a Hive World with minimal defenses. And after all, how much would the heretics be able to muster up against them? No more than the local Astra Militarum regiments and the PDF, along with some hastily cobbled militias, give or take.
Yet for some reason, there was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind, that it would not be so simple. And no matter how much he tried to convince himself, it stayed there.
And now, on top of this, a message from probably one of the most difficult Inquisitors in existence.
Suffice it to say that he was in an ebullient state of mind when the Captain of the 2nd Company entered his chamber.
Captain Nassos Eshmro entered to a scene that left him feeling uneasy: the Chapter Master was pacing back and forth with an angry expression on his face.
Clearing his throat, he said carefully, "Chapter Master, are you all right?"
Upon hearing his voice, Martonius immediately turned around, and greeted him, "Greetings, Captain Eshmro. I am fine for the most part, just somewhat disturbed is all."
Nassos stared at the Chapter Master inscrutably for a while, wondering to himself just how much of that was true. Taking a bit of a risk, he asked, "Pardon me for my boldness, but is it about the upcoming Crusade?"
The leader of the Necropolis Falcons frowned slightly before replying, "Yes, that would be about right. You see, I have been having this feeling for quite some time now that the offensive on Argon Prime will not be as easy as we think it to be."
Raising an eyebrow at this, Nassos asked, "Just why do you feel so, sir?"
Martonius sighed. "I don't know; I can't quite explain why, but I have been having this feeling for as long as I set my mind to the planet. You may say it's my paranoia talking, but I just can't be at ease with this Hive World."
Nassos thought for a while, before replying. "I can't offer you much advice on this matter, sir, but I can say this much: just to be on the safe side, we can take additional precautions. Then we should hopefully be ready for any unexpected situations."
Martonius smiled slightly. "I guess that is all we can do. By the way, Captain, how are the Battle Brothers faring?"
The Captain of the 2nd Company adopted a more formal expression as he said, "Morale among all the companies is good, Chapter Master. They are eager for their first piece of action. But…"
"But what?"
"....Any mention of the Inquisition has them on edge and tense."
"That is unfortunate, and I am afraid it can't be helped. The Caligari Conclave doesn't exactly have the best impression of us." Martonius said resignedly.
"You mean a rather bad first impression, Chapter Master," Nassos said with anger in his voice. "And no," he continued, even as Martonius glared at him, "regardless of what you think, the reason we are getting the cold shoulder is due to that Inquisitor who received us when we came here. All it took was a few bad words from him, and look where that got us."
"Watch your tongue, Captain. What you are saying is dangerous." Martonius admonished.
"I am a Space Marine - one of the proudest servants of the God-Emperor. I know very well what I am saying. The Inquisition here is not exactly a house of virtue. Their devotion to the Emperor is not suspect, but their motivations and methods are."
Martonius sighed in defeat. "I have my own reservations regarding the Caligari Conclave, but we are their Chamber Militant. We are bound to take and execute orders from them. And these kinds of sentiments will affect both the morale among the Battle Brothers, and our relationship with the Inquisitors. So I am giving an order to suppress these sentiments for as long as we are in the Inquisition's employ. Give it to the other Captains and make sure they execute it properly."
Nassos stared at the Chapter Master for a short while, then saluted him, saying, "As you command, sir." and left the room, leaving Martonius to his thoughts.
"I really hope things get better from here." He thought to himself.
On a nondescript planet in the Ultima Segmentum….
The squad of Aggressors slowly made their way through a patch of open terrain, as they kept their eyes open for anything out of the ordinary.
Following close behind was another squad of Eradicators and two squads of Intercessors, likewise maintaining a careful surveillance of the area.
"This place…is this really where they are?" One of the Aggressors whispered.
One of his Battle Brothers turned sharply and whispered, "Cut it down, you fool! You want to alert them to our presence? And besides, the information we got points to this region. There are some abandoned settlements ahead, which would be an ideal place for anyone trying to hide."
"Still, don't you think we are heading into an ambush? I mean, this is, after all, as you said, an abandoned region. No signs of life for miles around. Easy to set up traps for the unsuspecting. We should be exceedingly cautious here, is all I am trying to say." Krysurr Numor, the first Aggressor who had spoken, said with exasperation and just loud enough to catch the ears of their Sergeant, Herculo Ush'ken.
"I can hear your little conversation back there, Battle Brothers. I would suggest that you put a lid on it for now, and remember that we are on a mission at the moment." Herculo hissed angrily at his two subordinates.
With that tongue-lashing, the two Aggressors went silent, as the four squads slowly made their way towards the town in the distance.
By the time they reached it, it was evening, with the local star beginning to set. The semi-darkened skies, combined with the shadows thrown on the empty, lifeless roads by the vacant, abandoned buildings, came together to create an eerie atmosphere that would give many an Imperial pause.
The place had the Space Marines looking left and right for any potential threats the moment they entered it, their senses now on the highest levels of alertness.
"Keep your eyes and ears open, Battle Brothers. We have no idea what awaits us here in the shadows." Hek'roan Praetar, the Sergeant of the Eradicator squad said, as he scanned the area around him.
The Blazing Tigers slowly moved through the town, their steps cautious and tentative, causing a slight crunch on the ground as they made their way towards the center of the town. Each and every building was scrutinized and checked thoroughly for any sign that there had been Chaos worshiping cultists around.
As it turned out, there was nothing in most of the buildings they checked. This caused them to pause and wonder if there was a mistake in the intel, when one of the Intercessors found his attention attracted by a seemingly inconspicuous building in the corner.
His suspicions aroused, Fimbris Mek'on entered the building, which looked to be a storehouse of some sort. There was nothing other than some crates, which made him wonder if this was an empty lead as well. Feeling unconvinced, he started tapping the walls and floor with his finger, in order to confirm his suspicions.
One of the spots he tapped at gave the distinct impression that there was a hollow beneath. Feeling assured after a few more taps, he raised his hand, clenched it, and aiming at the spot, punched it with considerable force.
"Just what I fracking thought. A hidden staircase and passageway." He said, looking at the stone steps leading downwards, as the rest of the Tigers rushed in.
"What was that noise?" All the other Space Marines spoke in unison as they dashed in, almost ready to fire their weapons.
"You might want to have a look at this, Battle Brothers." Fimbris said as he pointed to the stairs.
A few moments later, the Space Marines were rapidly moving through an underground passage that felt wrong to them in every possible way.
For starters, the place was, with the exception of the occasional lights fixed in the walls, quite dark. And in the dim light, one could see symbols in the wall. Not all of them were familiar,
but one of them was unmistakable.
"By the Golden Throne…." Nor'dar Par'ran, the Sergeant of the first Intercessor squad said in horror.
"A bunch of Tzeentchian cultists had set up shop here? Who knows what foul plan they were cooking up here?"
"I think the answer may be hidden behind these doors," one of the Eradicators pointed to a pair of doors, painted a metallic blue, with the Mark of the Great Deceiver on them.
"Wait!" Herculo said forcefully as one of the Intercessors moved his hand towards the door.
"This is a coven of those who follow the Great Conspirator. Knowing them, there is no way there is no trap on that door."
"So what do we do? Bring in the Librarians? Our base camp is a little too far from here." An Aggressor protested.
"If needed, we will do that. For now, let us leave this evil place." Herculo said as he turned around to return to the surface.
Thanadus
Chogoris System
Yasan Sector
Onboard the
Khagan's Will².....
Yesusoi Khan sighed as he looked at the maps in front of him.
It was an ugly sight, truth be told. And a rather disgraceful one, to make it worse.
The map of the Yasan Sector lay open in front of him, with two of its systems - Gartuli and Thraxis - in the grip of the scum of the Red Corsairs. Even the system of Chogoris was not safe, with Shovith being under their control.
At least Chogoris itself was not subject to their tender mercies, thanks to the efforts of the Battle Brothers of their parent Chapter, the White Scars. If it would have fallen to the minions of Huron Blackheart….the idea was something that no gene-child of Jaghatai Khan would either think of or admit to being possible in the least.
The last thought caused Yesusoi to tear up a little. Although he and his Battle Brothers were all Primaris Astartes, formed during the Ultima Founding, and had fought very few actions in conjunction with their parent Chapter, the name of the Khagan inspired a devotion in them that was…hard to describe in words. His ideals, his headstrong character, his deeds…the Thunder Lions strove to follow them to the T and never let him down, even if he was not present amongst them.
As regards to the Khagan himself, the Thunder Lions had heard the tale of how he had disappeared into the Webway while chasing after a band of Drukhari raiders, and were deeply moved by it. They fervently believed that some day, he would return to lead them and all their fellow Chapters in the war against the enemies of the Imperium, of Mankind as a whole.
Thus, they were very distraught to see the state of the Yasan Sector as it was, when their vessels entered it for the first time.
After hearing about everything that had transpired from Jubal Khan, Yesusoi Khan swore a dreadful oath. In front of all the White Scars and the Thunder Lions, he said, his eyes burning, "In the name of the Khagan and the Emperor, I, Yesusoi Khan, swear not to rest until I have cut off the head of that filth, Huron Blackheart!"
This oath was greeted with a loud roar from all the Space Marines assembled there at Quan Zhou, that seemed to pierce through the heavens themselves.
The White Scars felt for a moment that they were looking at the Khagan himself.
Since that day, the Thunder Lions quickly got down to work, patrolling the Chogoris system in their vessels, on the hunt for the Red Corsairs, and at the same time, keeping their eyes open for any other threats.
They did have run-ins with the Red Corsairs; however, none of the engagements so far had been of a large scale. And what was most infuriating was that the scum seemed to be conducting harassment raids, never giving the Thunder Lions the protracted combat they desired. And this was slowly starting to grate on them.
As he was wondering what Blackheart was up to, it was at that point that the Khan in charge of the 3rd Company entered his chamber.
Saghajen Khan was not in a good mood. He and his Battle Brothers had been scouring the home system of their lost Primarch for the last few months. Every time they got reports that the Red Corsairs were raiding, they immediately went out to engage them. However, the bastards never gave them the satisfaction of a proper fight, choosing only to skirmish with them and leave through a Warp portal to the safety of either Gartuli or Thraxis, leaving with nothing to do but kick the air in anger.
It was no wonder that he sought out the Great Khan for some words of advice.
"Great Khan, I wish to talk to you." He said after a respectful greeting.
"At ease, Saghajen. What is it you wished to talk about?" Yesusoi asked, even though he knew what the answer was going to be.
The Khan of the 3rd Company sighed as he said, "Great Khan, it is about the Red Corsair problem. As you know, the vermin have been doing nothing but distractive raids, causing much trouble and terror to the populace and rapidly making themselves scarce as soon as they get the whiff of our presence. All we have for our efforts are some dead Red Corsairs, but the raids show no signs of stopping. I and the other Battle Brothers are at a loss as to why they are doing this, considering this is so out of touch with their normal tactics."
"As annoying as this is to us all, I am finding this to be somewhat alarming." The Great Khan of the Thunder Lions said, a shadow on his face.
"I fear that this is a ploy to keep us constantly off balance, so that our attention remains on them, while some dark plan is cooked up in the background."
Saghajen frowned. "Great Khan, are you implying that we have been chasing wild geese all this while?"
Yesusoi nodded grimly. "I fear so."
The Khan groaned in frustration. "This is so infuriating. Here we are, the descendants of the Khagan, at the mercy of a vile, honorless foe, who is holding us at his mercy, while we can't strike back in any meaningful way."
Yesusoi placed a hand on his shoulder, empathizing with him. "I fully understand. All I can say is that we will have to bide our time, for I do not believe that this state of affairs will continue forever. Something will break, but it will not be us, I assure you."
"I can only hope that time comes soon enough, Great Khan." Saghajen said as he prepared to leave.
1.Battle Barge and Flagship of the Necropolis Falcons Chapter.
2.Battle Barge and Flagship of the Thunder Lions Chapter.
Necropolis Falcons
Founding Chapter: Blood Angels
Founding: Ultima Founding
Chapter Master: Martonius Seth
Colors: Red-black Mark X Power Armor; Black pauldrons with silver trim; Chapter badge (White falcon head against a black background) present on left pauldron; Company identification present on right pauldron.
Homeworld: Torantos
Battlecry: "For Sanguinius! For the Emperor!"
Blazing Tigers
Founding Chapter: Salamanders
Founding: Ultima Founding
Chapter Master: Maraeus Numeon
Colors: Orange-red Mark X Power Armor; Black pauldrons with orange trim; Chapter badge (White tiger head with black stripes, against a red flame) present on left pauldron; Company identification present on right pauldron.
Homeworld: Alonsarr
Battlecry: "Burn them away!"
Thunder Lions
Founding Chapter: White Scars
Founding: Ultima Founding
Chapter Master: Yesusoi Khan
Colors: Red-white Mark X Power Armor (left side red, right side white); Left pauldron red, with Chapter badge (Black lion head in front of white thunderbolt); Right leg marked with Company identification markings; Squad markings on the left knee.
Homeworld: Chonaris
Battlecry: "In the name of the Khagan!"
A/N: Well, here are a few more actors in this grand play, on the Imperial side of things.
