Love Eternal

[A_POINTED_STICK]

Chapter I

 

The chamber was enormous. The ceilings were several score meters high and done in the ancient “Gothic Style.” The walls were armored glass. Ten feet thick, and made of countless layers infused with polymers created by some long dead Mechanicus magi. The room was lined with great pillars of cut stone, fused into the adamant hull of the ship. It was met above by an arched roof from which great banners hung in the classic style of Macragge.

 

Macragge . . . Galenus stared out across the grand room from his command balcony. Below, ten fathoms below him, ordered rows of consoles were placed. Chapter serfs computed blessed algorithms and recited age old tech prayers. From grates in the floor wafted acrid incense that smelled of promethium and myrrh. Speakers crowned in bronze fixtures were set into wood paneled interfaces that were well worn with millennia of use. The bridge crews were on the edge of their seats with anticipation as to the Brother Captain’s next course of action.

 

The serfs were similar in appearance. Largely of the same stock and ethnic background the men sat in comfortable but Spartan chairs and stared in with uncertainty at the screens set before them. They were aware of the complex and arcane rituals it took to keep the ship safe and were a focused and disciplined group, whose matching blue uniforms and short hair cuts were distinctly of the legacy of Guilliman. Everything was the way Guilliman would have intended it. This was a ship of the Ultramarines. It was a point of pride that for ten thousand years the chapter had not faltered.

 

Galenus stared out beyond the great window into space that was a glass wall across from him. The great blackness of space lay before him. The smouldering ruins of Calabria IV lay behind. The company had done its duty. The oaths to mankind had been payed in full with astartes blood and it would not be the last time Galenus would watch his brothers fall to the contamination of the foul green menace. He pushed the thoughts of his fallen comrades from his mind with a quick prayer to their memory.

 

Galenus clenched the marble of the balconies, railing and spoke clearly into the vox before him. “Plot courses for the Ultramar.” His voice was clear. It was a cultured voice, of good breeding and a vigorous upbringing. It was also barely withholding a beaming grin. He was going home. They were all going home, back to the fortress of Hera. They were going home to Macragge once more. They would receive the fruit of Ultramar’s youth and rebuild the company that now stood at nearly half strength after several years of war against the green skins in the Calabria system.

 

Galenus tuned out the chorus of cheers from the men aboard the ship who would be returning to their families, the Emperor willing. His enhanced senses were able to bring him silence and for a long moment he stood at peace, his hearts swollen with happiness and his mind drifted to home like a hulk lost in the warp. Macragge, home of clear streams and golden plains, snow capped mountains and purple hazing twilights. The whitewashed buildings under the pale light of the moon. The clear night sky filled with the twinkle of stars and thousands of orbiting battle stations. The smell of the salt of the oceans, the taste of the air, it was so real. He was home.

 

He returned to where he was, it was a sharp transition. The acrid smoke hit him with a sickening feeling. He shuddered. All around him the shouts of men and the whine of machines calibrating quantum mechanics under the watchful eyes of men who could run them. No one could say for sure how it worked, but the crew could run them with airtight precision. But that was not unusual in the Imperium of Man. Technology had progressed alright, but only laterally. The Adeptus Mechanicus, the priests of the machine had managed to maintain technologies made in the dark ages of technology for over ten thousand years. They could make occasional improvements, but technology was roughly fixed at a level of excellence that made improvement blatantly unnecessary. Don’t fix what’s not broken, just keep it running as long as possible. That’s the mechanicus credo, and Galenus could expect nothing more of them.

 

Galenus turned about, his ancient armor moved soundlessly despite its bulk and the jets steam that came off the vents in his generator. He was a giant of a man, and a large astartes at that. He was eight feet in stature without his armor that added somewhat to his height and significantly to his already enormous girth. His bronzed hide was a tangled spider web of pinkish scars and burns and his hair was curly and brown but if not for its length and thickness would fail to cover a patchwork of wounds. But he was still intact, he had none of the augmentations that riddled many of those under his command.

 

He pressed his gauntleted hand against the brazen panel that opened the door that led away from the balcony. He passed through his black cape fluttering like ravens wing in its current state of tatters. He paused a moment considering its condition and determined that he would have it replaced when they arrived home. He walked in great strides back through hallways lined with frescoes and intricate inscriptions of ancient valor. This ship was ancient, for the fifth company it was a home away from home. For Galenus it was several cubic kilometers of undeniable Imperial territory wherever the Lord Macragge ordered it sent.

 

He ended his journey in the command chamber of the ship. He called to an orderly to call the command of the company to him. The orderly was a thin woman in the standard blue of the fleet who quickly walked out of the room and down the hall, her holoboard was held tightly under her arm. Galenus lowered himself into his seat which as captain stood on a pulpit above the others that surrounded the table. He stared off into the distance and prepared his thoughts.

 

Soon enough a polite yet booming knock on the door heralded the arrival of the companies officers. The first through the door was the chaplain. Herodosis was a fierce looking astartes and his artificer armor was black with the marks of his order. His grizzled face was rough and unkept, he had gone from the forge of battle to the ships shrine to pray over the dead with no time for himself. He was the best chaplain that Galenus had served alongside. A grim and holy man, but a mighty avatar of the Emperors retribution. He was flanked by two veteran marines whose white helms and black left arms symbolized their apprenticeship to the chaplain. They carried his Crozius Arcanum and a censor of incense that brought a scent of calm to the room.

 

Next through the door was his first sergeant Konstantin he was a dead faced man whose grey eyes and thin lips made his pale complexion look unhealthy. He was however a tactical genius and despite the wheezing of his augmetic lungs and the piston like pumping of his artificial hearts he was still a match for any marine in combat. Behind him came the white striped sergeants and the white helmed battle brothers of his command squad. They too entered and sat down. Half the seats were still empty. Then reluctantly a young brother marine entered.

 

“Acting Sergeant Calis...” He said in an unsure voice.

 

He looked fresh from the scouts to Galenus. A youthful and largely unscarred face save a recently healed gash across his chin. He looked awkward standing in the doorway.

 

“Sit Sergeant. You have as much right to a seat as any other in this room.” Galenus said.

 

The young marine moved eagerly and sat erect in the chair. Galenus looked around to the assembled marines with sadness as he saw the empty seats.

 

“We were century on leaving Macragge . We return home with barely half that number. We killed 1,000 times the number we lost and more and yet I feel no satisfaction. We are the Fifth Company. I look upon the faces surrounding me and they are not the ones I saw upon our departure. We are battered. We are contused. But we are not broken. I would lead the 53 men that remain of this company into the Eye of Terror itself, and you brave men would follow with devotion.” Galenus began. “But that is not the case. We are not going back unto the anvil of war. We are allowed a time of rest. We will heal our wounds. We will bury our dead and some of them will rise again. I make note of Brother Sergeant Thom who will carry on in the adamant frame of the dreadnought. He was without fear in life and shall continue so in undeath. We shall visit him soon. But now we must resolve the chain of command.”

 

Konstantin stood and wheezed as he cleared his throat. He acknowledged his Captain with a nod and began to go over his suggestions.

 

“At of the current date we are still led by the standing Master of The Marches, Galenus.

I hold a position as his Veteran Sergeant, however the death of my fellow, Themistocles leaves an opening in the ranks. I as a result nominate my friend and tested comrade sergeant Sophus to take the position.”

 

Galenus nodded to him and Sophus stood up and bowed. “ I shall appoint Bother Simeon as replacement for sergeant of the squad. He is a heroic warrior and an exemplary marine. His knowledge of the Codex is far above any of his comrades, perhaps my own.”

 

Konstantin began again.

 

“With that settled I move on to the list as a whole...

 

The Venerable Captain Galenus of the Fifth Company.

Myself, Veteran Sergeant Konstantin of the first half.

Veteran Sergeant Sophus of the second half.

Sergeant Simeon of Squad Primoris.

Sergeant Agrippa of Squad Secundus.

Sergeant Jacobus of Squad Tertius

Sergeant Hadac of Squad Pentus

 

Er... Sergeant Calis of Squad Septum.

 

With the fourth and sixth squad annihilated by the foul green skins to a man, and the eighth, ninth, and tenth squads reduced to non effectiveness and added to the aforementioned squads losses.”

 

Galenus sighed deeply at the thought of his companies losses. Their faces flashed before his eyes in rapid succession. “Sergeants dismissed, see to your squads, they need you now. We must remember the names of our dead...

The rest of you stay seated we must talk of something else.”

 

The sergeants stood and departed in file out of the chamber leaving the room empty except for Galenus, his veteran sergeants, and his command squad. Chaplain Herodosis smiled grimly.

 

“What was of importance that you could not speak to your sergeants of it?”

 

Galenus stared into his eyes “On Calabria, an exemplary guardsmen gave me something. He fell in battle, he was among the thousands who fell unnamed and unremembered alongside our company. Regardless, in his dying moments he passed on this to me,”

 

Galenus pulled forth a small black box. It was ridiculously small in his ceramite gauntlet. It was 2-3 inches in each direction. With delicacy belying his bulk he managed to open it. Within a tiny silver object sparkled, a crystal set in it.

 

“He asked me to give it to her, but there was no way to know who he was, or who she was.” He said somewhat melancholy.

 

He removed the tiny object from the case and held it in the low light of the room. He read the inscription in Gothic on the interior.

 

“Amor Eternus...”

 

Herodosis stared in disbelief.

 

“But that is a wedding band. I have seen guardsmen wearing them, I asked them of its meaning many years ago. It’s a symbol of the Emperor’s gift of undying love, between a man and woman...”

 

“Yes,” said Galenus, his eyes meeting those of Herodosis. “I’m quite aware what it is.”

 

“I have an instinct that this is the work of the Emperor...”The chaplain intoned. “Did you as well?”

 

Galenus paused. “We are all believers here Chaplain, but for the Emperor I have no idea as to what this means. I have pondered it since we left Calabria.”

 

“I will look to the library. It’s a shame that Brother Tetrios fell, a librarian would be of use in this matter. I believe we must bring this before Cassius and Tigurius. Between them they should be able to reason this. After all, we are blessed that our Chief Librarian is among the greatest psykers in the Imperium, and Master of Sanctity Cassius has centuries of experience in signs like these.”

 

“Yes, I think we must do so. This could be important. For all we know, this may effect the entire chapter. Love Eternal...” Said Galenus.

 

“Love Eternal indeed.” Replied the stoic chaplain.

 

The commanders of the company stood and nodded to Galenus.

 

“Come, we shall see Brother Thom now...” said the Chaplain.

 

They left the room behind him.

 

By the way feel free to C&C I'm a slow writer, so ideas would be kindly.