Garro: Brotherhood

[DarkSavage]

Hey all, so after listening to the two Garro audio dramas, I cooked this up and would like to share it with everyone here at B&C.

 

Please be gentle, as this is my first fan fiction writing.

 

 

 

 

The ship sat in high anchor above the planet, sensor sweeps constant in the case of any other ships in the area, weapon batteries were opened and the gun crews were ever ready for any contact, tension ran high on board. Though the battle that had taken place here had moved on since, the crew was not about to be caught unaware and unprepared. The Stormbird launched from the planet side of the ship and sped down through the atmosphere, it’s wing edges red hot with re-entry. The dropship soon settled down in a clearing near a ruined battleground, the whining of its engines dying down and landing ramp extending the only noise in the area. Once it was extended four figures in Grey power armor walked down the ramp, all had no markings or colors to donate which legions they hailed from, only a small stylized ‘I’ hidden on the shoulder guard gave them away. Helmets on, they could still smell the death that hung in the air.

 

“Right then brothers, let us find our last and be done with this world.” The one in the lead said over the vox, no rank was shown but he spoke with the authority of a leader.

 

One of the marines walked over to a small group of dead, and gently rolled one over to view their legion colors with his boot.

 

“Nineteenth Legion by the looks of it. What happened here?”

 

Another of the group had knelt down by a corpse and touched it briefly with his gauntlet; the crystal halo around his helmet glowed at the touch.

 

“Fought to the bitter end, his Primarch the last thing in his thoughts before death took him." He said softly

 

“Which-sight isn’t needed to tell that this was a massacre. Why are we here Battle-Captain? Why this planet? What else does the Sigillite task us to do?” the fourth of the group asked

 

“’One who is skilled in the arts of the machine, and that of war, look for him at the dropsite’ that was his last order told to me. After we find this one, I don’t know what else he will have us do, but we will do it in the name of the Emperor and for the Imperium.” Nathaniel Garro replied

 

“Dropsite, then we are on Isstvan V?” Tylos Rubio asked

 

“Aye, spread out and start searching, remember; ‘One skilled in both the arts of war and the machine’ and stay within range of each other” Garro replied hefting his bolter and starting off in one direction

 

Rubio stood and starting walking along with the others.

 

Elsewhere:

 

The rubble shifted slightly, then shifted again and finally broke apart as a gauntlet punched upwards through it. More rubble shifted as more of the arm came up then a shoulder, and finally the warrior pulled himself out from the rubble and lay on his back. The view in his visor showed the Grey sky and the smoke that still reached skywards, marking where the dead lay, broken and twisted. His suit automatically went through a diagnostic and systems check; the return showed that he had some minor servo damage in various places on his armor but he still had power and the ability to move again. He sat up and looked around, he had been half buried under a tank and apparently left for dead, he stood and was able to find his bolter and power ax, both were damaged but still functional. He walked around the area he was in and found only carrion birds attempting to eat at the remains. He found another body from his legion being pecked at by a carrion eater and shooed it away with his ax.

 

“Where is the Primarch brother?” he asked to the corpse. “What happened to everyone? Where is the Primarch?” he started to become frantic.

 

He heard a growling coming from around another shell of a troop transport and walked over toward it, he found two monsters fighting over what appeared to be a leg from one of the bodies, he snarled in anger at them.

 

“FOUL BEASTS! WHERE IS THE PRIMARCH!”

 

The beasts now turned toward him and sensing a fresh meal started toward him. Still cursing at them he hefted his ax and started at a run toward them, the three clashed loudly. The monsters attempting to bite and crush his armor, snapping and growling. The space marine screamed in anger and slashed down with his ax in a two handed grip utterly pulverizing ones head, a back handed slap got the other one out at arms length it continuing to growl and snap at him. It started side stepping mirroring the motions of the marine and made for a charge, the marine still shouting profanities hurled his ax at the creature as it charged him.

 

“I am the angel of death!”

 

The ax hit the creature in the shoulder and the blade bit deep into it, the creature faltered in its charge and stumbled. The marine was on top of it now and proceeded to beat it to death with his hands, the beast howled and bucked attempting to free itself from the grip of the marine when the side of its head was bashed inwards. The creature’s howl of pain turned into a gurgle as it finally died. The marine stood and pulled his ax out of the creature and looked down at his bloodied gauntlet, flexing his hand and fingers, he studied it briefly.

 

“My hand, and part of my arm. Yes, bionic replacement, but, I, I don’t remember how I lost it.” He said to himself, he heard another howl and looked up to see more of the creatures coming over a hill toward him snarling and hooting. He started to laugh.

 

“So I am but a meal for some foul beast now?” He said to no one in particular laughing louder now. “I will not be easy prey for the likes of you!” He yelled now pulling his bolter from his back and running toward the mass of beasts firing as he got closer.

 

He was still laughing when they fell upon him.

 

 

 

I know that's kinda short, and not to worry, there's more. I'd just like to hear some beginning thoughts and how it's sounding so far. Thanks guys!

[Chapter Master Ignis Domus]

I would recommend a spot of proof-reading. It really goes a long way when your punctuation and grammar looks right.

[Olis]

Not a bad start - although it seems a bit out of place that Rubio is, if not surprised, then somewhat intrigued to be on Isstvan V

considering Garro's group have already visited Isstvan III in one of the audio books.

 

 

As CMID has pointed out some little errors have crept in that need correcting: Which-sight needs to be Witch-sight, for example. Considering that is the most glaring error (to me), grammatically, I'd say this is a relatively respectable attempt at fiction. So, really, nothing more than some proof-reading is necessary.

 

 

 

 

(I was going to say something about the word 'color' but then I realised we're from opposite sides of the pond, so I'm definitely not going to open that pandora's box. :))

[DarkSavage]

Cheers mates!

-Olisredan: what's wrong with the word color?

 

 

 

Ok, so I ran it through word a couple of times and apparently I can be a bit grammatically moronic at times. So I re-did a few spots and will go ahead and re post section 1 and some more for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

The ship sat in high anchor above the planet, sensor sweeps constant in the case of any other ships in the area, weapon batteries were opened and the gun crews were ever ready for any contact, tension ran high among the crew. Though the battle that had taken place here had moved on since, the crew was not about to be caught unaware and unprepared. The Stormbird launched from the planet side of the ship and sped down through the atmosphere, its wing edges red hot with re-entry. The drop ship soon settled down in a clearing near a ruined battleground, the whining of its engines dying down and landing ramp extending the only noise in the area. Once it was extended, four figures in Grey power armor walked down the ramp, all had no markings or colors to donate which legions they hailed from, only a small stylized ‘I’ hidden on the shoulder guard gave them away. Helmets on, they could still smell the death that hung in the air.

 

“Right then brothers, let us find our last and be done with this world.” The one in the lead said over the vox, no rank was shown but he spoke with the authority of a leader.

 

One of the marines walked over to a small group of dead, and gently rolled one over to view their legion colors with his boot.

 

“Nineteenth Legion by the looks of it; what happened here?”

 

Another of the group had knelt down by a corpse and touched it briefly with his gauntlet; the crystal halo around his helmet glowed at the touch.

 

“Fought to the bitter end, his Primarch and the Emperor the last things in his thoughts before death took him." He said softly

 

“Witch-sight isn’t needed to tell that this was a massacre. Why are we here Battle-Captain? Why this planet? What else does the Sigillite task us to do?” the fourth of the group asked

 

“’One who is skilled in the arts of the machine, and that of war, look for him at the drop site’ that was his last order told to me. After we find this one, I don’t know what else he will have us do, but we will do it in the name of the Emperor and for the Imperium.” Nathaniel Garro replied

 

“Drop site; so, this is Isstvan V then?” Tylos Rubio asked looking around the shattered landscape.

 

“Aye, spread out and start searching, remember; ‘One skilled in both the arts of war and the machine’ and stay within range of each other” Garro replied hefting his bolter and starting off in one direction

 

Rubio stood and starting walking along with the others.

 

Elsewhere:

 

The rubble shifted slightly, then shifted again and finally broke apart as a gauntlet punched upwards through it. More rubble shifted as more of the arm came up then a shoulder, and finally the warrior pulled himself out from the rubble and lay on his back. The view in his visor showed the Grey sky and the smoke that still reached skywards, marking where the dead lay, broken and twisted. His suit automatically went through a diagnostic and systems check; the return showed that he had some servo damage in various places on his armor but he still had power and the ability to move again. He sat up and looked around, he had been half buried under a tank and apparently left for dead, he stood and was able to find his bolter and power ax; both were damaged but still functional. He walked around the area he was in and found only carrion birds attempting to eat at the remains. He found another body from his legion being pecked at by a carrion eater and shooed it away with his ax.

 

“Where is the Primarch brother?” he asked to the corpse. “What happened to everyone? Where is the Primarch?” he started to become frantic.

 

He heard a growling coming from around another shell of a troop transport and walked over toward it, he found two monsters fighting over what appeared to be a leg from one of the bodies, he snarled in anger at them.

 

“FOUL BEASTS WHERE IS THE PRIMARCH!”

 

The beasts now turned toward him and sensing a fresh meal started toward him. The monsters were squat, four legged, and seemed to shift color at random; they had fierce looking claws and powerful jaws with several long fangs. Still cursing at them, he hefted his ax and started at a run toward them, the three clashed loudly. The monsters were attempting to bite and crush his armor, snapping and growling. The space marine screamed in anger and slashed down with his ax in a two handed grip utterly pulverizing ones head, a back handed slap got the other one out at arms length, it continuing to growl and snap at him. It started sidestepping mirroring the motions of the marine and made for a charge, the marine still shouting profanities hurled his ax at the creature as it charged him.

 

“I am the angel of death!”

 

The ax hit the creature in the shoulder and the blade bit deep into it, the creature faltered in its charge and stumbled. The marine was on top of it now and proceeded to beat it to death with his hands; the beast howled and bucked attempting to free itself from the grip of the marine when the side of its head was bashed inwards. The creature’s howl of pain turned into a gurgle as it finally died. The marine stood and pulled his ax out of the creature and looked down at his bloodied gauntlet, flexing his hand and fingers, he studied it briefly.

 

“My hand and most of my arm; Yes, bionic replacement, but, I, I don’t remember how I lost it.” He said to himself, he heard another howl and looked up to see more of the creatures coming over a hill toward him snarling and hooting. He started to laugh.

 

“So I am but a meal for some foul beast now?” He said to no one in particular laughing louder now. “I will not be easy prey for the likes of you!” He yelled now pulling his bolter from his back and running toward the mass of beasts firing as he got closer. He was still laughing when they fell upon him.

 

…

 

“It doesn’t make much sense Garro, this riddle of the Sigillite.” Messa Varren said over the vox, pulling himself out of yet another wrecked vehicle.

 

“I know, but he has to be here, why else would the Sigillite send us?” Garro replied.

 

“You said that it is ‘one of war and of the machine,’” Garviel Loken asked standing from a mess of bodies looking over toward Garro. Loken had been found as the only survivor from Isstvan III where he had all but lost his mind until the Battle-Captain and his group found him and recruited him for the Sigillite’s mysterious mission. It had only been several days since they had left the third planet for this one; Loken was astounded at the sight of so many battle brothers lost in one place.

 

“That makes it sound like it would be some adept of the Adeptus Mechanicus, but I don’t see any of their war engines or anything that symbolizes them taking part in this theatre.” Rubio commented peering into a blown out Rhino transport.

 

“Keep looking then brothers, there has to be something here for us to find.” Garro said turning over a body belonging to the Eighteenth Legion.

 

Suddenly Loken straightened, “Garro! It’s not Mechanicus that we look for!”

 

“What do you mean?” Varren asked

 

“Adept at both war and the machine, the Tenth Legion, they are very close to the Mechanicus, but still fully Astartes. According to the reports that I read on our way here, Primarch Ferrus Manus led an attack here to attempt to end the revolt. That must be who we are looking for, one of the Iron Hands.” Loken replied

 

“I saw what looked like some of the Tenth over in that direction.” Garro said, “Let’s go brothers!”

 

The four set off in the direction that Garro motioned at a fast pace and started seeing more and more bodies of the Tenth Legion until Rubio called out that he had found something, the others walked over to him and were rendered speechless.

 

“Is that what I think it is?” Loken asked finally breaking the silence

 

“The only one that I know that looks like that is…” Started Varren

 

“Primarch Ferrus Manus.” Garro finished.

 

Rubio had knelt down and was brushing some of the gathered dust off the Primarch’s armor when he saw the last image from what had transpired, his Psychic Hood glowed bright and began to get hot when Rubio was jolted back with a cry.

 

“Rubio!”

 

“Such pain; such horror, such was a power here.” Rubio said, his voice shook as Loken and Varren helped him up.

 

“What did you see?” Loken asked

 

“The two fought here, but one was not who we knew him as. Something else had taken hold of him and as the fight turned, I thought I heard laughing.” Rubio said regaining his senses.

 

“Did you see who he was fighting? Was it the Warmaster?” Asked Garro

 

“Not clearly enough, I’m not sure who or what it was.”

 

There was an explosion in the distance.

 

“What was that?” Garro exclaimed

 

“There! It came from that direction.” Varren said, pointing with his sword

 

“Form up brothers; Varren, take the lead!” Garro said as the four set off toward the explosion, they could see smoke rising now and as they got closer they began to see the bodies of monsters around the various wrecks and bodies scattered around the torn up landscape.

 

“There!” Loken said pointing to the top of a small rise, a lone figure stood on a tank wreck and was fighting what appeared to be more of the creatures.

 

“Battle formation brothers!” Garro called as they raced to reach the lone warrior.

 

The single warrior was fighting with the fury that could only be described near Berserker rage; the four fell into the remaining creatures taking them by surprise. Garro hacked with Libertas felling several creatures in an attempt to get closer to the warrior. Varren hacked and shot the creatures; Loken drove headlong into them slicing, punching, and stabbing through them; and Rubio let loose archaic lightning from his hand as he too carved a path toward the lone warrior. The warrior was laughing as he hacked with his ax, shot with his bolter and was even using his servo arm to claw and throw the monsters. He then jumped off the tank wreck and continued killing all around him, still laughing. Felling the last of the creatures his armor now red and slick with blood Garro turned toward the warrior, the rest of the squad had come up behind Garro and now the lone warrior stood before them, taking them in. The Iron Hand’s armor was dented and scarred from battle and now had the color of blood and gore about it, more so than the black color it normally was, his left hand and part of the same arm was bionic, as was part of one of his legs. Signs of many battles fought with his legion and rumor had it; lending partly to emanation of their Primarch. The servo arm held at the ready over his left shoulder was common of all Techmarines from the legions, the power ax that he held at his side crackled with energy as he continued to eye the group.

[Olis]

I really like it that the group had stumbled onto Ferrus Manus's corpse, the shock for them is somewhat appropriate although I think that should have been explored a little longer. The rest is, again, reasonably good but the last paragraph needs spacing out a little, given the format of the rest of the story so far (perhaps a single break would be sufficient).

 

-Olisredan: what's wrong with the word color?

 

That's just it - nothing. Hence my previous statement. It just so happens Brits use a 'u' in the word (colour) whereas Americans do not (color). My last post was merely a little flippant for sake of humour. I meant nothing by it. :)

[DarkSavage]

I really like it that the group had stumbled onto Ferrus Manus's corpse, the shock for them is somewhat appropriate although I think that should have been explored a little longer. The rest is, again, reasonably good but the last paragraph needs spacing out a little, given the format of the rest of the story so far (perhaps a single break would be sufficient).

 

-Olisredan: what's wrong with the word color?

 

That's just it - nothing. Hence my previous statement. It just so happens Brits use a 'u' in the word (colour) whereas Americans do not (color). My last post was merely a little flippant for sake of humour. I meant nothing by it. :)

 

 

Thanks mate! I was even shocked by the discovery of Manus' corpse after I wrote it. Can't blame you for the spot of humor ;)

[DarkSavage]

You know, looking at all the other articles, I'm thinking I may have put this one in the wrong area. If need be, could a nice, friendly moderator please correct my error?

[recon0321]

i really like the story however, it doesn't make much sense considering before they grabbed Loken Garro already mentioned that Loken was the last astartes they were sent to find by Malcador... but other than that its a good story and love the style of writing

[DarkSavage]

i really like the story however, it doesn't make much sense considering before they grabbed Loken Garro already mentioned that Loken was the last astartes they were sent to find by Malcador... but other than that its a good story and love the style of writing

 

 

Cheers mate! You actually bring up a decent point. I'll add in an explanation from Malcador later on in the story.

 

With all the feedback, I can still make a few edits here and there, thanks for all the help guys!

[DarkSavage]

Here's another addition for your enjoyment.

 

Thanks again to all who are offering their comments and expertise for a first time writer of this material.

 

 

 

 

“Be at ease brother, we are not here to fight you.” Garro said to him

 

“Why should I believe the lies of Traitors!” he said with disdain

 

“We are not Traitors, we came here to find you, we came-“

 

“LIES! You bear the colors of Lorgar and his zealots, four of you find me here, and for what, more bloodshed, more death? Surrounded by the bodies of my brothers, but you will not find Him. I will not betray my oaths to the Emperor or to my Primarch.”

 

“Find Him? Who’s he talking about?” Varren asked

 

“Find who brother? Who are you searching for?” Garro asked

 

“My Primarch, he fights on still! You are servants of the zealots and wish to kill him” he retorted

 

Garro started to understand what was going on through his head.

 

“Your Primarch is dead brother, we found his body. The war has moved on, you have survived and we are here to take you with us.” Garro said attempting to appeal to the Iron Hand

 

“NO! LIES! Ferrus fights on still! You are members of the Word Bearers! You-“

 

“Siat-hiam.” Rubio spoke with eldritch power; the Iron Hand became silent at once. Arms frozen at his side he dropped his ax and bolter in the dirt, Garro removed his helm and clipped it to his belt; the others followed suit. Rubio spoke another word that allowed the Iron Hand to move and to take his helm off, the warrior was glaring angrily at Rubio.

 

“Witch!” he spat.

 

“Be still brother, I am Nathaniel Garro, knight-errant of Malcador the Sigillite; I have come with my brothers to find you.”

 

“Why?” he asked, still looking angry

 

“The Regent of Terra has sent us; he has a task for us. You are our last to find, come with us brother Ardius, you are but a ghost on this world.”

 

“How do you know my name?”

 

“The Sigillite knows you; he was decreed by the Emperor for his mission.”

 

The Iron Hand was quiet for some time; he slowly looked at each of the four in turn, finally stopping back at Garro

 

“And if I were to go with you, where would we go and what would we do?”

 

“We go to Terra and meet with the Sigillite.” Garro said drawing Libertas and holding it point down towards the ground. “Now, kneel and place you hand on the blade.”

 

The Iron Hand knelt and did as requested, looking back up at Garro.

 

“Logan Ardius; do you accept your role in this; will you dedicate yourself to the orders of the Regent of Terra and put aside all other claims upon your honor? Do you pledge yourself in this Oath of Moment?”

 

He paused, and then replied, “By this matter, and this weapon I do swear.”

 

“Then arise, Brother Ardius. Varren, call for the transport, it is time we take our leave of this world.”

 

Within minutes, the Stormbird had arrived and the five were taken back to the waiting cruiser. As soon as the Stormbird was safely docked, the cruiser made best speed for the jump point outward of the system; It took several hours to arrive at the jump point and Garro had left the others a break until they made the warp jump.

 

Garro walked into the observation room and found Ardius looking out of the large armor-glass window; he seemed different outside of his armor, clad in a simple slate gray robe. He had turned his armor over to the tech adepts when he boarded. As Garro reached his side, he noticed that he had a trinket and was idly toying with it.

 

He felt his gaze upon him and explained, “An icon gifted to me upon completion of my training on Mars with the Adeptus Mechanicus. I made the request to travel ahead of the rest of the Legion with Primarch Ferrus, because my services would be vital if the defenders had any kind of formidable defenses. Primarch Ferrus agreed and we then walked into a massacre. So, what am I now Garro?”

 

“I was at Isstvan III when the Warmaster showed his true colors; my men and I braved the warp to bring warning to the Emperor. Upon us, reaching Luna my men and I were imprisoned and kept waiting until finally, the Sigillite tasked me with this mission. I know how you feel brother, but we have a purpose, we will all find out together when we get to Terra. Come, your armor should be ready, I’m told that you have a gift as well.” Garro said as he turned and walked out

 

“A gift?” Ardius asked as he followed Garro out of the observation room.

 

The ship had since gone to warp and they had been told that the trip will be quick and without incident, the five usually found themselves busying their time within the practice cages and meditation. Ardius found that his skills were welcome in the armory on board the strike cruiser, having helped the tech adepts on numerous occasions. The two arrived at the armory and upon entry he saw what had been done to his armor, he marveled slightly at the repair work done to it, though it saddened him somewhat to see any markings or color of his Legion removed from it. He was then asked to step onto the small platform and other adepts came out of the shadows and assisted with donning his armor, taking care and reverence. The senior adept was telling of the repair work and the new addition that had been requested by the Sigillite himself. A piece of machinery was lowered from one of the many hoists and guided to fit over his backpack power unit, the addition was a harness with several servo arms that bore several tools and small weapons. Once it was attached, a video display showed its integration with the armor’s main power supply, a quick diagnostic was run and all showed no problems. Ardius moved around a bit and tested several of the arms in quick succession. He then looked over at Garro and nodded approvingly. Garro smiled broadly and nodded to the senior adept to begin, Ardius was told to kneel and have no fear, the senior adept then made the sign of the Sigillite on the shoulder plate identical to all four of the others armor. Ardius rose to full height and looked at Garro.

 

“If the Sigillite has orchestrated all of this, then his mysterious mission must be of the utmost importance.”

[recon0321]

wow! i wish i could come up with a story like this i am loving it so far...is there anything special about his servo harness??

[DarkSavage]

wow! i wish i could come up with a story like this i am loving it so far...is there anything special about his servo harness??

 

Nothing too terribly special, figured it would be a some-what prototype to the ones used now :lol:

 

 

 

 

 

Here's another part for everyone:

 

 

 

 

 

“It is brother; I shall meet you in the training room when you are done here.” Garro replied before turning and departing the room.

 

Ardius flexed his bionic hand and fingers again out of habit, and nodded at the adepts. They continued to run various tests on the equipment and his armour's interfaces; afterwards Ardius had thanked the senior adept and then departed the armory headed towards the training room.

 

The senior adept told Ardius that his power ax and bolter had been repaired and sent back to his quarters; he made a mental note to check them later and continued down to the training room. He then entered the training room and found Garro and Rubio observing a duel between Loken and Varren, the clanging of their swords rang out amidst the large room. The room was dominated mainly by the four training cages that were used by the Legions for sparring and duelist style combat. Several weapon racks lined the wall closest to the cages; floor mats took up another portion of the room where other types of training took place. A set of doors at the far side of the room led to one of the many firing ranges. The walls were bare; where on a different ship from one of the Legions would hang their various honors and awards from battles. Garro told them that they were ghosts; the ship itself was not any different. Rubio had said something to Garro and was leaving when Ardius arrived; Rubio smiled and nodded to him as he passed. Ardius smiled back, having his helmet clipped to his belt, and stood next to Garro. Garro was clad in the same simple gray robes that Ardius had been wearing earlier.

 

"Do you know how long our journey will take?" Ardius asked watching as Loken ducked under one of Varren's strikes and then barreled into him, throwing him over one shoulder. Varren managed to grab hold of one of Loken's shoulder guards and pulled him to the ground with him. Ardius and Garro both winced at the loud thump of the two hitting the ground, though both were in their full armor.

 

"It shouldn't take too long; the captain has said that the navigator had already stated that the tides of the warp are calm. We should be arriving at Terra inside a month." Garro replied turning and smiling at him.

 

There was a crash and both Loken and Varren were on the ground again, the two got up quickly and started clashing again. It ended a moment later when Varren feinted to the right and drove left with the combat shield he was using, smashing Loken to the side and tapping him with the butt of his sword, calling an end to the duel. Varren then sheathed his sword and helped Loken up.

 

"I almost had you World Eater." Loken said grinning as he reached over and flipped the switch to open the cage.

 

Varren laughed as he replied, "Aye, almost doesn't count in battle, brother."

 

The two had exited the cage and were walking toward Garro and Ardius when Loken spotted him and spoke first.

 

"Finally decide to come and learn how to really fight?"

 

Ardius smiled at the jest and merely returned, "How? By watching you fall flat on your arse Garviel? How about I show you how to fight?"

 

Garro had started to say something when the ship shuddered and alarm klaxons started sounding. Ardius put his hand to the com bead in his ear and listened for a moment.

 

"The ship is under attack, the Gellar Fields have suffered damage and are starting to fail. There is a breech on deck 26, section Theta."

 

"Contact Rubio and the three of you go and aid the shipboard troops. I shall get my armor and join you." Garro replied, turning and running toward the doors.

 

Ardius, Varren, and Loken sprinted toward the section of the ship that was breached. Ardius had been speaking into his vox bead as they left the training rooms and ran down the hallways.

 

"Our weapons are being gathered and will be brought to us, brothers," he said as he unclipped his helmet and put it on. The others nodded and did likewise with their helmets having discarded the practice weapons they were using in the training room.

 

A ships' Gellar Field was what protected its occupants from the harmful effects of traveling in the warp. If the generators were to take too much damage or lost power suddenly, back ups were in place to attempt maintaining the field around the ship. Ardius wondered how the fields wound up damaged enough to allow a breech in the ship; he pushed the thought to the back of his mind as they reached the meeting point of a servitor from the armory. The servitor was carrying a large, steel container that had all of their weapons in it. Ardius grabbed his bolter and ax and mag locked them both to his back. Varren and Loken had grabbed their weapons and continued down the corridor. Loken had managed to get a hold of Rubio and advised him of the situation, Rubio had told them that was in the process of donning his armor and would join them as soon as he could. By now, they had seen several Imperial Army troopers and even some of the specialist stormtroopers running with them to the area of the ship in jeopardy. When they had arrived, a slight mist had started to form along the deck and there were strange sounds seemingly coming from the walls. Surprisingly, the gathered troopers were not showing signs of fear, though they certainly felt it.

 

"Steady men!" one of the officers was saying to the gathered troops as he paced in front of them. Seeing the three Astartes arrive, he spoke again. "See men! The Emperor's Astartes stand and fight with us! Look to them for the example of courage, have no fear in the face of the enemy."

 

The sounds coming from the bulkheads started getting louder and the mist got thicker, suddenly a creature seemingly leapt from the mist, landed on one of the soldiers and started to tear into him with large claws. Then man screamed, as he was ripped apart. The other soldiers fired at the creature knocking it off their fellow man and continued to shoot at it. It finally died as one officer stabbed it with his sword. More creatures were appearing from the mist, the gathered troops opened fire at the oncoming, growing horde, Varren, and Loken drew their swords and waded into them. Ardius pulled his ax from his back and followed the other two, hacking and slashing. The creatures died in droves with the combined assault of the three marines and the heavy fire from the troopers, Garro contacted them on the vox in between waves of the attacking monsters, the sounds of fighting in the background.

 

"Ardius, head toward engineering with a squad of stormtroopers and assist getting the Gellar Fields reactivated. Loken and Varren can handle that section; Rubio is also fighting with several troopers but is attempting to make his way toward engineering as well. Find out what happened down there, and hurry, brother."

 

"On my way." Ardius responded breaking into a run toward the engineering deck, a squad of stormtroopers behind him. Ardius was attempting to open a vox channel to the senior engineer and ascertain the extent of the damage when several of the creatures appeared from around a corner.

 

"Fall before me scum!" Ardius yelled as he hacked into one of them with his ax and backhanded another.

 

The stormtrooper squad was firing at the rest of the monsters taking several down before they could get close. One of Ardius' servo arms came with a plasma cutter on it; he was using it, and two other arms equipped with various close combat weapons to dispatch other creatures. One of the creatures had leapt and toppled a stormtrooper, before it could attempt to claw the trooper open Ardius hit it sidelong with his ax sending it across the decking. Ardius offered his gauntlet to help the trooper get up.

 

"Suffer not the alien to live." Ardius said. The trooper nodded his thanks, picked up his weapon, and continued to fight.

 

The creatures were all eliminated and the group continued toward the engineering section. Ardius had continuously attempted to get into contact with the senior engineer with no success and he began to worry, he was about to contact Rubio when Garro cut through on the vox.

 

"Ardius, have you made it to engineering yet?"

 

"I am almost there, ran into more of the creatures on the way. I am unable to reach the senior engineer however, have you had any success?"

 

"No, Rubio states that he is almost there as well. Loken and Varren are continuing to purge these creatures from all across the ship. The captain has stated that the Navigator is possibly suffering some kind of attack; he is unable to contact him or get into his pod. Get to engineering as fast as you can brother and restore the Gellar Fields at all cost." Garro replied before cutting his link and going back to the fighting. Ardius and his squad entered the engineering deck and found it in complete disarray.

 

Ardius looked back at the stormtrooper squad, all looked as though they would follow until death. He raised his ax and shouted.

 

"FOR THE EMPEROR!" the cry was returned and as one, the group charged.

[DarkSavage]

Here's some more:

 

 

Garro dispatched another of the monsters after talking to Ardius and silently wondered what was happening to the ship. He raised Loken to get a status update, it was the same all across the ship, the Gellar Fields had completely failed now and the ship was being taken apart piecemeal by the foul creatures of the warp. His thoughts were interrupted by a shout from an officer; the creatures were attacking again. He heard the chugging fire from one of the autocannons as the line of Army Troopers opened up on the advancing creatures. Normally, heavy weapon use was prohibited on a starship due to fear of damage to the hull but with these creatures, short, controlled bursts did the trick without fear of hitting the hull. Some of the creatures were attempting to try and flank the troopers from another corridor and Garro charged into this group, cutting and slashing with Libertas. One creature attempted to leap over him but he had grabbed it by the leg, flung it into the bulkhead, and shot it. More creatures were upon him by then and he swung Libertas in a wide arc that sent at least two mauled and dying into another bulkhead. He swung back and was able to parry a blow from one of the other creatures as it leapt at him; he backhanded it with his bolter and fired a short burst at it, killing it. He heard a roar and saw a red colored BI-pedaled creature with a sword draped over one of its shoulders appear in the corridor. It batted one of the lesser creatures aside, brought its sword up, and roared again, it then charged toward Garro bringing its sword up and slicing it through another of the lesser creatures. Garro met it head on, swinging his sword low at its legs. The monster jumped and swung downwards at Garro, he managed to dive to the side just in time to avoid the blade of the monster, Garro fired his bolter at point blank range, the shots tore into the creature’s side and it howled in pain and punched out toward Garro. He rolled behind it and brought Libertas up for a swing to kill it, the creature whirled around swinging its sword attempting to decapitate Garro; he ducked and rolled away form the swing and stabbed his sword through the middle of the creature and tore it out through its side. The creature howled in pain and punched out at Garro as its insides spilled out onto the deck, coloring it dark red. The punch connected with the side of Garro's helm and made him dizzy for a moment. Garro shouldered the creature into the bulkhead, pinning its sword arm; he then head butted it in the face. It dropped to its knees and looked up at Garro just before he beheaded it. He heard more creatures coming and readied himself. He wondered to himself how the others were faring.

 

Loken slapped another magazine into his bolter and started firing into an oncoming horde of the creatures attacking the ship. Varren had gone off in a different direction to help with another platoon with the battle and Loken fought with one of the platoons that he, Varren, and Ardius had met up with just before the battle began. The creatures that had been attacking were squat four legged monsters with many sharp teeth, it used its back legs to hobble at a run assisted by the front legs, its front legs it used to slash and tear apart its prey. Garro had voxed to all the others to watch for larger creatures, apparently, these small pinkish colored ones were not enough to take them on. Loken laughed quietly to himself at this thought, one of the troopers fighting beside him fell as a creature bounced off a bulkhead and landed on the mans chest and with a scything talon, separated the man's head from his body. Loken dropped his bolter, pulled his sword, and swung at the creature making a cut into its side as it landed on him, causing him to stumble. He twisted and with his free hand flung the creature to the ground, it growled at him before attempting to leap at him again. Loken swung his sword in a wide arc catching the creature just below its jaw line and carving a line down the length of it as he flung it with his sword back down the corridor where it came. Then he spotted one of the larger monsters that Garro had warned them about, it roared and charged at them. The troopers with him did not stop firing for one moment but poured more fire at the creature coming down the corridor, it faltered slightly in the barrage before using its sword as a way to fling itself down the last part of the corridor and into the troopers. Three died almost instantly as the monster swung its sword wide, then as it raised its sword for another blow it was hit in the chest by a combat knife that had been thrown. The monster looked down at the knife and the up again and growled as Loken came at it swinging his sword like a mad man, the two continued, sword blows echoing throughout the corridor, each only able to cause nicks and cuts through each others defenses. Loken then feinted low and side stepped around the monster slicing along its side and back, the creature howled in pain and swung its free hand in an attempt to get at Loken. The swing went wide and Loken chopped off the creatures arm at the elbow, blood and gore spilling onto the deck plating, the creature howled again and swung its sword wildly. Loken ducked the swing, came up with his own sword, and cut the monster at an angle from hip to shoulder, the creature howled in pain again as it died with its insides spilling out of it. Loken returned to the line, retrieved his bolter, and readied himself for the next wave.

 

Ardius and his squad had killed the few creatures that were close enough to hear their battle cry upon entry and had been fighting what seemed like a break out ever sense. He had found one of the engineers dead on one of the many consoles dominating the section, he was not the senior engineer thankfully, Ardius thought to himself. He leaned out from behind his makeshift cover and fired a short burst into another creature as it bounded its way toward them; he looked back at the squad leader and the rest of the squad. They had lost several already from ambushes of the creatures, but the rest were still fighting on, Ardius was slightly impressed, most of the Army units would turn tail and flee if they had taken too many casualties; these men must be of different stock.

 

“Sergeant, give me an auspex reading, what else is alive in here?”

 

The sergeant nodded and pulled a small device from a pouch on his waist and activated it. He then frowned at it and shook it, his frown deepened and he then slapped the device. Ardius rolled his eyes at the gesture of shaking and slapping something to get it working, the sergeant had looked back at him concern written across his face.

 

“Not getting a good reading sir, something in here is distorting the sensor.”

 

“Toss it too me gently, take your squad and hook in that direction.” Ardius replied pointing toward a small group of storage tanks.

 

The sergeant slid the auspex along the deck to Ardius and then got up and waved his squad toward the storage area in question. Ardius picked up the auspex and then attempted to make a scan of the deck, like what happened with the sergeant, the only return he got was static and unidentifiable readings. He then rolled the dead engineer over, found one of his input/output connections, and then plugged the auspex in using one of its accessory cords. The display lit up showing no active life signs from the engineer; Ardius frowned at this and then adjusted the dials slightly and pushed one of the buttons. The display changed and he got a positive return, he smiled to himself as he disconnected the auspex and ran to catch up with the stormtroopers. Upon reaching them, he saw that they had killed several more of the creatures, the sergeant turned around as Ardius approached.

 

“I believe I found survivors sergeant.” He said as he knelt down next to the squad leader and showed him the auspex.

 

The sergeant studied the readings and nodded. They heard commotion over by the entrance and saw Rubio with his stormtroopers enter the deck and take cover behind a small wall.

 

“Ardius, are you here?” Rubio called out on the vox.

 

“Aye, I’m here Rubio. I believe I have found survivors in this section, there are several storage tanks near the eastern edge of the deck area; do you see them?”

 

“Yes, I see them. What do you need us to do?”

 

“Cover us, we’re moving now.” Ardius replied as he and his squad got up and started over to the area. The stormtroopers with Rubio had opened fire on a group of creatures that had come out of cover and were attempting to chase Ardius and his squad, the monsters died in droves, but more kept coming.

[DarkSavage]

Another bit for everyone's enjoyment:

 

 

The stormtroopers that had accompanied Ardius took up positions alongside the group with Rubio and began to fire at more of the oncoming creatures as well; Rubio had gotten up and run with Ardius until he stopped in front of two storage tanks.

 

“What have you found Ardius?” Rubio asked as Ardius inspected both tanks, his head was inclined to one side and he looked at an auspex.

 

“What do that tank’s readings tell you?” Ardius asked.

 

Rubio looked at the set of dials and was unable to understand all of it, he was finally able to find a liquid volume level, the dial read as just over halfway full. He said this to Ardius, who looked down at his auspex again and then sidelong at the tank he was standing in front of; He then clipped the auspex to his belt and then kicked the tank, there was a hollow thud, and Rubio thought he heard a voice come from inside the tank. Ardius then used his ax to hack off one of the valve caps and watched as the senior engineer tumbled out with two of his adepts, Rubio walked over and helped them up with Ardius.

 

“Thank you,” the senior engineer said as he brushed himself off, “We hid in this tank until a rescue could be made. What has happened to the ship? What are these things?”

 

“We don’t have time to answer your questions. We need to get the Gellar Fields reactivated before we are overrun and lost forever.” Rubio stated flatly.

 

The engineer looked at him and consulted a data slate that he had pulled from his robes, after a few moments he put the data slate away and looked back at the marines.

 

“Engaging the bypass systems and then a restart should re-engage the Gellar Fields. An advisory, we will have to bypass power from the central core, exiting the warp will be required for this.”

 

“We may not be able to exit the warp at this point and time, the captain believes that the navigator has suffered some sort of attack. What about jettisoning the core?” Ardius asked.

 

“You can’t jettison a core while at full warp! No ship has survived simulations of such and act!” The engineer said as if he had been slapped.

 

“If we do not exit the warp, then these creatures will continue to attack this ship and we will never reach the rendezvous with the Sigillite, men are dying, unless you wish to take up arms and assist in defending with the rest of us?” Rubio stated angrily.

 

The engineer looked at both of the space marines and finally hung his head; he then pointed toward a gangway up higher in the section.

 

“Those switches are the main bypasses for the Gellar Fields, the consoles directly above our position house the core bypasses. My adepts and I shall jettison the core when you both have bypassed both systems. May the Omnissiah forgive us for what we do to this vessel.”

 

“Take the stormtrooper squads with you, they will protect you.” Ardius replied, making the sign of the Omnissiah before taking off with Rubio toward the gangway ladders.

 

The engineer and the stormtrooper squads went to a control room not far from where they were, managed to barricade themselves inside, and started working on core override procedures. Rubio and Ardius managed to get to the bypass switches and activated them; there was a sound of machines powering down and a slight shudder of the ship. There were several alarm klaxons and what sounded like a loud whooshing sound.

 

“HOLD ON!” Ardius called out to Rubio

 

The ship then fell out of warp travel; anything not secured went flying across the ship. A tank of unstable material slid and toppled over near a bulkhead causing an explosion that created a hull breach, Ardius and Rubio held onto the gangway as the engineer worked quickly to get containment measures in place. The emergency bulkheads slammed down over the breach causing both space marines to fall from the gangway, they picked themselves up and started toward the doors leading out of the section. Rubio barking orders to the stormtroopers to stay and guard the engineers, the vox came to life as soon as they had regained their footing and started their run.

 

“Ardius, Rubio, respond!” Came Garro’s voice

 

“Ardius here, we’re making toward the navigators pod. The rest of the creatures seem to have disappeared when we fell from warp.”

 

“So it would seem; the rest of us will meet you there.” Garro replied

 

Ardius and Rubio continued until they met up with the rest of the Adeptus Astartes, the ship’s captain, and a squad of stormtroopers outside of the navigator pod. The members of the Navis Nobilite are noble houses that supply the Imperial Navy and the Legio Astartes with navigators to guide ships through the warp.

The group stood ready to enter, the captain punched his override code into the door security lock, Garro, and the rest of the marines rushed in before the stormtroopers could move. They found the navigator still sitting in his interface throne, but it had looked as though he had the life sucked out of him.

 

“Varren, Loken; burn the body and jettison it into space.” Garro said before turning and striding from the small chamber, Rubio and Ardius behind him.

 

The ship captain dismissed the stormtroopers with a curt nod and turned back to Garro.

 

“Dead I take it?” he asked.

 

“Possessed, more likely; but yes, dead.” Garro replied.

 

The captain made the sign of the Aquila as Varren and Loken carried the body out of the chamber and down the corridor to be disposed of. Garro looked back at the captain with a stern look.

 

“Do you know where we are?”

 

“We’re analyzing the star charts now; under who’s authority was the core jettisoned?” the captain asked.

 

“Mine.” Ardius said flatly

 

“You could have killed us all!” the captain started to protest

 

“Brother Ardius is a Techmarine; he has been trained by the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars and knew full well what he was telling the engineer to do. Or would you have us still fighting a numberless foe, trapped in the void?” Garro interrupted, anger rising. “Do you still have sub light engines?”

 

The captain shrunk back a little and cleared his throat before answering.

 

“Yes, once we have a clearer position we can engage them sir.”

 

“Then I suggest you find out where we are.” He turned to Ardius, “Go help the engineers as much as you can.” Then he turned back to the captain. “Send a message to the Sigillite and inform him of our situation.” Garro finished, turned, and walked back in the direction that Varren and Loken had taken, Rubio behind him.

 

It took the better part of two weeks for help to arrive, they had found that they were just outside of the Sol System when they dropped out of the warp and had been traveling on sub light drives. The ship that had arrived was of a sleeker design than the frigate that they were using. Gone was the spire like towers and the heavily ornate prow in favor of what looked like more armor plating and more gun turrets, the ship looked faster as well, based on the speed in which it was able to find the crippled frigate. One item did stand out on it; it was the color of ghosts; unlike the borrowed picket frigate, that Garro and his men traveled on. Garro stood on the bridge as the other ship took up synchronous orbit.

 

“Receiving transmission captain.” The servitor tasked with handling the ship’s communications stated.

 

“Patch it through.” The captain replied. The transmission was an audio only transmission and came through on the command pulpit’s speakers.

 

“Frigate Kaldec Prime, this is Cruiser Redemption, got here as quick as we could. We are prepared to receive your passengers at your convenience.”

 

The captain pushed a series of buttons and then spoke into the console.

 

“Cruiser Redemption, thank you for your fast response; our passengers will be taking leave as soon as they are prepared.” He looked over at Garro, who simply nodded. “We could use some help with repairs though if you could spare anything?”

 

“Another ship will be arriving within the hour to assist with repairs, we have priority orders from the Lord Sigillite to get your passengers and continue on.” The reply came back.

 

The captain frowned as he transmitted an automated acknowledgement and turned back to Garro.

 

“It appears this is we part ways, Knight Errant. It has been an honor having you and your men aboard.” The captain said as he stood from his command throne and held out his hand to Garro.

 

Garro took the captain's hand and shook it briefly; "The honor was mine captain." He replied before turning and walking off the bridge. He arrived at the launch deck to find their Stormbird ready to launch and the rest of his squad waiting for him; he nodded to each in turn, as they boarded the drop ship. Garro followed them and sat down next to Ardius, the rest of the squad had determined looks on their faces. They were ready to find out what their purpose in this war would be; the answer and the Sigillite were waiting for them on Terra.

The Stormbird docked with the cruiser and started to make its way toward the rendezvous point. The frigate captain watched as the cruiser went to warp and a heavy cruiser warped in behind it, he watched in horror as the ship took up a broadside position.

 

"Signal them! Signal them NOW!" He screamed across the bridge. Several officers attempted to raise the heavy cruiser with no luck.

 

The other ship transmitted an audio signal that was short and left no room for negotiation.

 

"This ship is tainted, by order of the Lord Sigillite, it shall be purged." The signal cut out as the first shots were fired and struck the frigate. The captain thought he heard one of his officers’ call an oath to the Warmaster before his world was engulfed in fire.

[DarkSavage]

Ok all, been busy and a bit crazy with work and life in general. But here is the last installment of Garro: Brotherhood. Thank you for all the comments and constructive criticism and most importantly, your patience.

So without further adieu:

 

 

It took only a couple of days to reach Luna from where they had been picked up; the ship stayed on the dark side of Terra's moon. Garro and the rest were requested to wait in one of the observation rooms without their armor, clad in the slate gray robes from before. They all stood around the large armor-glass window in silence. Varren was pacing impatiently.

 

"Is there someone or something that we are waiting for?" Loken asked, breaking the silence finally.

 

"Perhaps the Sigillite wishes us to be concerned." Rubio offered.

 

"He sends us on these tasks and when we finally complete them, he makes us wait for his own convenience." Varren started.

 

"We all wish to take part in this war Varren; apparently our role is different than that of our brothers and of our former brothers." Ardius said, attempting to calm the former World Eater.

 

The door to the observation room opened and one of the crew asked if they would follow him, Garro stopped him before he could step out of the room again.

 

"What is going on? Where is the Sigillite?"

 

"I have been told that all will be revealed to you soon, lord Astartes. Now, if you will please follow me." The crewman replied.

 

The five followed the crewman out into the corridor and through the ship, until finally being led into the teleporter room. There before them, stood Malcador the Sigillite.

 

"Lord Sigillite," Garro began but was interrupted when Malcador held up a hand.

 

"Welcome back, all of you. Step onto the pad with me and all your questions will be answered very soon." He said, smiling.

 

The five Astartes stepped onto the pad next to the Sigillite and stood in a loose formation around him. The pad was activated and the six were surrounded by a swirling vortex of energy, then in a blink of an eye, they were standing in an ornate courtyard on a different planet.

 

"Teleport beacons, impressive range from the far side of Luna.” Ardius commented; looking over at one of the many beacons spread out in the courtyard.

 

“Very ornate and decorated palisade, this has to be the palace." Rubio began.

 

"The palace; what is to become of us Lord Sigillite?" Garro asked.

 

"Come, there is something that must be done." Malcador replied as he started walking away down a corridor, ignoring Garro’s question.

 

The five marines followed quickly and soon found themselves in a large throne room with decorations made out in gold and silver, fine marble lined floors, and large ceiling to floor length windows. The five were looking around and found their view drawn to one of the windows. Below them, the palace grounds were under siege. Fire and explosions could be seen where defenders valiantly fought the attackers; it looked as though the legions had been set loose on one of the planets from the Great Crusade. Ardius looked down at the destruction and felt a mix of sorrow and anger.

 

"Such needless destruction; is there no end to the treachery in the legions?" He said.

 

"Such was the brotherhood that fought to retake the stars with the Emperor, how did we loose so much?" Loken asked, sorrow and sadness in his voice.

 

+No affliction nor temptation, no guilt nor power of sin, no wounded spirit, nor terrified conscience should induce us to despair. We need hope for living, far more than for dying+

 

The Astartes all turned at the sound, as soon as they saw who had spoken they all fell to one knee.

 

“Arise.” He said; his voice was calming and quiet. He turned to Malcador and said something unintelligible, and then walked back toward his mighty throne.

 

Malcador bid them to follow him, upon reaching the immediate throne room he told the five to stand behind him with three others that were Astartes, the other three wore the same slate gray robes as they did and had their hoods pulled over their faces. There were also four other figures in the room with them, appearing to be common men but clad the same way the Astartes were, the Sigillite spoke when all twelve had been assembled.

 

“I have done as instructed my lord, I have gathered individuals possessed of inquisitive nature, unyielding strength of mind, and strong in their dedication.” Malcador made a sweeping motion with his hand as he said this.

 

The Emperor, sitting on his throne took each of the twelve in silence; Ardius felt his gaze upon him and swelled with a mixture of pride and purpose. The Emperor then spoke again.

 

“You have done well my old friend. Go, and carry out the next phase.”

 

“Yes my lord.” Malcador replied and led the assembled group out of the throne room. Down one of the corridors, they met with a group of the Adeptus Custodes, the forces of the Emperor’s bodyguard. The leader was without his helmet and had a stern look on his face.

 

“Captain, these four,” He gestured to the four common men directly behind him. “Are the ones that need to be taken to safety, their survival is your utmost concern.”

 

The Custodian captain nodded solemnly before speaking.

 

“It will be done. What of the Astartes?” He said looking at the eight.

 

“Their destiny lies elsewhere.” Malcador replied.

 

The captain put his hand to the vox bead in his ear and listened for a moment, anger came across his face as he looked back at the Sigillite.

 

“Sir, the traitors have breached the walls. We should get you to safety as well.”

 

“No need, captain. I am taking my leave.” He replied and strode past the Custodians with the Astartes in tow. The Custodian captain watched as they rounded a corner and disappeared from view; he looked back at his men and motioned them onwards with the four men left by the Sigillite.

 

Upon reaching, the same courtyard they had arrived in, Malcador told the Astartes to form up around him. They did so and were again surrounded by the same vortex and found they were back on board the cruiser Redemption. As soon as they had arrived, the ship powered its engines and left the orbit of Luna at full power away from Terra, away from the fleets of the traitorous legions of Horus. Garro and the others finally pulled their hoods back revealing each other. The other three Astartes hailed from the Imperial Fists, Alpha Legion, and Raven Guard Legions. Garro walked over to Malcador, who had not left the teleporter room as of yet.

 

“Something troubles you Battle-Captain?” Malcador asked.

 

“What happened to Iacton Qruze? And you have yet to answer any of our questions, Lord Sigillite.” A feint trace of irritation could be detected in Garro’s voice.

 

“The ‘Half-Heard’, I have use of him in a different manner; as for your use, and those with you. You are to protect the future.”

 

“Again you speak in riddles, the eight of us, we are ready to fight. To take battle to the traitorous forces, to stand at the Emperor’s side, not to be carried away and forced to watch from the sidelines.”

 

“You and the others are to be the future, which is why you all were plucked from the fires of battle so that you could survive to be the future that the Emperor has decreed. Go now and rest Battle-Captain, you will need it. We will arrive at our final destination in a matter of hours. When we arrive, return here with the others in full war gear.” The Sigillite replied and walked from the room.

 

Garro now had even more questions than answers; he turned to see Ardius approaching him, a questioning look upon his face.

 

“Any answers? Or more riddles from the Lord Sigillite?” He asked.

 

“It would seem only more riddles for now.” Garro said, turning to the rest of the gathered Astartes he continued. “Go and rest, we will be arriving at our destination within a matter of hours. When we arrive, be ready and in full war gear.”

 

They all filed out and went different ways on the ship to different quarters set aside for them. True to what Malcador had said, it took mere hours to reach their destination, Ardius walked into the Teleport room in his full battle plate along with the one that was one of the Imperial Fists Legion. They had been talking about the way the Sigillite gave his cryptic orders and how apparently Ardius was supposed to be found and recruited by the former Imperial Fist and the two that he had recruited; he had said that the Sigillite did not anticipate Ardius going to the Isstvan system; and so had been collected by Garro and his squad. Ardius saw Rubio and Loken talking with the Raven Guard and the Alpha Legionnaire, he and the Imperial Fist walked up to them and greeted them. Rubio and Loken both nodded their greeting. Garro and the rest of the Astartes had arrived behind Ardius and were idly chatting with one another when Malcador entered the room.

 

“Step onto the teleporter pad, we have arrived. All questions will be answered on the surface.”

 

The Raven Guard seemed hesitant, wanting to say something, but followed the others. The eight Astartes formed a protective ring around the Sigillite as the Teleport beam was activated and they appeared on the planet below. Instead of arriving on a desolate plain or some arid desert, they arrived inside a fortress. A fully stocked and manned fortress, the eight Astartes stood in wonder at the sight and the Sigillite walked a few paces in front of them and turned to face all of them at once.

 

“Behold, you eight shall be the future and this shall be your fortress. This is Titan and this fortress monastery is where you shall train an army. Not a Legion, but a Chapter. This Chapter shall be a knightly brotherhood that shall fight and defend against anything like the Heresy from happening again. You eight are the first Grand Masters.” Pointing at Janus, the Imperial Fist, “You shall be the Supreme Grand Master, I cannot stay, for I have my own final tasks to see to. There are weapons, supplies, armor, and plenty of recruits to mold into knights. Go and serve the Emperor in this final task as loyally as you did in your parent Legions.”

 

With that, Malcador the Sigillite was teleported off the surface of Titan. The eight Astartes walked into the fortress monastery to the waiting recruits and the seemingly daunting task before them.

 

Ardius thought briefly of all the events that had led him up to this. The Unification of Terra, the launch of the Great Crusade, the finding of Ferrus Manus, the betrayal on Isstvan III and the drop site Massacre on Isstvan V, the siege of Terra and now, Titan, and this army to be created.

 

In orbit, another ship sat in high anchor, but now was powering away toward another destination; walking onto the bridge, Malcador was greeted by the ship's captain with curt nod.

 

"The Redemption has broken orbit and is headed toward the place you designated for their fleet sir. We are on schedule and should arrive at Terra within two hours." He noticed that the Sigillite was staring out of one of the view ports on the bridge; he got up from his command pulpit and walked over to him.

 

"Sir, are you feeling alright?" The captain began.

 

"The future now rests in the hands of these chosen eight,” He paused before continuing, “These Grey Knights." Malcador replied to the captain.