Battleship Nebulia

[Bruce Malcom]

Chapter One: The Rift Widens

-------------------------------------

 

"There's too many!"

 

"The planets in the systems are overru-*"

 

"Our weapons are offline, shields offline, nonoNO-*"

 

Captain William Aarde, aboard his old Emperor-Class Battleship which had not seen battle in over a hundred years, was trying to keep his ship alive in the Ork onslaught. The orks had numbers not required, five-dozen Kill Kroozers vs thirteen Imperial vessels. The Commodore of the battlegroup had long since been killed, and only an old captain remained in the fight.

 

"Lieutenant Liritus, plot a course for station Alpha-Nine! I want a message to tell all remaining Imperial vessels to meet us there."

 

Liritus nodded. "Yes captain. We'll be able to jump in three minutes."

 

The XO of the ship, Flag-Lieutenant Palidorius Acorda, grunted. “We can’t survive for that long! Do you see how many guns are firing at us!?”

 

Aarde glared at the CIC’s Imperial Aquila. “We’ll make it. Mister Liritus, did you issue the order?”

 

Liritus nodded. “Yes sir. Only an Astartes vessel and one other Imperial Navy vessel, as well as a civilian fleet has linked up with us, however.”

 

Aarde looked to the ground. “Let them come.

 

The void shields rumbled as random rocks and looted Imperial ballistics impacted. The impact droned on as their own weapons continued to fire back. “Void shields are going to drop in thirty seconds...jumping in twenty-seven seconds…”

 

“Twenty-six…”

 

“Twenty-five…”

“Twenty-four…”

 

“Three. Two. One.”

 

----------------

In the Cadian sector, at that moment, something terrible had happened. The forces of Chaos had won a strategic victory, devastating the Imperium’s fortress world Cadia. A Blackstone Fortress rammed itself deep within the planet itself, shattering the world and stopping a Necron pylon from accomplishing its task. The Eye of Terror...the Great Rift widened. It is known by many names...Gork’s Grin, The Death of Hope...but it does not matter what it is called.

 

It shattered the galaxy. And Battleship Nebulia, along with its accompanying fleet, were tossed into the Warp...along with the Ork WAAAAAGH! that they had been fighting.

 

-------------------

 

Light returned to the CIC. Aade barely got back to his feet, and the rest of his crew seemed as similarly tossed about.

 

“...mister Liritus...fleet status report. What the hell...happened…”

 

Liritus got up and back to his terminal. “Fleet is all here, thirty-eight ships present and accounted for.”

 

Palidorius coughed, spitting out blood. “You didn’t answer his second question! What the frak just occured, mister Liritus?!”

 

Liritus shook his head. “I...don’t know. Eight of our ships report their astropaths have been blinded and the rest all report their astropaths are shaken, some even screamed. They’re all saying the same thing, ‘The warp peers into the galaxy’s soul...the warp has split Man in two...the Emperor...the Emperor…’ and now they started to cry.”

 

Palidorius barked, “Issue the order to shoot them! They’re all tainted filth now!” However the Captain did a slight headturn.

 

“Cancel that order. We don’t have any more astropaths in this fleet, I won’t be shooting the only people who can guide us to station Alpha-Nine.”

 

------------

 

Aboard the Adeptus Astartes vessel Total Faith…

 

“This...is a complete and utter disaster. All forms of leadership are incomprehensible when we have a mere ninety Astartes and none of them proper leaders, besides a Supreme Aerospace Commander!” An Ultramarine Tactical Marine, by the name of Brodd Aiava, said to a fellow Astartes. Just then, a figure walked down the hallway, the mere act of his walking rumbled the metal plating of the metal floor.

 

Brodd got to his knee at the sight of the Supreme Aerospace Commander, Aureolus Aarde. “Supreme Aerospace Commander Aarde! We are blessed by the Emperor to still have you aboard the ship!”

 

Aurelous’s glare nearly burned through the ceramite plating of the Mark Seven armor. “Do not act like you are a noble Astartes to me, after saying such crude words behind my backside. In your ignorance of my other accomplishments, did you forget that we have a certain augmentation called Lyman’s Ear?”

 

Brodd looked to the ground, suddenly interested in all the cracks and wiring underneath the grated metal plates.

 

Aurelous looked around, then turned back to Brodd. “The Astartes onboard are, dare I say, worried about their status. I want you to spread word, as soon as we enter the voiddocks in station Alpha-Nine, your respective chapters will come to retrieve you. Relieve your worries.”

 

He continued on, as Brodd and his brother set out on their new assignment.

 

As Aurelous entered his quarters (the ship was an Ultramarines vessel), he got down to his knees. “By the Emperor…”

 

Suddenly, a short-length vox alert was received by the Supreme Aerospace Commander. “Lieutenant Liritus...report to Battleship Nebulia within...fifteen minutes…” He left his quarters and left for the hangar.

-------------

Edited December 9, 2019 by Bruce Malcom

[Brother Lunkhead]

Okay.... so, however flawed I think BSG (old and new) is, I have a big soft spot for it Brother Bruce, your re-reimagining of it looks like too much fun..... I LIKE IT

Good luck with this

Edited November 13, 2019 by Brother Lunkhead

[Bruce Malcom]

Okay.... so, however flawed I think BSG (old and new) is, I have a big soft spot for it Brother Ace, your re-reimagining of it looks like too much fun..... I LIKE IT

Good luck with this

While I'm not Ace, I'll take the compliment! 

 

It is way too much fun...(un)like the Cylons, I have a plan!

[Brother Lunkhead]

Sorry ...... that's what I get for looking at two posts at once. Multitasking is not my forte

[Bruce Malcom]

Sorry ...... that's what I get for looking at two posts at once. Multitasking is not my forte

It's fine, brother! New chapter will be out soon...

[Bruce Malcom]

Chapter Two: Traveling Intermission

A Thunderhawk landed in the hangar bay of the Emperor-class Battleship Nebulia.

 

Aurelous stepped out, taking a moment to study the beauty of Imperial design. It was such a shame...a shame that the Mechanicus can no longer produce them. Nebulia was one of the last of her kind.

 

He continued, his frame like a god compared to the naval officers and guards running past him. However, he couldn’t help but smile. Such ferocity, such perseverance...that someone less than an Astartes could stare at the void and not go mad or cower in fear, let alone ride in a ship that sails the stars as if they were oceans.

 

As he entered the CIC, a silence befell the room. All attention snapped to the living god in front of them.

 

“Supreme Aerospace Commander Aurelous Aarde on deck!” Palidorius barked, and all naval officers stood to attention. A lone figure stood in the shadows, to the side. The Captain, he thought.

 

As Aurelous approached the Captain, he saw no change. However, Palidorius looked away uncomfortably, then walked off.

 

“Captain, you requested my presence?”

 

William took a moment, then spoke. “Yes, I did.” An awkward pause.

 

 

Aurelous titled his head slightly. “What did you wish to discuss, Captain?” He knew something was amiss…

 

He looked to the ship’s floor, then looked back, with steely eyes. “The trip will be temporary, but due to...whatever happened, the trip will take longer than we’d like. You are the highest ranking Astartes here, correct?”

 

By the Emperor...don’t say it...don’t say it…

 

“Yes, Captain. I am.”

 

Aurelous was very, very worried the Captain would ask what he thought he would.

 

“Someone needs to keep our best land defenders in check. I don’t need any...mutinies occuring.”

 

“We have a Chaplin. Well, he was set to become one, anyhow.”

 

“But you don’t have a leader. A Chapter-Master, or Captain?”

 

Don’t...captain...please…

 

“No, Captain. We don’t.”

 

“I’m going to ask you a favor, Commander. Can you perform a multi-role for the time being? A ‘Chapter-Master’ and an Aerospace Commander?”

 

He sighed. “...that breaks with the Codex Astartes…”

 

Captain Aarde silently looked to the ground. “Mister Aarde…do you realise how many civilians are aboard this emergency fleet’s ships?”

 

Aurelous winced at this. “About a million and a half, captain.”

 

Captain Aarde looked up at the Astartes, steely-eyed. “Do you know how many guardsmen I have?”

 

Aurelous shook his head. “I do not, captain.”

“230,091. Do you think I can rally the survivors, to make the journey to Alpha-Nine?”

 

Aurelous looked to the ground. “Despite your career and famed ability to rally crew...I doubt it, captain.”

 

Captain Aarde took another step towards Aurelous. “You have twelve Astartes pilots under your command. Imagine what you could accomplish with ninety. This fleet will not survive without Astartes. I need a figurehead to rally them.”

 

Aurelous nodded. “...if I must, I will do this job. However, not all the Astartes are Ultramarines. My twelve pilots and two tactical marines are the only ones from my chapter aboard that ship. There is a tactical squad of ten Salamanders, three squads of Raven Guard devastator marines, fifteen Crimson Fists, five Space Wolves, and fifteen Iron Hands.”

 

Captain Aarde sighed. “At least try. If they object, they object.”

 

---------------

Four days later…

 

Enginseer Ealin Xurfanous sat in a dark room, at a table. The only light, a faint candle, sat behind him and partially illuminated the room.

 

There was Adeptus Mechanicus Rune Priest Rik Oxymin, Artisan Cybersmith Venklin Mendiss, and another Enginseer, Dominique Besil.

 

The Cybersmith got up onto a podium. “Toll the Great Bell Once!

Pull the Lever forward to engage the-

 

Piston and Pump...

 

Toll the Great Bell Twice!

 

With push of Button fire the Engine-

 

And spark Turbine into life...

 

Toll the Great Bell Thrice!

 

Sing Praise to the-

 

God of All Machines.”

 

In unison, all of the Adeptus Mechanicus representatives responded, “Hail Omnissiah!”

 

The Cybersmith paused, then spoke. “We, aboard this fleet, must gather in order to strategically place Mechanicus units where they are needed most. When we return to Forge World Nepnin I would all assume…”

 

The Cybersmith would drone on, and on, about the Omnissiah and how their victory is helping the blessed ships to their homes. However Ealin barely listened. He wished, yearned for more...power. Knowledge. To sail on an Ark Mechanicus and return with the knowledge of a thousand STCs…

 

...but he must play a game of religion and politics before there was any hope of such a future to pass.

Edited November 14, 2019 by Bruce Malcom

[Brother Lunkhead]

Coming along nicely ...... just a few  suggested tweaks

 

 

 

He sighed. “...that breaks the Codex Astartes…”

"breaks with"...... not so calamituous as to 'break" the Codex 

 

 

 

Captain Aarde silently looked to the ground. “Mister Aarde…do you realise how many civilians are aboard this emergency fleet’s ships?”

Aurelous winced at this. “About a million and a half, sir.”

"Mister Aarde"........? Is this a typo or reference to his son..... I'm assuming Commander Aurelous is in fact his son..... Son or no, ship captain or no, this would be a huge breach in military protocol when dealing with an Astartes. Also, Aurelous would refer to the captain as captain and not sir. Basic respect would be given to rank of a human, but no more.

 

 

However, not all the Astartes are ultramarines.

"Ultramarines"...….not "ultramarines"  ……... 

 

I really like the litany to the machine spirit.

 

Lookin' good Brother 

Edited November 14, 2019 by Brother Lunkhead

[Bruce Malcom]

 

Coming along nicely ...... just a few  suggested tweaks

 

 

 

He sighed. “...that breaks the Codex Astartes…”

"breaks with"...... not so calamituous as to 'break" the Codex 

 

 

 

Captain Aarde silently looked to the ground. “Mister Aarde…do you realise how many civilians are aboard this emergency fleet’s ships?”

Aurelous winced at this. “About a million and a half, sir.”

"Mister Aarde"........? Is this a typo or reference to his son..... I'm assuming Commander Aurelous is in fact his son..... Son or no, ship captain or no, this would be a huge breach in military protocol when dealing with an Astartes. Also, Aurelous would refer to the captain as captain and not sir. Basic respect would be given to rank of a human, but no more.

 

 

However, not all the Astartes are ultramarines.

"Ultramarines"...….not "ultramarines"  ……... 

 

I really like the litany to the machine spirit.

 

Lookin' good Brother 

 

Glad you think so. The Captain is obviously a little shaken by his son being so close after all this years, a full-fledged Astartes and then some. However Aurelous wouldn't be so I'll have to edit that.

[Bruce Malcom]

Chapter Three: Décès d'un monarque
-------------
Aurelous steps off his Thunderhawk, and enters the Astartes’ ship hangar. Twelve others sit idle in the ship, waiting to be piloted.

He activates coms. “This is the Supreme Aerospace Commander speaking. All Astartes and others within the process of becoming one, please report to Mess Hall One.” He then walks down his ship’s corridors, in the hopes of reaching said destination.

-----------------
Aurelous stands at a podium, with all the other Astartes within the Mess Hall. They were all intrigued by what the SAC had to say.

“I...understand this past few days have been difficult. Our astropaths cannot see the Astronomicron, and now rely on the burnt-in images of blinded astropaths. It is the only way to reach Alpha-Nine and we fear this journey will take far longer than we wish. I ask of you all, in the sake of preserving this fleet and its occupants, to grant me temporary leadership of all Astartes battle-brothers.”

A silence befell the crowd, before one, a Raven Guard, spoke up. “Now, who chose you? It does not say in your almighty Codex to do that?”

The Salamanders looked to the ground, and dropped a knee. One spoke. “You do have the highest rank here. If it is temporary, we are your brothers and we shall assist you.”

With this, everyone knelt but the Space Wolves. “Come on, ya ceramite blueberry milksop! We wolves’ll forge our own path!” One of them snarled before the rest walked off. The Raven Guard soon followed.

 

“STOP!” Aurelous shouted, and the Raven Guard and Space Wolves halted.

 

“What is it, milksop?” One of the Space Wolves snarled.

 

Aurelous threw his Gladius. “Choose your champion; as I do not have enough time to beat you all.” 

 

One Space Marine stood up, pushing his brothers aside. “Well then, blueberry! Let’s see what you got!” He swung his gauntleted arm, and Aurelous ducked, and swept his leg. The Space Wolf fell to the floor, and Aurelous leapt from the ground, his fist falling on his cousin’s stomach. The Space Wolf slammed his fist into Aurelous’ helmet, in an attempt to get him off, but he only succeded in cracking its left side. Aurelous kept the Space Wolf on the floor, bashing the wolf’s helmet over, and over, and over. The Wolf was eventually knocked out, and Aurelous got up, and took off his helmet. “Get this to an Enginseer...I want it fixed for tomorrow’s flight.”

 

The Raven Guard looked at Aurelous. “I did not think Ultramarines used such brutality. Weren’t you all prideful and ‘masterful’ with the art of combat?”

 

“...I’ve taken enough grox-product today, Poultry Marine. I understand Ultramarines aren’t the best at everything, even though we’ve been advertised as such, so don’t take out your pent-up steam on your cousin. The Codex Astartes has allowed this sort of thing before and it’ll happen again.”

 

The Raven Guard was dumbfounded. “Wha...hu-...you called me...poultry!” 

 

Aurelous smiled as he patted his cousin on the shoulder.

 

“Come on, cousin. We all know poultry is the most agile and intelligent animal,” he said as he marched onwards. Putting Raven Guard in their place is always an enjoyable experience, especially after the last time he had to deal with a Raven Guard SAC. Even though interchapter politics is a delicate and troublesome prospect that Aurelous respects, the more uptight chapters have always gotten on his nerves...

 

-----------------
One month passes, and only two rebellions occur. The first, thirty-eight peasant survivors raised smuggled arms. They were gunned down by the Astartes. The second, two to three gangs united onboard a civilian carrier ship, holding hostages until they were shipped more rations. The ship was boarded by guardsmen and a tactical squad of Crimson Fists.

Liritus spoke. “Captain, we’ve arrived...captain, we’re receiving word. Something’s wrong.”

Aarde walked over to Liritus. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

Liritus looked stunned. “...Alpha-Nine is destroyed, sir. Barely any parts left, except for a small chunk orbiting the nearby planet.”

Aarde growled. “Get Aurelous on the line. I want an Astartes recon team prepped.”
-----------
The roar of the Thunderhawk’s engines consistently jiggled the transport craft. Aurelous was not flying the ship, however; he was part of the speartip. Due to his emergency powers, he was kitted with the only mark eight power armor they had onboard and a heavy bolter.

As the ships docked, all the Astartes rushed out.

“Area secure!” He shouted. “Search the wreck! We must discover the reason behind this place’s destruction!”

A nearby Astartes, one of Aurelous’s pilots, gazed in awe of the ships in front of him. “These...these are Xiphon patterns! For whatever reason, the Mechanicus stopped producing these...where did a station like Alpha Nine pick up these relics?”

Aurelous followed his brother and became enchanted by the sight, taking a fair few moments to gaze at the loyalist fighters. “...I want all available pilots to guide these holy vessels back to our vessel.”

“Field Commander! Take a look at this!” A tactical marine shouted. “It is heavily encrypted from what I can tell.”

Aurelous cocked his head. “How can you tell?”

The Crimson Fist snorted. “Because it says ‘heavily encrypted’, sir.”

Aurelous was growing impatient. Every day these Astartes, while not directly challenging him, were getting more and more cocky with the temporary master of the Astartes. However he controlled his temper well. “Call in one of those Adeptus Mechanicus tech-priests... An enginseer is fine.”

Five minutes pass, and a Valkyrie lands, unloading Ealin Xurfanous. The enginseer walked up to the SAC. “Hello there, field commander. Shall I take a look at this...heavily encrypted message?”

Aurelous nods, steps to the side, and points at the terminal. Ealin walks up to the thing, and plugs in.

Ealin gasps, and all Astartes turn in his direction. Aurelous steps forth. “Enginseer, what is it?” Ealin collapses to the metal floor, with a sharp ‘twang’.

“The Emperor...Holy Terra…”

Aurelous kneels in order to get the enginseer to sit up. “What is it, enginseer? What did you see? What has happened to the Emperor?”

Ealin turns his head slightly. “The Emperor...he’s...he’s gone...Holy Terra...is gone...Mars...is gone. The Imperium…” and with that, he fainted.

The Crimson Fist rushed over to the enginseer, boltgun in hand. “Heretic! The Emperor will never die!”

Before he could fire, Aurelous pushed the gun to the side and rose to meet his eyes. “Do not fire upon this enginseer!”

The Crimson Fist was furious. “He is a heretic, field commander! He claims the throneworld is gone! He claims the Emperor is too!”

Aurelous glared into his brother’s eyes, keeping the gun away from him and the tech-priest. “What else could’ve torn the Warp, hmm?” He threw the Crimson Fist, and the rest of the Astartes were unsure to pull their boltguns or simply head back to the ship.

“Brothers! This enginseer may be tainted - he may have been tainted by the terminal. But, considering what happened, what occurred that threw us across time and space...brothers, I wish it were not so. It might not be. So I say we take this enginseer to his fellow Adeptus Mechanicus and they check if he tells the truth. Agreed?”

The marines all took a moment, then nodded and headed back to their transports, as more came with pilots to take the relic fighters to the fleet.

Edited November 27, 2019 by Bruce Malcom

[Bjorn Firewalker]

It's coming along well. The opening is great.

 

Nitpicking, with "[" and "]" highlighting suggested changes:

"We have [asked Reclusiam Inductee [insert name] to serve as Acting Chaplain]."

I rewrote "We have a Chaplin. Well, he was set to become one, anyhow," to make the Ultramarine sound more formal, as befits a Son of Guilliman. Note you misspelled "Chaplain" as "Chaplin", omitting the second "a"

The Cybersmith got up onto a podium. “Toll the Great Bell Once!

[]

["]Pull the Lever forward to engage the-

 

["]Piston and Pump...

 

["]Toll the Great Bell Twice!

 

["]With push of Button fire the Engine-

 

["]And spark Turbine into life...

 

["]Toll the Great Bell Thrice!

 

["]Sing Praise to the-

 

["]God of All Machines.”

I added a blank line between "Toll the Great Bell Once!" and "Pull the Lever forward to engage the-" to show the latter is in its own paragraph. (It's very annoying when the computer automatically deletes the tabs used to differentiate paragraphs when you convert a *.txt or *.doc file into an *.html file, isn't it?) I also added the quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph, but not at the end, to show how each successive song lyric is a continuation of the previous quote.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Brother Lunkhead]

…. and the saga continues Lookin' good..... mostly

 

Aurelous stands at a podium, with all the other Astartes within the Mess Hall. They were all intrigued by what the SAC had to say.

“I...understand this past few days have been difficult. Our astropaths cannot see the Astronomicron, and now rely on the burnt-in images of blinded astropaths. It is the only way to reach Alpha-Nine and we fear this journey will take far longer than we wish. I ask of you all, in the sake of preserving this fleet and its occupants, to grant me temporary leadership of all Astartes battle-brothers.”

A silence befell the crowd, before one, a Raven Guard, spoke up. “Now, who chose you? It does not say in your almighty Codex to do that?”

The Salamanders looked to the ground, and dropped a knee. One spoke. “You do have the highest rank here. If it is temporary, we are your brothers and we shall assist you.”

With this, everyone knelt but the Space Wolves. “Come on, ya ceramite blueberry milksop! We wolves’ll forge our own path!” One of them snarled before the rest walked off. The Raven Guard soon followed.

 

I've got a bit of an issue...…. In order to claim legitimacy in his command, Aurelous must be recognized by ALL of the Astartes or he is compromised. This means he's going to have to approach the dissenting folk. He must present himself as the alpha to the Space Wolves if he is to command them..... so it's time for a beat-down time on the Rout  Here's a possible scenario:

 

As the Space Wolves are leaving, Aurelous yells, "STOP". He walks up to them, throws down his Gladius and.... "Choose a champion. We have much to do, and I do not have time to beat you all." This is a crucial moment for Aurelous. He's going to have to lay down some serious Ultramarine-Fu on the dissenters and win.

 

Next, the Raven Guard...… this will have to wait as I'm out of time..... gotta go for now.

 

…… to be continued

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I've got a bit of an issue...…. In order to claim legitimacy in his command, Aurelous must be recognized by ALL of the Astartes or he is compromised. This means he's going to have to approach the dissenting folk. He must present himself as the alpha to the Space Wolves if he is to command them..... so it's time for a beat-down time on the Rout Here's a possible scenario:

 

As the Space Wolves are leaving, Aurelous yells, "STOP". He walks up to them, throws down his Gladius and.... "Choose a champion. We have much to do, and I do not have time to beat you all." This is a crucial moment for Aurelous. He's going to have to lay down some serious Ultramarine-Fu on the dissenters and win.

 

Next, the Raven Guard...… this will have to wait as I'm out of time..... gotta go for now.

 

…… to be continued

Well said. I expect Aurelous to defeat the Space Wolves Champion by fighting defensively, conserving strength while observing his opponent for flaws in the latter's fighting style, before exploiting these flaws in attacks-of-opportunity. He may also defeat the Space Wolves Champion on a technicality, i.e., use the Space Wolf's strength against himself by delivering a judo throw to launches the opponent out of bounds.

 

As for the Raven Guard, they're generally logical people who reason before pride. I'm sure Aurelous can think up an argument to convince Corax's sons to go along with his plans, though he will likely have to humble himself. (The Raven Guard put reason before pride, but they still have pride. If an Ultramarine tries to humble them, he can only blame himself for the beatdown he'll receive.)

[Bruce Malcom]

…. and the saga continues Lookin' good..... mostly

 

Aurelous stands at a podium, with all the other Astartes within the Mess Hall. They were all intrigued by what the SAC had to say.

 

“I...understand this past few days have been difficult. Our astropaths cannot see the Astronomicron, and now rely on the burnt-in images of blinded astropaths. It is the only way to reach Alpha-Nine and we fear this journey will take far longer than we wish. I ask of you all, in the sake of preserving this fleet and its occupants, to grant me temporary leadership of all Astartes battle-brothers.”

 

A silence befell the crowd, before one, a Raven Guard, spoke up. “Now, who chose you? It does not say in your almighty Codex to do that?”

 

The Salamanders looked to the ground, and dropped a knee. One spoke. “You do have the highest rank here. If it is temporary, we are your brothers and we shall assist you.”

 

With this, everyone knelt but the Space Wolves. “Come on, ya ceramite blueberry milksop! We wolves’ll forge our own path!” One of them snarled before the rest walked off. The Raven Guard soon followed.

 

I've got a bit of an issue...…. In order to claim legitimacy in his command, Aurelous must be recognized by ALL of the Astartes or he is compromised. This means he's going to have to approach the dissenting folk. He must present himself as the alpha to the Space Wolves if he is to command them..... so it's time for a beat-down time on the Rout  Here's a possible scenario:

 

As the Space Wolves are leaving, Aurelous yells, "STOP". He walks up to them, throws down his Gladius and.... "Choose a champion. We have much to do, and I do not have time to beat you all." This is a crucial moment for Aurelous. He's going to have to lay down some serious Ultramarine-Fu on the dissenters and win.

 

Next, the Raven Guard...… this will have to wait as I'm out of time..... gotta go for now.

 

…… to be continued

 

 

 

I've got a bit of an issue...…. In order to claim legitimacy in his command, Aurelous must be recognized by ALL of the Astartes or he is compromised. This means he's going to have to approach the dissenting folk. He must present himself as the alpha to the Space Wolves if he is to command them..... so it's time for a beat-down time on the Rout Here's a possible scenario:

 

As the Space Wolves are leaving, Aurelous yells, "STOP". He walks up to them, throws down his Gladius and.... "Choose a champion. We have much to do, and I do not have time to beat you all." This is a crucial moment for Aurelous. He's going to have to lay down some serious Ultramarine-Fu on the dissenters and win.

 

Next, the Raven Guard...… this will have to wait as I'm out of time..... gotta go for now.

 

…… to be continued

Well said. I expect Aurelous to defeat the Space Wolves Champion by fighting defensively, conserving strength while observing his opponent for flaws in the latter's fighting style, before exploiting these flaws in attacks-of-opportunity. He may also defeat the Space Wolves Champion on a technicality, i.e., use the Space Wolf's strength against himself by delivering a judo throw to launches the opponent out of bounds.

 

As for the Raven Guard, they're generally logical people who reason before pride. I'm sure Aurelous can think up an argument to convince Corax's sons to go along with his plans, though he will likely have to humble himself. (The Raven Guard put reason before pride, but they still have pride. If an Ultramarine tries to humble them, he can only blame himself for the beatdown he'll receive.)

 

Oooh...I guess I get to write a fight scene now. 

[Machine God]

…. and the saga continues Lookin' good..... mostly

 

Aurelous stands at a podium, with all the other Astartes within the Mess Hall. They were all intrigued by what the SAC had to say.

 

“I...understand this past few days have been difficult. Our astropaths cannot see the Astronomicron, and now rely on the burnt-in images of blinded astropaths. It is the only way to reach Alpha-Nine and we fear this journey will take far longer than we wish. I ask of you all, in the sake of preserving this fleet and its occupants, to grant me temporary leadership of all Astartes battle-brothers.”

 

A silence befell the crowd, before one, a Raven Guard, spoke up. “Now, who chose you? It does not say in your almighty Codex to do that?”

 

The Salamanders looked to the ground, and dropped a knee. One spoke. “You do have the highest rank here. If it is temporary, we are your brothers and we shall assist you.”

 

With this, everyone knelt but the Space Wolves. “Come on, ya ceramite blueberry milksop! We wolves’ll forge our own path!” One of them snarled before the rest walked off. The Raven Guard soon followed.

 

I've got a bit of an issue...…. In order to claim legitimacy in his command, Aurelous must be recognized by ALL of the Astartes or he is compromised. This means he's going to have to approach the dissenting folk. He must present himself as the alpha to the Space Wolves if he is to command them..... so it's time for a beat-down time on the Rout  Here's a possible scenario:

 

As the Space Wolves are leaving, Aurelous yells, "STOP". He walks up to them, throws down his Gladius and.... "Choose a champion. We have much to do, and I do not have time to beat you all." This is a crucial moment for Aurelous. He's going to have to lay down some serious Ultramarine-Fu on the dissenters and win.

 

Next, the Raven Guard...… this will have to wait as I'm out of time..... gotta go for now.

 

…… to be continued

@Brother Lunkhead - Good point on the Space Wolves (Nods to Classic BSG Borellian Nomen).

 

I also fail to believe that the Iron Hand contingent would bow so easily to Aurelous. The Iron Hands are notably belligerent and uncompromising, I think that there will be dissent in their ranks but they would go with the orders, but ally with the Ad Mech contingents on the ship.

[Brother Lunkhead]

 

…. and the saga continues Lookin' good..... mostly

 

Aurelous stands at a podium, with all the other Astartes within the Mess Hall. They were all intrigued by what the SAC had to say.

 

“I...understand this past few days have been difficult. Our astropaths cannot see the Astronomicron, and now rely on the burnt-in images of blinded astropaths. It is the only way to reach Alpha-Nine and we fear this journey will take far longer than we wish. I ask of you all, in the sake of preserving this fleet and its occupants, to grant me temporary leadership of all Astartes battle-brothers.”

 

A silence befell the crowd, before one, a Raven Guard, spoke up. “Now, who chose you? It does not say in your almighty Codex to do that?”

 

The Salamanders looked to the ground, and dropped a knee. One spoke. “You do have the highest rank here. If it is temporary, we are your brothers and we shall assist you.”

 

With this, everyone knelt but the Space Wolves. “Come on, ya ceramite blueberry milksop! We wolves’ll forge our own path!” One of them snarled before the rest walked off. The Raven Guard soon followed.

 

I've got a bit of an issue...…. In order to claim legitimacy in his command, Aurelous must be recognized by ALL of the Astartes or he is compromised. This means he's going to have to approach the dissenting folk. He must present himself as the alpha to the Space Wolves if he is to command them..... so it's time for a beat-down time on the Rout  Here's a possible scenario:

 

As the Space Wolves are leaving, Aurelous yells, "STOP". He walks up to them, throws down his Gladius and.... "Choose a champion. We have much to do, and I do not have time to beat you all." This is a crucial moment for Aurelous. He's going to have to lay down some serious Ultramarine-Fu on the dissenters and win.

 

Next, the Raven Guard...… this will have to wait as I'm out of time..... gotta go for now.

 

…… to be continued

 

 

 

I've got a bit of an issue...…. In order to claim legitimacy in his command, Aurelous must be recognized by ALL of the Astartes or he is compromised. This means he's going to have to approach the dissenting folk. He must present himself as the alpha to the Space Wolves if he is to command them..... so it's time for a beat-down time on the Rout Here's a possible scenario:

 

As the Space Wolves are leaving, Aurelous yells, "STOP". He walks up to them, throws down his Gladius and.... "Choose a champion. We have much to do, and I do not have time to beat you all." This is a crucial moment for Aurelous. He's going to have to lay down some serious Ultramarine-Fu on the dissenters and win.

 

Next, the Raven Guard...… this will have to wait as I'm out of time..... gotta go for now.

 

…… to be continued

Well said. I expect Aurelous to defeat the Space Wolves Champion by fighting defensively, conserving strength while observing his opponent for flaws in the latter's fighting style, before exploiting these flaws in attacks-of-opportunity. He may also defeat the Space Wolves Champion on a technicality, i.e., use the Space Wolf's strength against himself by delivering a judo throw to launches the opponent out of bounds.

 

As for the Raven Guard, they're generally logical people who reason before pride. I'm sure Aurelous can think up an argument to convince Corax's sons to go along with his plans, though he will likely have to humble himself. (The Raven Guard put reason before pride, but they still have pride. If an Ultramarine tries to humble them, he can only blame himself for the beatdown he'll receive.)

 

Oooh...I guess I get to write a fight scene now. 

 

 

Fight scene......  

 

 

 

…. and the saga continues Lookin' good..... mostly

 

Aurelous stands at a podium, with all the other Astartes within the Mess Hall. They were all intrigued by what the SAC had to say.

 

“I...understand this past few days have been difficult. Our astropaths cannot see the Astronomicron, and now rely on the burnt-in images of blinded astropaths. It is the only way to reach Alpha-Nine and we fear this journey will take far longer than we wish. I ask of you all, in the sake of preserving this fleet and its occupants, to grant me temporary leadership of all Astartes battle-brothers.”

 

A silence befell the crowd, before one, a Raven Guard, spoke up. “Now, who chose you? It does not say in your almighty Codex to do that?”

 

The Salamanders looked to the ground, and dropped a knee. One spoke. “You do have the highest rank here. If it is temporary, we are your brothers and we shall assist you.”

 

With this, everyone knelt but the Space Wolves. “Come on, ya ceramite blueberry milksop! We wolves’ll forge our own path!” One of them snarled before the rest walked off. The Raven Guard soon followed.

 

I've got a bit of an issue...…. In order to claim legitimacy in his command, Aurelous must be recognized by ALL of the Astartes or he is compromised. This means he's going to have to approach the dissenting folk. He must present himself as the alpha to the Space Wolves if he is to command them..... so it's time for a beat-down time on the Rout  Here's a possible scenario:

 

As the Space Wolves are leaving, Aurelous yells, "STOP". He walks up to them, throws down his Gladius and.... "Choose a champion. We have much to do, and I do not have time to beat you all." This is a crucial moment for Aurelous. He's going to have to lay down some serious Ultramarine-Fu on the dissenters and win.

 

Next, the Raven Guard...… this will have to wait as I'm out of time..... gotta go for now.

 

…… to be continued

@Brother Lunkhead - Good point on the Space Wolves (Nods to Classic BSG Borellian Nomen).

 

I also fail to believe that the Iron Hand contingent would bow so easily to Aurelous. The Iron Hands are notably belligerent and uncompromising, I think that there will be dissent in their ranks but they would go with the orders, but ally with the Ad Mech contingents on the ship.

 

 

Yeah..... I was thinking about the Borellian Nomen too

 

So.... after proving his alphaness to the Space Wolves Aurelous must persuade the Raven Guard and Iron Hands contingent to his cause.

 

For the Raven Guard, I think he can show that there is Codex precedence in this. It is not uncommon for a senior officer from one chapter to command a battle group made up of multiple chapters, so doing so on a smaller scale is reasonable. 

 

The Iron Hands will actually prove to be the hardest to persuade as they are as prideful and stubborn as they come. Plus they have a bit of a paranoid streak when it comes to outsiders. Aurelous must appeal to their sense of duty as well as their pride of technical expertise.

 

Ultimately, Aurelous will need the expertise that all of his Space Marine cousins have to offer if he is to succeed. Anyone who refuses will be asked to leave (at gunpoint if necessary), and leave they must and deprive themselves of the glories to be had in this most worthy of causes.

[Bruce Malcom]

Updated Chapter Three with the fight scene. New content to come, I haven't forgotten!

[Bruce Malcom]

Chapter Four: Tradimento tra mondi

 

Earlin opened his mechanical optics. The last remaining flesh of his body writhed with pain, but his damage sensors detected nothing. Wait, he knew what it was...a headache.

He tried to get up, but he realised there were some sort of chains wrapped around his wrists and ankles. Not even his implanted metallic limbs could break free from the powered chains.

 

Rune Priest Oxymin walked into the dim light, and he knew what was happening.

 

He remembered. All of it.

 

The Emperor was dead, and so was his Imperium of Man.

 

Oxymin glared, even though Earlin could not see it. In fact, Oxymin didn’t have the required flesh to even squint, opting for sanctioned mechanical implants to perform duties his normal eyes could not.

 

“Earlin...Enginseer...I remember you. From the meetings,” Oxymin said, with a hint of condescending manner.

 

Earlin sneered. “I’m glad a Rune Priest such as yourself remembers a lowly enginseer such as myself, Rik.”

 

The Rune Priest stepped forward, ever closer to the Enginseer. “You believe yourself worthy of speaking my name and not by title? An interesting belief, even if a highly heretical one.” He sighed.

 

“I have been informed by the Adeptus Astartes that you, Earlin Xurfanous, have stated the Emperor, the holy dual planets Mars and Terra, and the Imperium itself, are all gone.”

 

Earlin nodded. “I have said what I have been told, Rune Priest.”

 

The Rune Priest remained inquisitive. “What has told you, Enginseer? The Ruinous Powers, perhaps?”

 

Earlin replied, in a deadpan tone, “No. The terminal did. It was completely written by loyalists who were as stunned as I was. They didn’t promote Chaos. In fact, the last words were written as chaos forces invaded the station, by something called a...primaris intercessor. From what I could tell, it was some form of Adeptus Astartes developed three thousand years before the Death of the Emperor.”

 

Rik raised an eyebrow. “A form of Adeptus Astartes…?”

 

Earlin nodded. “Yep. He didn’t explain what a Primaris Intercessor is, besides an Adeptus Astartes. Have you heard of such a thing?”

 

Rik thought for a moment. “Perhaps in whispers...but nothing so direct. An interesting prospect you bring, Earlin. Surely a powerful new form of Astartes could be helpful...but what did this...Intercessor say about the Death of the Emperor? The destruction of Mars and Terra?”

 

Earlin sighed. “He said the Emperor died, and with him Terra. Mars was shattered from the inside, releasing something...terrible and dark.”

 

Rik gasped. “Something...in Mars?!”

 

“Yes. He said what not, however. Is there anything else before you let me go?”

 

Rik bellowed in laughter. “Let you go...ah, Earlin, I will miss you. I am killing you officially for saying heinous lies crafted by the Ruinous Powers.”

 

Earlin gasped. “Rune Priest, I speak the truth!”

 

Rik merely waved him off. “No, Earlin...you don’t. You’ve been tainted, either from your recent campaign with that regiment or just now aboard Alpha-Nine.”

 

Earlin growled. “Omnissiah damn you! I speak the tr-”, he started to say before Rik backhanded him. 

 

“Shut up, heretic! You do not have permission, much less the audacity, to speak His name aloud!” He screamed in Earlin’s face before retrieving a Clovis FP Laspistol from his coat.

 

At this moment, Earlin tugged with all his might. He had seen something, the truth, and this supposited agent of the Omnissiah dared to silence the truth!

 

“Rrrr-”

 

Luckily the chains strapping him down were not of the highest quality, and every once and a while they’d flicker. By some divine chance, his limbs tugged as the chains were flickering.

 

“-rreeeEEEP-”

 

The chains started to snap, small chips flaking off as the strength of augmented human muscles and pistons slammed against the metal.

 

“-PpppppeeennnttT!”

 

Rik’s finger pulled on the trigger.

 

The chains snapped, but Earlin was not fast enough to dodge a las-shot, and at this range such a blast would penetrate his metallic skull.

 

But no laser left the barrel. A flash, and the gun smoked and was fried. Earlin still lived, and collided with Rik. The two tumbled to the floor.

 

Rik punched Earlin, with considerable force. Earlin was stunned, and Rik pushed him off. Earlin slid across the plated floor and slammed into the wall. “...Rik…”

 

Rik growled and grabbed a nearby chain-axe mounted to the wall. “Heretic scum! You’ve shown your ruinous colors now!”

 

Earlin shook his head and saw the incoming weaponry. That chain-axe would shred him to pieces…

 

His hands lingered until they touched something, and that something was an Omnissian Power Axe. He grabbed it, firmly, and swung to hit the Rune Priest. The Rune Priest, old and even his replacements were requiring a tuning, was unable to block in time and the power axe tore through his feeble robes and durable armor. Earlin put all his force into the blow, and the axe cut through the rest of the Rune Priest, slicing him in half.

 

Exhausted, Earlin dropped the axe. So much had happened…

 

...but then it hit him. A plan began to formulate...

[Brother Lunkhead]

Bruce Malcom

Posted 13 November 2019 - 10:06 PM

 

 

“STOP!” Aurelous shouted, and the Raven Guard and Space Wolves halted.

 

“What is it, milksop?” One of the Space Wolves snarled.

 

Aurelous threw his Gladius. “Choose your champion; as I do not have enough time to beat you all.” 

 

One Space Marine stood up, pushing his brothers aside. “Well then, blueberry! Let’s see what you got!” He swung his gauntleted arm, and Aurelous ducked, and swept his leg. The Space Wolf fell to the floor, and Aurelous leapt from the ground, his fist falling on his cousin’s stomach. The Space Wolf slammed his fist into Aurelous’ helmet, in an attempt to get him off, but he only succeded in cracking its left side. Aurelous kept the Space Wolf on the floor, bashing the wolf’s helmet over, and over, and over. The Wolf was eventually knocked out, and Aurelous got up, and took off his helmet. “Get this to an Enginseer...I want it fixed for tomorrow’s flight.”

 

The Raven Guard looked at Aurelous. “I did not think Ultramarines used such brutality. Weren’t you all prideful and ‘masterful’ with the art of combat?”

 

“...I’ve taken enough grox-product today, Poultry Marine. I understand Ultramarines aren’t the best at everything, even though we’ve been advertised as such, so don’t take out your pent-up steam on your cousin. The Codex Astartes has allowed this sort of thing before and it’ll happen again.”

 

The Raven Guard was dumbfounded. “Wha...hu-...you called me...poultry!” 

 

Aurelous smiled as he patted his cousin on the shoulder.

 

“Come on, cousin. We all know poultry is the most agile and intelligent animal,” he said as he marched onwards. Putting Raven Guard in their place is always an enjoyable experience, especially after the last time he had to deal with a Raven Guard SAC. Even though interchapter politics is a delicate and troublesome prospect that Aurelous respects, the more uptight chapters have always gotten on his nerves...

 

Fight scene...…….ooohhyeaaah  Nicely done Brother 

 

Bruce Malcom

Posted Today, 01:03 AM

 

………

Rune Priest Oxymin walked into the dim light, and he knew what was happening.

 

Is Oxymin a Space Wolf, or is there another kind of Rune Priest?

 

Except for my one little query the story looks good.....want more

Edited November 27, 2019 by Brother Lunkhead

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The honor duel is competently written. Earlin and Rik's scene is acceptable, setting things up for more intrigue; but it may require revision, as I doubt any loyalist would claim the Emperor died.

 

Nitpick:

Aurelous threw his Gladius. “Choose your champion; as I do not have enough time to beat you all.”

Emphasis mine. Don't you mean "Aurelous drew his gladius" (note "gladius" isn't capitalized)? If he throws it, such an act can easily be interpreted as Aurelous throwing down his weapons and surrendering, unless he meant to offer the Space Wolves Champion the weapons allowed according to Codex regulations for honor duels- in which case, he should say so to clarify misunderstandings among the Space Wolves and other loyalist but non-Codex-adherent Marines- or using his gladius as a ranged weapon.

[Bruce Malcom]

The honor duel is competently written. Earlin and Rik's scene is acceptable, setting things up for more intrigue; but it may require revision, as I doubt any loyalist would claim the Emperor died.

 

Nitpick:

Aurelous threw his Gladius. “Choose your champion; as I do not have enough time to beat you all.”

Emphasis mine. Don't you mean "Aurelous drew his gladius" (note "gladius" isn't capitalized)? If he throws it, such an act can easily be interpreted as Aurelous throwing down his weapons and surrendering, unless he meant to offer the Space Wolves Champion the weapons allowed according to Codex regulations for honor duels- in which case, he should say so to clarify misunderstandings among the Space Wolves and other loyalist but non-Codex-adherent Marines- or using his gladius as a ranged weapon.

 

He threw it down to signify "put up your dukes, bet you can't beat me in a fist fight".

 

 

Bruce Malcom

Posted 13 November 2019 - 10:06 PM

 

 

“STOP!” Aurelous shouted, and the Raven Guard and Space Wolves halted.

 

“What is it, milksop?” One of the Space Wolves snarled.

 

Aurelous threw his Gladius. “Choose your champion; as I do not have enough time to beat you all.” 

 

One Space Marine stood up, pushing his brothers aside. “Well then, blueberry! Let’s see what you got!” He swung his gauntleted arm, and Aurelous ducked, and swept his leg. The Space Wolf fell to the floor, and Aurelous leapt from the ground, his fist falling on his cousin’s stomach. The Space Wolf slammed his fist into Aurelous’ helmet, in an attempt to get him off, but he only succeded in cracking its left side. Aurelous kept the Space Wolf on the floor, bashing the wolf’s helmet over, and over, and over. The Wolf was eventually knocked out, and Aurelous got up, and took off his helmet. “Get this to an Enginseer...I want it fixed for tomorrow’s flight.”

 

The Raven Guard looked at Aurelous. “I did not think Ultramarines used such brutality. Weren’t you all prideful and ‘masterful’ with the art of combat?”

 

“...I’ve taken enough grox-product today, Poultry Marine. I understand Ultramarines aren’t the best at everything, even though we’ve been advertised as such, so don’t take out your pent-up steam on your cousin. The Codex Astartes has allowed this sort of thing before and it’ll happen again.”

 

The Raven Guard was dumbfounded. “Wha...hu-...you called me...poultry!” 

 

Aurelous smiled as he patted his cousin on the shoulder.

 

“Come on, cousin. We all know poultry is the most agile and intelligent animal,” he said as he marched onwards. Putting Raven Guard in their place is always an enjoyable experience, especially after the last time he had to deal with a Raven Guard SAC. Even though interchapter politics is a delicate and troublesome prospect that Aurelous respects, the more uptight chapters have always gotten on his nerves...

 

Fight scene...…….ooohhyeaaah  Nicely done Brother 

 

Bruce Malcom

Posted Today, 01:03 AM

 

………

Rune Priest Oxymin walked into the dim light, and he knew what was happening.

 

Is Oxymin a Space Wolf, or is there another kind of Rune Priest?

 

Except for my one little query the story looks good.....want more

 

 

AdMech Rune Priest. New chapter coming in a few minutes.

[Brother Lunkhead]

The honor duel is competently written. Earlin and Rik's scene is acceptable, setting things up for more intrigue; but it may require revision, as I doubt any loyalist would claim the Emperor died.

 

Nitpick:

Aurelous threw his Gladius. “Choose your champion; as I do not have enough time to beat you all.”

Emphasis mine. Don't you mean "Aurelous drew his gladius" (note "gladius" isn't capitalized)? If he throws it, such an act can easily be interpreted as Aurelous throwing down his weapons and surrendering, unless he meant to offer the Space Wolves Champion the weapons allowed according to Codex regulations for honor duels- in which case, he should say so to clarify misunderstandings among the Space Wolves and other loyalist but non-Codex-adherent Marines- or using his gladius as a ranged weapon.

 

 

I was a bit put off by "the Emperor is dead" thing too, but there may be more to this than we see thus far, so I'll wait to see what happens next. 

 

Aurelous threw his Gladius.

 

Probably should have been "...threw down his gladius." In dueling culture tradition this is a particularly insulting version of throwing down the gauntlet. The challenger is basically saying, "Much like my skill, my weapon is better than yours. You should use it, as you're going to need all the help you can get when I put the beat down on you" 

[Bruce Malcom]

Chapter Five: Plundrat 

 

Captain Aarde and his XO Palidorius stood on alert as Lieutenant Litmus said the four dreaded words; “Contact! Multiple Bogies Inbound!”

 

Aarde was swift to react, as he pulled the vox communicator device from the console. “Launch alert interceptors!”

 

Palidorius turned to Litmus. “Inbound to where, Litmus?”

 

Litmus sighed. “Either the civilian vessel Solitude’s Duty or the station remnants, sir.” 

 

Aarde quickly barked, “Order the Adeptus Astartes to retreat!”

-------------------

The Astartes, who had further salvaged scarce few bolt rounds and a crate of lasguns and power packs, ran back to their ships as soon as they got the order. However, not even they were swift enough to leave without meeting their new assalients.

 

Suddenly a big hunk of metal collided into the occupied remnants of the station, and from within a large Chaos Space Marine Sorcerer stepped out. He was followed by bloodlusted followers of Khorne, Tzeenchian Rubric Marines, and Plague Marines.

 

The Crimson Fist, who so eagerly mocked Aurelous earlier, now looked in horror at the sight. “That’s...quite a few enemy Astartes. Aurelous, do you have a plan?”

 

Aurelous nodded. “I do. Follow my lead,” he said as he crouched and quietly walked to the single Thunderhawk on board. The rest did so, but the Crimson Fist was caught by the Sorcerer.

 

“Oh little loyalists~…” He started to say, mockingly. “...come out and play...it’s been so long!”

 

Aurelous opened the door of the Thunderhawk. “Fall in, brothers!”

 

The Sorcerer drew his sword and charged. “Gladly!”

 

Aurelous drew his power sword and deflected the Sorcerer’s blade. “Not you, heretic! You don’t even have the authority to call me brother!” He said as he kicked the Sorcerer’s knees, and then sliced upwards with his power sword. The Sorcerer merely chuckled as he pushed aside Aurelous’ sword and was about to stab him through the back before his gauntleted hand was caught.

 

“Not today, monster!” A Salamander shouted as he placed his boltgun on the Sorcerer’s shoulder before firing. Two bolts struck his helm, and the thing shattered, revealing a stiched, pale face. The Salamander kicked him back before being, himself, kicked into the Thunderhawk by a Khornate Berserker. However, the Crimson Fist readied his Plasma Gun and fired, incinerating the heretic. “Commander! Hurry onboard, the rest are here!”

 

Aurelous jumped onboard as the Thunderhawk’s door closed and proceeded to launch...but, the Sorcerer’s sword slammed itself through the door before it took off, launching the heretics and the sword back, but a hole opened inside the door and all the air pushed Aurelous off his feet and against the wall, with a hard thud. The Thunderhawk, at blazing speeds, quickly docked with the empty hangar on the Astartes’ sole ship. 

-----------

The relic fighters flew ahead of the Fury Interceptor wave, which itself was followed by Starhawk Bombers and Thunderhawks. It was likely one of the largest deployments of fighters to be seen in a thousand years…

 

“This is Lex Lubicarn of the Ultramarines, temporary SAC while the commander is off spelunking in a dead station. Follow my lead!” He shouted through his vox as they sped up towards the enemy fighters.

 

The Chaos Storm Eagles flew apart, evading the forthcoming Loyalist fighters, and they came swooping back in from all sides, and as they fired, ten Fury Interceptors crumbled. The Xiphon-pattern relic fighters blasted towards the heretic spaceborne planes with ferocity unmatched. As they did, a large Ambition-Class Cruiser appeared from the void. “Remaining Astartes fighters, chase down those heretics! Furies, guard those bombers and destroy that ship!”

------------------

Aboard the Nebulia…

 

Aarde perked up at the sound of Litmus’ voice. “New contact; looks like an Ambition-class cruiser, like the ones Rogue Traders or wealthy aristocrats used…”

 

Aarde gritted his teeth. “Any marks of corruption?” 

 

Litmus nodded. “Multiple marks of corruption, namely a familiar aesthetic and the signature star.”

 

Aarde looked down at the console. “Fire batteries.”

 

----------

The remaining strike craft were fighting as the first shots were fired by the Nebulia, slamming into the Ambition-class cruiser. The small thing had no chance at surviving continuous fire, especially with the bomber support taking out its guns.

 

“This is Lubicarn! Returning fighters; sweep up the heretic craft attempting to break! Don’t let any get near the Nebulia!”

 

The swarm of Thunderhawks and Xiphon-patterns continued to combat the Storm Eagles, but then a second Ambition-class appeared, and twenty-five more Storm Eagles and a swarm of heretic Furies appeared.

 

-----------

Litmus spoke again, this time with peaked ferocity. “Contact! One more...scratch that, six more Chaos vessels! They’ve all launched fighters in large numbers, sir...ranging in about two hundred or so.”

 

Flag Lieutenant Acorda, the XO, growled. “Bill, they won’t make it!”

 

Litmus spoke again. “Void shields up! Sir, crew is requesting whether or not to fire batteries. What are your orders?”

 

Aarde sighed. “Where is the Astartes vessel?”

 

Litmus quickly checked. “Guarding the civilian fleet.”

 

Acorda looked at Aarde. “Call them in, we can kick all these heretics back to the Eye of Terror if we get another ship over here!”

 

Aarde looked up. “And if we move that Endeavor-class away from the fleet they could take out innumerable lives with an unprepared ambush. We’re doing a full retreat.”

 

Litmus nodded and gave the order, but Acorda grimaced. “They’ve all appeared in one place! We could destroy them all!”

 

Aarde turned his head. “Paul, they’ve almost come out of nowhere. There could be a whole warfleet over there and we wouldn’t have a damn clue,” he said.

 

-------------------

Lex received the word. “All fighters, return to Nebulia and Total Faith! We’re pulling back!”

 

The criticism was not kind from the pilots, some suggested he was a traitor for not ordering them to say and fight. Lex ignored this. “ALL FIGHTERS, MOVE TO HANGARS! THE CAPTAIN DEMANDS THIS SO!”

 

Twenty fighters stayed, either to sacrifice themselves and cover them or to blindly stay and fight. Lubicarn never knew which.

 

The fighters readily docked, and enginseers immediately rushed over to repair the sacred vessels.

 

----------

Aarde shook his head. “Where are we going to go, Paul?”

 

Acorda grunted. “There was a nearby Imperial refitting center on the planet of Aqul-4. Maybe the Grand Old Lady can get a couple new fighters and more armor?”

 

Aarde nodded. “Let’s go. Litmus, order the fleet to warp to Aqul-4!”

 

Litmus nodded and took out the vox communicator.

----------

The Chaos Sorcerer looked out the hangar door on Alpha Nine, now vented, looted, and to be abandoned.

 

“Such beauty, the Warp is...don’t you agree, my friend?” He asked the Rubric Marine next to him, a puppet for which another sorcerer speaks.

 

The Rubric Marine nodded. “Yes. It has given us new loyalists to fight...to kill…”

 

The Sorcerer looked at his accomplice. “There is great danger to be had with them, and who they have brought with them. Our warband, even strengthened by the fall of the Imperium, cannot face new Astartes yet. Cursed, the human form is. Forever to repeat its mistakes of bureaucracy...Korvus, do please ready a warfleet. I wish to stamp these time traveling imperialists and their greenskin stowaways out of our time.” 

Edited November 28, 2019 by Bruce Malcom

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Not bad.

 

Nitpicking:

Rubric Marines are sorcery-animated puppets, incapable of speech. If you want to give the Chaos Sorcerer someone to talk to, either replace the Rubric Marine, or specify another sorcerer is using the Rubric Marine as a mouthpiece.

Edited November 28, 2019 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Bruce Malcom]

Chapter Six: Siâp pethau i ddod

Silently, across the stars, perhaps the last remnants of humanity flew in their massive ships. Fury Interceptors passed by each ship twenty times, before landing for refueling and a two hour break. Shifts were passed between the hundred Fury Interceptor pilots.

 

The CIC was quiet, the officers of the ship moving in and out in a pace not stern but not lazy either.

 

Repairs were made to the ships damaged in combat, and the Astartes organized themselves into a proper Chapter formation, with ten times less the usual Chapter amount of Astartes.

 

The investigation into Rik Oxymin’s disappearance led the Mechanicus to believe he had been murdered by Earlin Xurfanous or another agent of the Mechanicus.

 

It was the 47th Millenium, and the Galaxy was not kind.

--------

 

Lieutenant Litmus turned to face Aarde. “Captain, we’re receiving a vox signal...standard Imperial codes. Battlegroup Dogma...sir, if this is true, there could be an allied Imperial vessel from our time out here!”

 

Acorda walked over to Litmus. “It could be another trap, like Alpha-Nine!”

 

Captain Aarde turned to Acorda and Litmus. “Alpha-Nine told us where we were, what happened, and got us new fighters. For all intents and purposes, that was an encounter that ended as well as it could’ve.” 

 

He fiddles with his glasses. “...but another ship...together with the Nebulia and the Astartes’ vessel, we can fight back. We can win. How far does it stray from Aqul-4?”

 

Litmus looked back. “Just a system over, sir.”

 

Captain Aarde nodded. “Set the fleet on course.”

-----------

 

Aurelous sat down with a Crimson Fist Apothecary. “Apothecary Dormis, do you know why I ordered you to meet with me?”

 

Dormis shook his head. “No...is one of your pilots wounded, or requiring something?”

 

Aurelous sighed. “No...Dormis, you are the only Apothecary aboard this fleet. You are the future of the Adeptus Astartes, and we need to work on that.”

 

Dormis looked shocked. “...Aurelous...I don’t know...surely there’s another apothecary? Do you wish me to train new Apothecaries?”

 

Aurelous nodded. “Eventually...but first, more aspirants. Then neophytes. Then initiates.”

 

Dormis sighed. “You wish to start...a chapter, out of the scraps of almost six different ones? With our limited resources? I don’t even think we have any gene-seed on board…”

 

Aurelous sighed. “Then we must find some, from some source…”

 

Dormis shook his head. “Any gene-seed found these days cannot be trusted. Who knows what mutations and corruption may spring from them.”

 

Aurelous got up. “Then the only alternative…”

 

Dormis got up with him. “...is murder. You will not kill one of your own, brother. I shall not let you. Let them die in battle, rather than at the hands of one of their own.”

---------

A single Astartes walked amongst the plains. Armor scraped, riddled with bullet holes from countless different weapons. In tow, a bolter from an age long past, even by the fleet’s standards.

 

He was greeted by a pale, robed man. “So! I see you’ve finally heard our call…”

 

The Astartes’ expression was masked by his old, battered helm. A massive scrape led from one side of his helm to the other, cracking one of the eyepieces. “I have come here, yes.”

 

The robed man chuckled to himself, softly. “The last Templar, they call you. Far from it, I think, but I care not if you are the last or one of thousands. You are here.”

 

The Astartes’ solemn glare did not let up. “I have come here, yes.”

 

The robed man’s grin shifted to a grimace. “Why have you? A change of faith? Have you finally accepted that your Eternal Crusade is over, and it has been since the death of your Emperor four thousand years ago?”

 

“The Eternal Crusade lasts as long as I have bolts in my gun, heretic.”

 

He raised the ancient Mark II Boltgun in defiance, and fired. The bolts struck the robed man, his head and torso exploding in a magnificent storm of gore and blood. The Black Templar marched forth, his ancient armor clanking on the torn, sandy terrain.

----------------

The Mechanicus Remnants met up in their usual meeting place, for the fifteenth time since their original encounter.

 

Suddenly, a form not seen since Alpha-Nine’s scouring appeared through the doorway, the only source of light besides the candles within the room. The podium was desolate with Oxymin, but the tech-priest just entering walked up as if it was his job all along.

 

“My name is Earlin Xurfanous, and I am to lead the Mechanicus now.”

 

The rest of the Mechanicus remnants looked in silence.

 

The other Enginseer in the room, Besil, stood in protest. “You claim the Emperor, the Omnissiah, is dead! You are a heretic! You shall not lead the Mechanicus Remnants!”

 

Earlin sighed, and approached Besil. “Perhaps...but surely, only those who know the truth shall lead the Mechanicus...and you know nothing of the truth.”

 

The other Mechanicus leaders looked sceptical, even worried. Earlin smiled under his mask and hood. “While I am not saying we side with the Archtraitors, we must accept the truth all around us; if the Omnissiah lived, where are His bulwark defenders? Where are the heroic Astartes chapters and Guard Regiments? If Terra and Mars still stood, WHERE ARE HER COLONIES?! WHERE ARE HER FLEETS?! WHERE!?”

 

Besil sat down, shameful.

 

Earlin continued his speech. “For all who deny the unthinkable truth, you will die trying to live in a long forgotten fantasy...but if you accept the terrible truth...knowledge will follow.”

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The four thousand-year time skip makes me wary- I read too many bad stories that use such time skips to justify extreme changes in their characters and setting. Hopefully, you won't repeat the bad writers' mistakes. (Glares at Gene Roddenberry for reducing the Federation and its Starfleet into spineless pansies who think SELF-DEFENSE is an act of aggression, J. J. Abrams and Rian Johnson for reducing the New Republic and its Jedi into suicidal fools who'd rather let the galaxy burn than lift one finger to save it.)

The investigation into Rik Oxymin’s disappearance led the Mechanicus to believe he had been murdered by Earlin Xurfanous or another agent of the Mechanicus.

This is confusing. You should specify Rik Oxymin and Earlin Xurfanous are from different Mechanicus factions, and identify these factions.