40 Thousand Reasons

Chapter 204: Brothers

Under the not-too-effective scrutiny of Inquisitor Greyfax and her Deathwatch bodyguards, Lord Trazyn has departed for the world of Damnos, to provide some unexpected and unnecessary help for the Second_Battle_of_Damnos.

Sure, the Necron Overlord was smart enough to mask his activities under the guise of Adeptus Mechanicus monopoly on technology, be it Imperial or xeno. Also, having an Inquisitor supporting his demands would probably make the involved Imperial forces at Damnos cede him the ownership over the Tesseract Vault, and more importantly: its contents. In this case a Transcendent C'tan bound to the will of the Necron Lord known as The Undying. And if he could obtain ownership over the Baleful Necropolis and its entropic machines our quest would become marginally easier.

Meanwhile, my fleet and the Indomitus fleet plowed our way through the newly emerged worlds formerly inside the Eye Of Terror, spreading warmth and light to their inhabitants. Or in other words, Exterminatus.

It wasn't easy, but the Adeptus Mechanicus was already sending punitive fleets into the new sectors, and at Dark Forge Temporia we joined up with Battlefleet Agripinaa and their allied Basilikon Astra fleet to clean up the heretics in a more organized fashion.

It took a whole month to clear the numerous layers of space defenses, forts, deamon engines and sentient minefields, even with our superior numbers and overwhelming firepower, followed by a series of deep strikes and snatch raids, to recover as many STC templates and constructor fragments we could find.

In the end, the result was predictable and illuminating as expected. Temporia burned in our wake, and we headed for Hellforge Gallium to continue this impromptu Crusade.

Another a month of heavy munitions consumption, millions of burned hereteks, and billions of enslaved troops and cultists, plus their demonic weapons and corrupted machines were all laid to waste.

However, there was a distinct lack of Chaos marines or Daemon Princes everywhere in our path, and the defending Chaos capital ships were all old and destitute, often trying to ram or self-detonate, to create at least some damage.

I wasn't going to complain about an easy job though. Even so, we still lost a cruiser here or there, plus hundreds of starfighters and corvettes. Chaos was always a difficult enemy and the Dark Mechanicum even more.

By the time we reached Forge Mordax and the Imperial fleets under Primarch Khan, my combined fleet was once more out of consumables, things like torpedoes, Nova shells and mines, plus most missiles and bombs.

"You killed Slaanesh." the sword-nut Primarch addressed me in a slightly confused but impressed voice.

"So I've been told. Just pushed a button, to be fair." I answered with a grin towards Khan.

The giant man patted my shoulder and grinned back. "And this new look...you met the Emperor?" he asked in a knowing tone, possibly meaning my new greater height and bulk.

"We spoke three times. Or maybe twice. He also gave me a Titan!" I replied with a cheerful voice, then turned towards his approaching brother.

Primarch El'Johnson wasn't my favorite of the Imperium demigods, and I knew he also didn't like me. He even tried to get me sacked, which wasn't nice at all.

"Chapter Master Lancefire. I want to thank you for raising my father." the Dark Angels' Primarch spoke in a majestic voice, and nodded for a millimeter. Maybe half a millimeter.

I'll take what I can get. I'm not petty.

"It wasn't very hard. Except the part where I was nearly denobled and robbed of my House and lands. Luckily, the Emperor was able to see past the unfounded accusations and waved off those charges. Even got a signed Warrant out of it." I said with a kind smile, then flourished my glowing Rogue Trader Warrant like a fan.

There were perhaps a dozen Librarians and Reclusiarchs in the audience, and they all gasped in awe at my new paper fan.

Primarch Khan was wearing my anti-warp gift, the Null Rod shielding him from the Warpy emanations, but his brother was not. The Lion took a step back as unseen sigils reached him, possibly without realizing it.

The man paled as his eyes focused on the Warrant, as he probably sensed much more than I intended with my status-granting handwave.

His brother Khan stepped forward and interposed his shielded person, then gently held the paper to read the actual words. "Like the old days, I see. Well, with the numbers of enemies you have, you will probably need to show this Warrant quite often, Lord Lancefire." Khan declared in a low but stern voice, possibly as a warning to those present here at Forge Mordax.

I sighed and just rolled the glowing scroll and stored it back into my Null Box. "I can take care of myself, Primarch. Actually, I just managed to find another of your brothers, Primarch Fulgrim. He was held in stasis in a Necron tesseract labyrinth, but he otherwise seemed fine." I explained in a level tone, then eyed the Lion for emphasis.

"Fulgrim!" both Primarchs exclaimed in a surprised voice.

"Anyways, I'm planning a big operation down into the Immaterium. There are still some enemies to kill, and perhaps allies to rescue. Wanna join me?" I wondered in a teasing voice, eying both Primarchs with a doubtful glance.

The two brothers exchanged a look, then the Lion held a hand out to craft a blue psyker dome around the three of us.

"What's the target?" Khan asked in an aggressive tone, while standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his Primarch brother.

"Nurgle" I answered via the mind implant. Some words should not be spoken out loud, if that god was still alive and well.

They would know if their names were spoken. Maybe.

I wasn't taking more risks than necessary.

Khan's hand clenched on the pommel of his Force Sword, and he nodded warily. Then he glanced towards my fleet parked in orbit above Forge Mordax, and frowned deep in thought.

Somehow, the Lion smelled the answer as well, even though he lacked a MIU implant. But then Alpha psykers were bullshit like that.

"Even if we combine our forces, we're barely at 1 percent of the required strength for such a target, Lord Lancefire. That fortress of yours won't be very effective inside his Garden. And the pair of us can only fight one Greater Demon at a time. There will be hundreds of them." The blonde Primarch muttered in a dismissive tone.

I completely agreed. It was lunacy. Almost guaranteed suicide, in fact.

But I had more allies to call. A lot more.

"We'll have to call other races to help. Chaos is the enemy of all life, after all. So, want to hear the plan yet?" I asked with a shitty grin.

Khan nodded politely, while the Lion grit his teeth in visible xenophobia rage. "The alliance with the Eldar Ynnari has been finalized, for the most part. Who else?" the Dark Angel asked in a low growl.

"Orks, Necrons, Tyranids, maybe a C'tan or two. Not all voluntary, of course. Some Eldar gods and Avatars might want revenge too, and the yet-living pantheons of dead races might join as well. The Rashan and the Jokaero also have nice tech, while the Hrud make excellent cannon fodder. It's going to be a bloodbath anyways, might as well reduce competition for humanity, right?" I proposed with a shrug.

Khan just gazed at me with his deadly eyes, while the Lion focused entirely on the strategy itself, frowns deepening on his face as he went over potential allies and the obvious difficulties in managing a concerted attack.

"Such an attack will be noticed before we even depart. They'll be ready for us, no matter where we emerge. And then... they will react with infiltrators, disinformation, subterfuge, starting conflicts and spreading mistrust, not that it would even be possible to create trust. We'd need multiple fronts to separate the armies, and lose timing and organization." The Lion concluded after a minute of rapid analysis.

Well, he wasn't wrong, of course. Logistics was the bane of every war, and enemy armies could not be expected to work and march together. Except in special cases.

I snapped my fingers and moved us from the main spire to my Black Lament, inside the melee practice arena. Standing straight and unmoving, a hundred Ork Bosses glared at us with hate and scorn in their eyes, yet kept locked inside their bodies by the Necron mind-shackles. "Bow!" I commanded out loud.

A hundred green and toothy faces bowed low, to prove my point to the two Primarchs.

"Mind control. I expect it works on Tyranids as well?" Khan asked in a curious voice, while examining the captured Orks with a wide grin.

"Nothing complex, and nothing in large numbers. But the synaptic controllers do direct the others, much like these Orks do. As for multiple fronts, there will be a helpful Necron to provide dimensional pockets to store and release these armies in the right place.

He is a backstabbing insane robot, but he did kill Khorne not long ago. Just need to point him at our common enemy, and watch our backs. Not that different from the Eldar, after all." I answered with a level voice, just as Inquisitor Ramaeus teleported beside us.

"The Black Templars are coming too. And a dozen other of Dorn's Chapters." she announced in a calm voice, while nodding politely at the two brothers and kinda ignoring me. What did I do?

The two Primarchs glanced at each other again. "This might work after all." Khan mused to himself, while his brother nodded.

"Just don't ask me to fight side by side with the xenos." Lion El'Johnson concluded in a sad voice.

I personally would feel much safer surrounded by Orks than by his Dark Angels, so I generously agreed.

Now, recruiting all the other races would be more delicate, so I smiled at the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor. She could handle the Eldar again.

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